Is this the End?

This week I have taken a long ride into 2014 on the struggle bus. I was lucky enough to be presented with a cold….my first cold in a long time, so I was a bit of a baby. As I generally eat so healthy, I do not get sick very often….so when I do I tend to feel like I am dying!

I came back from one of my runs this week on the verge of tears. I was so miserable. I felt awful; congested and phlegmy (gross I know); gale force winds pelleted me with daggers rain; and the paranoia of feeling out of shape was strong in my mind, I just wanted it to be over.

People think that at my level, every run is a joy. People think I prance along in my happy state, thinking about how wonderful life is, but that is not true, and this week was evidence of that. That run was so miserable, as were most of the other runs this week. I even began to wonder if something inside me had “snapped” when I pushed so far beyond my physical limits in the marathon, but I was reassured it was just my cold (and the relentless wind and rain England has been battered with). Time will tell.

I enjoyed my 12 mile long run on Sunday, running 6:38 average pace, which raised my confidence of being able to move at a decent pace again, but the rest of the week was pretty rough. I did a longer fartlek workout on Thursday, which left my lungs very pissed off. I worked hard, but felt very fatigued, like an asthmatic who forgot their inhaler.

I am sure my American readers are aware of the reputation of England’s never-ending rain, but even for our standards, it has been bad the last week. There is mass flooding all over the country, countless houses damaged, and streets flooded. Thankfully, our house is fine, and for that I am grateful, but it has made running rather difficult. Many of my usual running loops are flooded, and the parks are muddy beyond belief. Yesterday I even fell over in the mud, so decided to stick with the roads!

Weeks like this make you appreciate it when things do go right; although I have not really enjoyed too many runs since coming back from the marathon, I had so many incredible runs before the marathon, that I began to take it for granted. That is partly what led to the devastation that followed. I know things will pick back up, and after feeling so crappy this week, I will appreciate it so much more when I do begin to feel better.

It is also another reminder that my body is not invincible, sometimes our bodies do break down, and it is often an indicator that we are not taking good care of it. Although I have not planned and crammed as much as I normally do, my nutritious diet has all but disapeared, and I have consumed waaaayyy too much sugar. In some ways, I am looking forward to getting back to my routine so I can bring my body back to health.

Hopefully the second week of 2014 goes better than the first week!

How was your Christmas period of running? What do you have planned for 2014?