About 2016 So Far and How your Mind Can Ruin Your Love for Marathons
The year 2015 was a great year for me as a runner, considering I ran the most mileage I have ever done in a year and my paces lowered consistently. I just did not hit any of my goal races and had some medical issues to take care of during most of it (high blood pressure, asthma, etc.)
When 2016 started and with it, my plan to run another slew of marathons to earn new states on my quest, I was hopeful that 2015 and the speed therein would help me at least feel like a better runner in 2016. And the year started well. I ran the Dopey Challenge with my BFF Mary, and we had a ton of fun. My next race was the Miami Half Marathon but when I saw that the temps were PR conducive (40F at the start and mostly in the 40s for the remainder of the day), I switched to the full and thought: this is my chance, I can do this! Except I was sick and did not know it and spent the next three weeks with either a fever, or a chest congestion/cough from hell. I was almost at 100% when the A1A Ft. Lauderdale Marathon came around and I set to run that one, if at an easier pace, only to quit at Mile 19 instead. As I mentioned in my last race report, this played with my mind badly. I knew I could've finished the A1A Marathon; I just didn't want to. Part of me thought I couldn't deal with the slower pace that came with the high winds and my cough, but part of me thought I was still sick. Or was it me?
After the A1A, I felt like I did not love marathons any more. Wait, what? I don't like running anything else! And without my races, I feel that I would not run as much as I do because I would have nothing else to make me go outside (or the Treadmill) except my gorgeous INKnBURN clothes. I hate half marathons and would not race them often, if at all, and I despise short races because I cannot race them without ending in the hospital, so if I didn't love marathons anymore, I asked myself, did I love running at all anymore?
So, I am very glad to have finished the RnR New Orleans Marathon almost two weeks ago. I was a bit disappointed in the pace but I didn't set myself to race that day. I think I was even more nervous about that race than my first marathon (which I ran an hour slower than I ran in NOLA now). Based on my latest asthma follow up, there was nothing to fear: the cough was gone and my asthma is at an all time high (see below), so it was my mind. I did not enjoyed the second half of the race when my stomach issues arose and the temperature seemed to be from Miami than NOLA in Winter. And I think I was able to tell my mind to shut up, but we will see about that in two weeks when I run my next. Unfortunately, while I planned to mirror 2015 in terms of mileage, I have been slacking big time on my mileage this year and my pace bunny is laughing at me at this time.
Oh, and after the A1A Marathon, I had my asthma follow up appointment. I still felt meh concerning the three week cold from hell and I was seriously expecting my breathing to be at an all time low (my normal readings have been between 51% and 61% in the last three years). But for some reason, even after the Prednisone treatment had been gone from my body, and for the first time since I was diagnosed with asthma, my breathing was at 75%. Wait, say wut? This explains why I felt stronger and faster last year. Having a tiny bit more of lungs working does make a difference, LOL.
So, although I am not as hopeful as I was when I started 2016, I am happy at least with something. Breathing is kind of important, don't you think? :)
When 2016 started and with it, my plan to run another slew of marathons to earn new states on my quest, I was hopeful that 2015 and the speed therein would help me at least feel like a better runner in 2016. And the year started well. I ran the Dopey Challenge with my BFF Mary, and we had a ton of fun. My next race was the Miami Half Marathon but when I saw that the temps were PR conducive (40F at the start and mostly in the 40s for the remainder of the day), I switched to the full and thought: this is my chance, I can do this! Except I was sick and did not know it and spent the next three weeks with either a fever, or a chest congestion/cough from hell. I was almost at 100% when the A1A Ft. Lauderdale Marathon came around and I set to run that one, if at an easier pace, only to quit at Mile 19 instead. As I mentioned in my last race report, this played with my mind badly. I knew I could've finished the A1A Marathon; I just didn't want to. Part of me thought I couldn't deal with the slower pace that came with the high winds and my cough, but part of me thought I was still sick. Or was it me?
After the A1A, I felt like I did not love marathons any more. Wait, what? I don't like running anything else! And without my races, I feel that I would not run as much as I do because I would have nothing else to make me go outside (or the Treadmill) except my gorgeous INKnBURN clothes. I hate half marathons and would not race them often, if at all, and I despise short races because I cannot race them without ending in the hospital, so if I didn't love marathons anymore, I asked myself, did I love running at all anymore?
So, I am very glad to have finished the RnR New Orleans Marathon almost two weeks ago. I was a bit disappointed in the pace but I didn't set myself to race that day. I think I was even more nervous about that race than my first marathon (which I ran an hour slower than I ran in NOLA now). Based on my latest asthma follow up, there was nothing to fear: the cough was gone and my asthma is at an all time high (see below), so it was my mind. I did not enjoyed the second half of the race when my stomach issues arose and the temperature seemed to be from Miami than NOLA in Winter. And I think I was able to tell my mind to shut up, but we will see about that in two weeks when I run my next. Unfortunately, while I planned to mirror 2015 in terms of mileage, I have been slacking big time on my mileage this year and my pace bunny is laughing at me at this time.
Oh, and after the A1A Marathon, I had my asthma follow up appointment. I still felt meh concerning the three week cold from hell and I was seriously expecting my breathing to be at an all time low (my normal readings have been between 51% and 61% in the last three years). But for some reason, even after the Prednisone treatment had been gone from my body, and for the first time since I was diagnosed with asthma, my breathing was at 75%. Wait, say wut? This explains why I felt stronger and faster last year. Having a tiny bit more of lungs working does make a difference, LOL.
So, although I am not as hopeful as I was when I started 2016, I am happy at least with something. Breathing is kind of important, don't you think? :)
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