“I get knocked down
But I get up again
You’re never gonna keep me down
I get knocked down
But I get up again
You’re never gonna keep me down…”
–“Tubthumping” by Chumbawamba
Remember this song from 1997? Wouldn’t it be cool if I actually remembered what year the song came out without looking it up? I’m not that good, but regardless these few lines of “Tubthumping” summed up how I felt this week. The rest of the song is not as accurate of a representation… no “pissing the night away” or “a whiskey drink…”
It was a rough week in running. I missed every team practice and my total mileage for the week was just slightly over 18 miles, less than what I ran in my long run the weekend before. All the normal things that could derail a week did for me. From late nights at work to a cold I was battling since Sunday to a bad stomach ache to a big blister on the inside of my big toe, it was a struggle to find time to run let alone run without pain. I managed two workouts during the week on the treadmill, one easy run and the other an attempt of the hill workout I missed with the team. For the weekend run, I opted to skip the team run so I could sleep in a little more to battle the cold but also to save time on Josh’s birthday so we can get our celebration started earlier. I only managed 10 miles through pain in my toe. The following day, I woke up with a huge stomach ache and my day was derailed again.
One positive of the week was the yummy breakfast we treated me to on Josh’s birthday! How can you go wrong with Lobster Benedict with avocado and bacon?!?!
To be honest, this past week was a glass half empty week. I was in my deepest of lows during any training period, well maybe except for the week that the 2012 NYC Marathon was cancelled. I let all the excuses that came up take over. Even if I wasn’t supposed to be running because of the blister, I was letting that get the best of me as well. Likely the stresses from work and a weakened immune system after the 20-miler drained me. I beat myself up every day and then I would let it affect my self-esteem. I learned this week that running/exercising has way too much control over me and how I feel. I guess you can say I am addicted to endorphins. This is an issue that I will need to find ways to tackle during the off-season but in the meantime, I need remind myself of all the other positives in everyday life and learn not to stress as much.
Scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese, pepper, mushroom, and avocado
On the positive side, I woke up today ready to conquer the start of a new week. To start the week off right, I finally got in an easy run followed by my first spin class at Local Barre’s new Wheelhaus Bikegarten studio. This was my first spin class with the clip-on cycling shoes and it was awesome! The shoes really add a whole new dimension to spinning and stability when you’re jumping between positions. In roughly 35 minutes, I biked over 11 miles. If only I were that efficient for my runs (watch out, Meb)! All this exercise made me quite hungry. We enjoyed a yummy homemade scrambled egg dish with cheddar cheese, pepper, mushroom, and avocado. I highly recommend adding avocado to everything, it makes everything taste better! Even though I had to spend a couple of hours on work this afternoon, I am looking forward to a glass half full week. I am ready to tackle all the positives and negatives that may come my way.
How was your weekend? And how to do you handle bad training weeks?
