204 Days Left

This race is stressing me out......get out of bed 5 times during the night after thinking about it all day stressing me out.  I have read just about every blog ever written about this race.  I have been watching videos on YouTube of people running the race.  I have read 3 books about running and training and I have poured over the training plan.  I even went as far as to make a calendar and plug the runs in so I can print it out and put it on my fridge.....in the new house.

Did I mention that we are moving?  Next week?  That could be causing some stress too, but the anxiety is manifesting itself in the race.  Running is supposed to be a source of stress relief, but right not, running is just another thing to the list of things that I have to worry about.

So, this morning, I did what anyone else would do.  I got up and ran.  My eyeballs opened at 5:25am.  I was up and out before my husband's alarm even went off.  (Good thing because he forgot to set it.)  I went outside to find that the humidity was back.  Not super thick, can't breathe humidity.  Just sticky gross humidity.  I went anyway.   There wasn't a lot of whining on the inside today.  I just went.  I was slower than last time.  I could tell from the beginning.  The running intervals were slower and the walking intervals were slower.  I kept going.  I didn't curse at the watch to beep so I could walk.  I kept going.  When I got back home, I was glad to be done, but I felt like I could have kept going.  (Why didn't I, you ask?  Because my husband has to go to work.  If I want a shower in relative peace, I have to stop when I get home....or I have to get up earlier.  I stopped today.) 

Running is still hard.  The Jeff Galloway method says that you shouldn't be huffing and puffing at any point during the run.  That is a funny joke.  If I am running, I am huffing and puffing.  It's getting better, but there is no way that I could carry on any sort of conversation during my runs.  I'm okay with that.  I guess I will get there.  I'm just not there yet.  But, in the 30 minutes or so that I am running, nobody is crying or whining.  Nobody needs anything.  There is nothing that needs to get  organized for the packers.  There are no phone calls to make.  No plans to check or double check.  I don't love it....far from it.  Thinking about running will consume my thoughts during the day and keep me restless at night.  But during those 30 minutes, it's just me and my music.  It's peaceful.  It's the only time of my day that is peaceful.  I need that time, no matter how slow I go.

Today's stats:
2.2 miles in 29.19 minutes (13.3 minute mile)