Highs and Lows

"Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement."
- C. S. Lewis

I tell people that having a race to train for is the only thing that keeps me from defaulting to the lazy person that I really want to be, but sometimes, even that isn't enough.   These last two weeks have been pretty tough for me in terms of training.

Some of the things that did not go so well...

• Having to head home ten minutes into my last Thursday's walk, as I was having stomach problems, and then never getting around to going back out
• Skipping my Saturday walk last week because I was too tired
• Shortening my planned 6-mile walk last Sunday because my fingers were swelling (they were, but not bad enough to stop
• Skipping my Tuesday walk because I had no where to walk (we were at a campground next to a MAJOR highway).

Despite all of the setbacks, I managed to complete two virtual 5K races this week!

Eat Ice Cream For Breakfast 5K - benefitting Give Kids the World



I signed up for this race on a whim, and thoroughly enjoyed it.   For my first 5K walk, I was fairly happy with my time, LOVE the charity and thoroughly enjoyed the frozen yogurt sundae I had when I was done.   Medals are shipping this week, so I can't wait to hang this one on my wall!

Princess Challenge II - Ariel 5K - benefitting St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital



I signed up for this one on Wednesday night, as I needed something to motivate me for my morning training walk, after having a whole week of missed/shortened training.   It turns out that the Ariel-inspired medal was fitting as it rained for the entirety of my walk!   I was very happy with my time, and proud that I got out and trained.

In addition to my virtual races, I ended my week with a beautiful walk through the badlands of Drumheller, AB and a nine-mile walk today, averaging 13:56 minutes/mile.

With less than a month before my half-marathon walk in the Queen City Marathon, I can't afford to miss any more training days, but I am back to being confident in my ability to finish my training plan strong!     This week, it was a virtual race that got me back on track - what helps you get through the lows?

Weekly Stats (Week ending August 4th)Total Mileage: 5.0 miles
Weight:  200.0 (+1)

Weekly Stats (Week ending August 11th)Total Mileage: 17.9 miles
Longest: 9.0 miles (13:56 minute/mile)
Weight:  201.2 (+1.2)