This week illustrated the difficulty I have found in the proverbial work/life balance. This week also illuminated the tremendous drain that emotional taxing situations have on a body physically. I am thankful for the opportunity for reflection and growth.
Monday 40 minutes regular
After writing last week’s post, I woke on Sunday morning to a nearly normal feeling left heel. That feeling continued throughout the week and made only a slight reappearance Saturday. I will continue to stretch and rest as necessary. I felt really good on this run. The run went really well although the pace felt like we were running a faster pace than reality. My left glute and leg felt a little wonky towards the end but nothing too serious. I focused on for him the whole time.
Tuesday 45 minutes regular
Mom had a long day Sunday and Monday and decided to take a real rest day. I struggled intensely with the desire to get out of bed and run on the treadmill downstairs. When it is early morning and night out, I do not feel comfortable running outside alone. I ended up abandoning the run for the day. By the end of the week this turned out to be abandoning stationary bike for the week since I readjusted the schedule to get in the remaining two weekday runs.
Wednesday 45 minutes regular
Like Monday, this run felt faster than reality. I felt strong but needed to push mentally for the slightly longer distance. I think that the emotional taxation takes its toll on my mental stamina before my physical stamina. I felt a little tingling in my left glute so I focused on pushing off the ground each stride using my glutes.
Thursday 50 minutes with 4 x 30 second hard effort intervals at end
Thanks to planning day, I did not have to leave the house for work as early as normal. This worked out well since Mom’s alarm did not go off. We ran inside due to the cold. I could have toughed it out but the weather is about to take a turn for warmer temps, eventually, so I may as well start to get acclimated by running in the sauna gym. I felt mentally and physically strong through the whole run and had no issues whatsoever.
Friday strength training
I wish I could have stayed longer but I am trying to get in to school a little earlier so I am not as rushed to get everything ready in the morning. Regardless, I felt strong and made sure to push hard and complete each rep with good form.
Saturday 100 90 minutes
Various work stresses and emotionally draining events culminated Friday evening and Saturday morning when I felt absolutely exhausted. I went directly from rushing around in Model UN getting things printed and helping students complete their project boards to Costco to my house, expecting to get something done. I ended up falling asleep on the couch. When I woke Saturday, I could barely keep my eyes open. I slept a little more and came downstairs to try to get started and get something small knocked off my to do list. I ended up dozing more on the couch and falling asleep while I attempted to complete a required observation reflection. By the time it came to start the run, I still felt tired and had the beginnings of a headache. Being the stubborn fool that I am, I pushed myself into the run. As I ran, I did start to feel more awake and the headache began to drain away. I quickly decided that the wisest thing to do would be to cut a few minutes off the run. I also chose to walk a particularly difficult hill; Mom had no complaints. When I finished the run, the headache started to return so I ended up taking a thirty minute nap before finally starting my day.
Altogether, this was a week full of lessons and learning. I hope to continue this education as I build my base and prepare for marathon training in three weeks.