Monday 2 January 2012

Woman of my Word

Woman of your word
If you screw up...own it, learn from it, let it go and move forward
If you see an event and click attend....ATTEND!! OR click maybe
If you cant attend, Dont make excuses, Just click no
If you have a challenge, dont eat it, bring it here. You will be surprised who else had that problem
Say what you are going to do, then do it!
JFDI
 Okay, so there has been a lot of talk in the Perth Crew about being a woman of your word, and the above was posted by Lesley on our Facebook group yesterday. Today was a turning point for me in overcoming obstacles and getting on with it because I said I would (and it's only 8am!)
Nat and I had planned our run for 5:30am this morning and said we were going to run the whole 8km. The most we have run on our route is 6km about 6 weeks ago and it was broken up into intervals. On Friday we ran 2.5km and then I did the NYE run on Saturday (4km), feeling at the time like I just couldn't run 8km.
So last night I decided to get an early night, have some pampering time before bed and get a good nights rest. Well, the best laid plans right? I ended up lying in bed at 1am after being in bed with the light out at 10pm...and I was still awake. I didn't turn the TV on, I just laid there. I turned some music on after awhile to try and relax my mind from going round and round in manic circles but it just wouldn't settle.
5am...my alarm goes off. I just wanted to curl over and go back to sleep but I had put it out there and said I would meet Nat, and a LOT of people knew about it too! So, I got out of bed and got myself organised (and yes, I was late because I was moving so slowly!)
 Off we went to start our run and from the start it was MIND GAMES! I just had to keep telling myself to shut up and get on with it because I wanted to quit after 100m! I knew I could run 4km because I did it only a few days ago. So on and on we went, refusing to stop and walk. I was so proud of us when we got to the 4km mark and turned around. We were both exhausted but I also knew more than ever that we could keep going and we could run the last 4km to get back. So off we went.
Nat and I lost each other fairly early on in the second 4km because Nat naturally runs a little faster than me and she just took off! I think she just wanted it all to be over! So, it was just me and the little voice in my head, trying to tell me that I couldn't do it and that I should quit. The funny thing is, while my head was telling me to quit, my body wasn't. I was feeling in pretty good shape. Yes, my ankle was starting to hurt and I could feel the blister starting in its usual spot on my inner arch, but I was in control of my breathing, which meant that even with my heart rate consistently sitting at 165 I was doing fine.
The last km is a nasty double hill, just when you think you are up and over there is still a bit more around the corner! Well, I was just getting to the top of the first hill and about to turn the corner when two of the cyclists that we see regularly on our run came up from behind me and one of them called out 'you're doing great' and it was just what I needed. I powered up and over the hill to finish the last 500m feeling fantastic.
When we were sitting having a drink afterward and reflecting on the run, Natalie's mum looked over at me and said 'you look so fresh' to which my response was 'I feel fantastic' and I really did. I had achieved something amazing, and my running goals for the year are looking really attainable and I am looking forward to what 2012 is going to bring.
Until next time,
Sarah
 

5 comments:

  1. Omg Sarah you are a superstar....and a freaken woman of your word! I'm so proud of you!

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  2. Woohoo! Congrats! Any tips on how you made it up to 8km? C25k?

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  3. We did start with doing intervals, but didn't use an app. The track we run has the 100m marked out for 4km so we would run 500 walk 500 and then built it up :)

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