I came down with bronchitis in mid February. Up until that point my training was on track. I was feeling good about my pace. I was feeling good about my runs. I was feeling good all around.
It took a round of powerful antibiotics in order to start feeling better. However my training fell behind. I didn't run for almost three weeks When I did get back out there it was slow. I couldn't run for more than a minute or two without coughing my lungs out. It was not good. It still isn't the greatest.
After last week's blog post I had several comments and a few emails from reader's encouraging me to continue on. I posted a link to my blog on my facebook page and some of my running friends messaged me. They were concerned for me and how I was doing, and the expectations I was putting on myself. I had 10 miles on my training plan for last weekend and come Monday morning, I hadn't run them at all. I was trying to get the umption in my gumption to get out there and start my run when I got a text from my friend and running mentor Jill. We were texting back and forth for a few minutes when she called me.
The words she said helped me face the decision I knew I had to make but I didn't want to. After talking to Jill I realized what I had to do. I hung up from her and went through to the office where my husband was working and told him. "I'm down grading my BMO to the 8K." I knew he would be supportive of whatever decision I made and I knew that he had been concerned about me being able to do the half marathon with how bad my breathing was.
Once I made that decision, I felt a huge sense of relief. I knew I was putting pressure on myself to do the half marathon because I had set that as a goal for myself, and I don't like giving up on goals. However reality had set in.
1. My lungs couldn't handle the pressure I was putting on them by trying to race.
2. Because I had to take so many walking breaks my pace was in the 21 minute a mile range. You have to be stay under 18 minutes a mile or you get swept off of the course.
3. My training was over a month behind, I was risking injury if I did race the half marathon
4. I would have been miserable and it would not have been a good experience.
Although they are all good reasons for doing the 8K instead of the half marathon, number 4 makes the most sense. I want my first half marathon to be a good experience, I don't want it to be horrible and I quit running or choose never to challenge myself with another one. I also need to be able to train properly for it.
It wasn't an easy decision for me to make, it was a hard one, and once I made it, I immediately signed onto the participant dashboard and changed my race. Once it was done, it was done and I felt such a tremendous amount of relief. I went for my run after making the decision and the run was fun, I wasn't worried about miles, I was just running and trying to control my breathing. I did pretty good. I was still coughing but I felt good.
I know I've made the right decision. As a result, my first half marathon will be the Rock'n'Roll Vancouver half marathon on October 29th. I will be running it with Jill and perhaps a few other friends, and it promises to be a great experience.
After last week's blog post I had several comments and a few emails from reader's encouraging me to continue on. I posted a link to my blog on my facebook page and some of my running friends messaged me. They were concerned for me and how I was doing, and the expectations I was putting on myself. I had 10 miles on my training plan for last weekend and come Monday morning, I hadn't run them at all. I was trying to get the umption in my gumption to get out there and start my run when I got a text from my friend and running mentor Jill. We were texting back and forth for a few minutes when she called me.
The words she said helped me face the decision I knew I had to make but I didn't want to. After talking to Jill I realized what I had to do. I hung up from her and went through to the office where my husband was working and told him. "I'm down grading my BMO to the 8K." I knew he would be supportive of whatever decision I made and I knew that he had been concerned about me being able to do the half marathon with how bad my breathing was.
Once I made that decision, I felt a huge sense of relief. I knew I was putting pressure on myself to do the half marathon because I had set that as a goal for myself, and I don't like giving up on goals. However reality had set in.
1. My lungs couldn't handle the pressure I was putting on them by trying to race.
2. Because I had to take so many walking breaks my pace was in the 21 minute a mile range. You have to be stay under 18 minutes a mile or you get swept off of the course.
3. My training was over a month behind, I was risking injury if I did race the half marathon
4. I would have been miserable and it would not have been a good experience.
Although they are all good reasons for doing the 8K instead of the half marathon, number 4 makes the most sense. I want my first half marathon to be a good experience, I don't want it to be horrible and I quit running or choose never to challenge myself with another one. I also need to be able to train properly for it.
It wasn't an easy decision for me to make, it was a hard one, and once I made it, I immediately signed onto the participant dashboard and changed my race. Once it was done, it was done and I felt such a tremendous amount of relief. I went for my run after making the decision and the run was fun, I wasn't worried about miles, I was just running and trying to control my breathing. I did pretty good. I was still coughing but I felt good.
I know I've made the right decision. As a result, my first half marathon will be the Rock'n'Roll Vancouver half marathon on October 29th. I will be running it with Jill and perhaps a few other friends, and it promises to be a great experience.
