This is week 8 of an 18-week training plan that will hopefully get me to the marathon start line ready to have an amazing race, and maybe even PR! This weekend I have another race, but for a change, it’s not a 10K. I’m running the Portsmouth Coastal Waterside Half Marathon, and it’s time to see if my marathon training is paying off!
Monday, december 16
Today, I banged out my speed workout for the week: 1.75mi warm up 6 * .5mi @ 5K-10K pace; .25mi rest 1.75mi cool down
The workout was 8 miles in total, and it went great!
Tuesday, December 17
I went to yoga in the morning, and followed it up with a 4+ mile run. In the evening, I went to the We Are Runners workout. In addition to the group run, the pacer confirmed that I completed the #christmas26.2 challenge, so now I wait to hear when I’ll be able to collect the leggings.
In total, I ran 10.3 miles today.
Wednesday, December 18
I went to my morning spin class, then came home and chilled for a bit. I originally planned to do a 5 mile run today, but the weather forecast shows a likelihood of rain tomorrow, so I switched things up and ran 6 miles, instead.
The run was a literal and figurative shit show. I needed two bathroom stops during the run (should have waited for my second coffee), and today I felt particularly miserable. There are some days where I feel good, and others where I just do not want to be in London. I want to be back in Tel Aviv, making actual progress in my life beyond training for a marathon. On days like today, I think it’s sad that I need to train for a freaking marathon in order to feel a sense of happiness and fulfillment.
Lior came home from work, we talked about everything, and he suggested something that always makes me feel better–sushi! (I’m basic, but who cares! I found a sushi place in London that is good, so I’m enjoying it while I can, before I return to Tel Aviv, land of the weird-tasting sushi.)
Thursday, December 19
I woke up today feeling better. The sadness and loneliness comes and goes. Lior thinks that January will be a less hectic/less travel-filled month for work, which I sincerely hope is true. I went to yoga in the morning and then did a 5.5 mile run, because I wanted to hit 30 weekly miles today–mission accomplished. The rain luckily held off until the end, but I made the mistake of listening to the most recent episode of the Ali On The Run podcast, where she interviewed a running coach and new mother. The podcast ramped up my anxiety (mostly around the inequal balance of emotional and actual labor involved with pregnancy, birth, and postpartum life, which is not even relevant right now, so I obviously recognized that this was anxiety grounded in…just anxiety), which I did NOT need, but it mostly went away once I finished the run.
Friday, December 20
I was going to take a morning spin class today, but after not enjoying Wednesday’s class, I decided to cancel. I woke up at 11:30am, and was very happy with my decision. In the afternoon I went for a 5 mile run. The run started out rainy, but by the halfway point the skies cleared a bit, and it was beautiful.
Saturday, December 21
Today, we went to Portsmouth! We toured the D-Day museum, went up the Spinnaker Tower, and hung out in the evening. It was very nice!
Sunday, December 22
Today I ran the Portsmouth Coastal Waterside Half Marathon! In the evening, we celebrated the first night of Hanukkah…with sufganiyot!
Total distance: 50.3 miles, 2 yoga classes, 1 spin class
This is the end of gym classes for a bit–the schedule is reduced for the two weeks of Christmas to New Years, and I don’t have a strong desire to try anything new. Plus, Lior will be on vacation (or at least working from home), so I plan to stick with “just” running. But yeah, moving forward I may pump the brakes on spinning, because I’m just not as into it, and I don’t like when the teacher insinuates that I’m not trying hard/giving 110%. For some people that motivational tactic works…for me, it has the opposite effect.
This week was again not so great on the mental health front. I’m trying to get better at accepting that sometimes this happens, lean into the feelings a bit, and understand that it’s (probably) temporary. Progress is slow, but it IS happening!
…and I ran a great half marathon, AND this was my first 50+ mile training week…ever!