RACING INTO 2025.
Well, here I am, 2 months into 2025.
I have a race scheduled for next weekend- one I’ve been
really excited for- the Richmond ½. I’ve never done it before, I love Richmond,
I love doing new races, I love having a REASON to be on my treadmill for long
distances in the winter. And I have done that WEEKLY. I’ve been proud of my
weekly commitment to my training plan and listening to my body, pushing myself,
being fully consistent. I’m not exactly
where I want to be, but I’ve been working hard.
I also have been sick the past near 2 weeks. Not sure what
it started with, but it hammered me again 4 days ago and I tested positive for
flu b. And I’m at this point not pushing a single thing. I just want to honor
the sickness and heal well.
That leaves me unsure of next weekend.
Goals, purposes, intentions obviously are changed. And that
is ok. As long as it is healthy, I am honestly completely aware of my need to
listen to my body and do the very right thing. So, that means, I have to open my mind to the
possibility of going to this event and maybe literally just jogging my way
through 13.1 miles. Even doing that
might in all honesty be quite a success. 6 days away and today I’m not even
going to jog a mile because I know my lungs are not ready though, so there is
also the possibility that I may not be able to healthily go and do this thing.
Which is also something I need to begin settling in my head and heart. I don’t like one bit signing up for a race
that I don’t do. (I’ve unfortunately done
this previously and not loved it. Those are different stories- but there was a
reston triathlon that I signed up for, drove to the parking lot and it was pouring
and I Just thought, this is not my idea of fun and I WENT BACK HOME! I’ll never
forget that! Also there was a wine country half marathon that was pouring rain
and I decided to skip because it was just going to be a drenched mud slog and
again, I just don’t regret missing those 2 events!)
So, I had begun my year training strong, have had a health
setback, and now I am preparing to pivot into an unknown week of just being
open to finding what is right for me. I of course am not someone who loves not
sticking with a plan, not KNOWING what is coming up, and also not being able to
plan day by day as I am kind of just listening to how I feel right now. It is
life and overall, I’m lucky to have this setback now rather than in the
summer. (please I am praying so
fervently to not be sick during summer or before my aug/sept travel!)
So, this only brings me to what I need to keep my feet on:
what are the things I can control right now. And those are:
*WRITING THIS: it helps me make
sense of things and be measured and to sort things out in my head and heart.
*EATING HEALTHY, DRINKING LOTS OF
FLUIDS, RESTING, CALMING MY NERVOUS SYSTEM, doing anything I can for immunity.
*GETTING OTHER THINGS DONE
NOW. I am not spending hours on my feet
right now, so I can spend some of that time getting other things done that I
don’t want to when it is summer and I’m in top mode fitness function.
So those things will get me through this initial beginning
of March frustration with having been sick and I know I need to look FURTHER
FORWARD now.
BIG GOAL OF THE YEAR RACING WISE IS: to stay fit and healthy
through the summer so that I can run the Kauai marathon at the
end of August.
I am registered for ½ IM (70.3) in PA which is
a NEW TO ME race (in mid June) and I’m intrigued by it and excited to have it
on the calender. It is a hilly bike and run.
I have no goals of being fast in this race, my goal is to train to
complete it well. Obviously it is going to be hard, I know I won’t “feel well”
through the whole thing, but I want to be strong enough to grit through it and
be stronger because I trained consistently and hard through the next 3 months
(starting asap after this health setback) and also the race itself is always
another notch in fitness. You will
always be stronger after completing a race.
So then I will have 10 weeks until marathon to take a step
back week and recover from 70.3 and then carry on with my long runs,
swim/strength/cycling.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to do 2 of my favorite races
(Luray Tri as well as Annapolis 10 Miler) because I don’t know yet when my kids
will be moving into college this fall and we will have 2 of those move in
times, so that is just off the radar for now.
I love doing Wine Country 1/2 which is 5/31, however I am not yet registered
and have this hesitation because it is around the time of graduation, end of
school year, so much with schedules and I know I’ll be also trying to get long
bike rides in. So, that “filler, fun run” is being considered, as well as
Culpeper Tri which was just one of my FAVORITE DAYS of last years summer! I’ll
see how things are going, I just don’t want to over-reach and in any way jeopardize
my ability to run in Kauai.
Now, I want to cycle back to the interesting thing about
this years races. It is not escaping me that I just don’t have this huge urge
to “perform”. Like I want to BE FIT. I
want to get out and do hard things and struggle and do my best in training each
day of my plan so that I am in the best possible shape on race day. However, for example, in Kauai- I do not
intend to blast my body. (a marathon will be enough of a blast). I’d like to
run without walking, HOWEVER, I am completely open to the possibility of
walking and pausing and reveling in my surroundings. And that seems to be really my thought for
the 70.3PA race also- I want to have no doubts that I did my work in
preparation and I want to work hard on race day, but more importantly, safely
and smart. I just find it interesting that there really isn’t even a percentage
of me that thinks “RACE MINDSET”. I feel happy to be engaging in the sports I
enjoy, mostly so that each week, I get to get out for my intensity run
intervals that I like to do, some hill repeats, some easy and aerobic fun
times, my long workouts on the weekends. I’m proud of myself to not be scared
to be slower than I ever have been. I feel as if my mental standpoint is at a
place of “intensity in the training and build- get gritty in the day to
day, so that I can revel in the feeling of fitness and awe at my events”!
As always, writing this was helpful to myself, to iron out
some thoughts along the way. I think it may not be the most organized writing,
but it sure did organize what are my benchmarks of fun for the year!
