Week 13 – What doesn’t kill ya makes ya stronger!

I haven’t been doing weekly recaps of my training since I started but I am this week because things changed in my running but I am ok with it.

Since I have started my marathon training for Ottawa I have noticed changes for the better in my running. I can feel I am getting stronger each week because in the first four to five weeks I found the 5k “shake out” run on Thursday mornings to be very hard after speed workouts on Wednesday nights. Then one Thursday morning I headed out for the 5k run and I felt GREAT! That pattern of great feeling training runs continued until Wednesday this week. What changed? I am not sure.

Tuesday was a rest day so I took part in a yoga class before work at Moksha Yoga Westshore. I have started going to the morning classes and find they make me feel and see myself differently than I do in the evening. I have more of an awareness for my body. I really was born to exercise before the rest of the day takes place. It is my happy place…the majority of the time.

Now, this is where things started to make a change. Wednesday night was a speed workout with the half marathon clinic group and the run club members. Our workout was 10 x 2 minutes on and then 2 minutes off. The 2 minutes on was at a 5-8k race pace and then 2 minutes off was at marathon pace. I knew I could do that except my legs were saying they didn’t want to. They felt like lead and as we ran there was a head wind so we were fighting a losing battle. I completed it and even though it was tough I know doing those kinds of workouts benefit me; even if it doesn’t feel like it at the time. It’s like the wise Kelly sings “What doesn’t kill ya makes ya stronger.”  

Thursday morning came and I had the 5k “shake out” run on the schedule. No problem! I thought I have it too except when I started I was back to feeling like I had in the first few weeks of at the beginning of my training. So, I put one foot in front of the other and went through the motions. I wasn’t loving the run but it was getting done.

Friday was a rest day so I did a yoga class in the morning again. I find the classes are really helping to keep me going without injury.

We have arrived at Saturday! The big day of running 36k. The most I have ever ran to date. Phew! My plan throughout the week was to leave the house in time so I could run 16k before meeting up with the group for their 20k run. That didn’t happen. I left the house around 7:00am and the group meets at 8:00am so I ended up running roughly 10k before and then ran with Lauren and Ric for most of the out part of our route. I knew I needed to add some distance extra distance to my run so instead of turning back when they did I made a bigger loop and connected back on the Goose at a different time. I was keeping a good pace and fuelling regularly since I had taken more with me than I had last week.

Training Fuel

As I reached the 30k mark of my run I parted ways with Lauren and my IT Band was not liking me. I was headed back home and had 6k left to get me there. I changed my iPod over to my Bazan Bay 5k playlist and away I went. I talked myself through my body and how it was feeling. By this time in my run my feet were starting to feel warm not from them rubbing on anything but tired. I picked up my feet a bit to change the motion in my legs and that helped for a few strides. As I left the Galloping Goose and headed up Whale Road the song Brave by Sarah Bareilles came on and I started to feel emotional. I love the words of the song so they got to me and I thought of my friend Amanda who just blogged about me and some of her other friends who inspire her. The words of her blog got to me. 

She mentions that I am doing this training solo and for the most part she is right. I am out there running and putting in all the hours. I am the one who pushes myself to finish and do my best each time I go out to run. I can also be my own worst enemy but I am learning as I go. I am learning about when to fuel my body and when to rest it. This is about me and pushing my limits. Marathon training is changing me but not for the worse. 

I had an off week of training but I am ok with getting that out of the way now so it doesn’t happen on the big day. Thank you Amanda for making me see things a bit differently.

The last run of week 13

If you have trained for a marathon did you find it brought a new awareness to you? Or even if it wasn’t a marathon that you trained for have you learned more about yourself through running? I know I have before this new kind of awareness I have now.