It’s hard to believe that I only have two more weeks to go for this training cycle and then it’s race time! It’s been a journey to get to week 10 and I’m sure looking forward to the next few weeks and then a little recovery time before I start training for my 5th half marathon in September.

Last week during many runs, I just felt like I didn’t have it in me to go any distance. I struggled. I questioned myself. I even thought I wasn’t enjoying running anymore *shocker*. Not sure why I was feeling this way and why I was struggling ……

What was Planned vs. What Really Happened:

Monday May 30th: Stretch & Strengthen | Nothing or Active Rest Day. Really, I shouldn’t say nothing, as I spent 4.5 hours Monday evening at a Soccer Coaching Clinic. I’m getting back into coaching after many years off and starting with the U4 team my youngest will play on. We did some running around, short sprints and ball work. It was enough to increase my heart rate and sweat…so I’ll call this an active rest day.

Tuesday: 8k | 6k Treadmill Run. This wasn’t good. I wanted to run outside but when I got home my husband had picked up a shift at work. Good for him and really it was okay because I still had a treadmill I could use. I just struggled with this run. I’m pretty sure at some point during each kilometer I had to take a break. I wasn’t loving it and stopped at 6.12 km.

Wednesday: 45 minute Tempo Run | 8k in 49:50 Run. It was Global Running Day and I lost misplaced my Garmin and just used my every day Timex watch. Though I didn’t know my pace, I knew my overall time and the route I took. It was nice to run outside, thumbs up run.

Thursday: 5k + Strengthen | 5k + IronStrength. It was a double day workout and I had planned to run at lunch but just wasn’t feeling it. I jumped on the treadmill for a quick 5k and then had a 20 minute break until I started my IronStrength workout. I took a break to help my husband watch my husband put the bike rack on my car.

I got back to doing the IronStrength workout and it was just as hard as the last time I did it. I’m pretty confident I said a few “F bombs” and lots of grunting to get through each rep. I still love this workout.

Friday: Rest Day | 22km Bike Ride. So, when your boss asks if you want to bike to a meeting, you don’t say no! There was a bicycling (Blue Route) announcement that our department had been involved in (I work in Physical Activity, Sport & Recreation). Instead of driving there, four of us biked over and it took about 45 minutes (11k) one way along the trail. A beautiful trail.

Saturday: 8k | Rest Day. Taking it easy.

Sunday: 18k Long Run | run . My early morning long run plans were halted fast as I woke up feeling rather ill and went back to bed. I wasn’t sure if I’d even run any distance.

Once I had some food in me (two meals), I decided I’d attempt my long run. Knowing that my husband was home, I took my phone with me just in case I needed to be picked up along my route.

Eight-teen L-O-N-G kilometers by myself. In the afternoon heat (22C). Not feeling 100% What was I thinking? Well, I gotta get a run in, was what I was thinking.

The first 3k was rough but I just kept going along the secondary highway. Sidewalks, gravel/sandy paths and back to sidewalks. After all most getting hit by three cars in cross walks, I was happy to hit the 9k mark for the turn around.

I decided to run down a shady street since the heat was pounding down on me, thank goodness for visors and sunglasses. Instead of getting back on the secondary highway, I took the trail (rails to trails) all the way back home. It was great and shady in spots.

I ran into bikers, runners, walkers and 1 dam truck on the trail. Yup, a truck on a trail as it was cleaning up from a cycling event that morning. It’s all good as I heard it coming from both directions. I had some new adventures along this run that I’ll share with you another day.

The last three kilometers were a struggle but I got it done. 18k done for another week. So many thoughts, lessons learned and questioning my running in general. It all was washed away with happy kids and my husband when I arrived back at the house.

If you’ve missed last week or want to catch up on my training, check out all the posts here: training plan, week 1, week 2, week 3, week 4, week 5, week 6, week 7, week 8, week 9. Currently, I’m in week #11 and it started off not great with a missed workout yesterday and low motivation for tonight’s run.

KM run this week: 37 km

KM during this training cycle: 343 km

Overall: It was an okay week, I got in a good chunk of the mileage, loved the bike ride but am starting questioning my training/running.

In other news – my SI Joint seems to be the happiest it’s been in three months!!! I’m wondering if it’s the bike riding that helped it along?

How was your weekend? 

Anyone race, run or play outside?

What do you do when running becomes a physical struggle for you?