Hey there!
Week 6 of Dopey Challenge – so good stuff and some going completely off the rails stuff…Let’s talk about how it went!
So the week itself is supposed to be a bit of a fall back week to re-energize for harder challenges coming up in the training plan.
As such, the plan was for 4,7,4 miles for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and then 7 for Saturday and 10 for Sunday (down from the 14 last week).
I hit the Tuesday and Wednesday runs decently well – I was tired but I had no real issues.
Thursday, I ended up being tied up again and had to move the run to Friday. I was fairly tired on the Friday run and it was a bit of a struggle to get the 4 miles in.
And then I woke up Saturday with a wicked headache – I get these headaches sometimes and the best thing I have found for them is Advil / Ibuprofen but those medicines aren’t recommended if you are doing running due to potential kidney issues. I don’t know the details there but I have read it enough places that I believe it. So I took some Tylenol and took the dogs out for a 2 mile walk hoping that would help sort it out. Unfortunately it did not and I decided to have the Advil anyway to clear my head and after a few hour nap I was feeling better. But by then I had lost my opportunity for the 7 mile run.
Then came Sunday – and I mentally fell apart on this one. I just couldn’t get the motivation to run, nothing worked. I took the dogs out for a 2 mile walk in the crisp, sunny weather and it honestly would have been a beautiful morning to run. Sunny, blue sky, no wind, and a little cool so you don’t overheat – great! But my brain just wasn’t there. So I ended up blowing off the run. Did end up doing a several mile walk later in the afternoon with Heather and the kids which was a great way to enjoy the nice fall day.
But what happened? I think I burnt out frankly. I warned in my last couple posts / videos that I was concerned that my plan was too ambitious for my current training level and that I might have to slow down the mileage increase for the longer runs at a minimum. And I think that is what happened, I was just too fried and my brain needed a break – I think my body was ok with it but if the brain isn’t on board, it isn’t going to go well.
So that kind of sucks but having come to that understanding, I already feel better about the rest of the training period. I will sit down over the next couple days and hammer out what the Sunday long runs need to be adjusted to, but just making the decision that I will do that has lifted a heck of a load off my mind.
I did try to make up for some of the missed runs with a 7.3 mile run this morning on some country roads (good balance workout on the loose gravel!). I had a decent pace and felt pretty solid through the whole run. So I haven’t fallen apart completely but I could have if I hadn’t given myself a break – I guess that’s a lesson / reminder for everyone who is doing marathon training – not only watch your body, but watch your mental health!
Thanks for tagging along!
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