Excitement restored!

Warning...this post is long!

Let me start by saying this week was tough for me.
My mind wanted to beat me up everyday leaving me with thoughts of doubt and questioning whether or not I could actually run, specifically run a half marathon. My stomach could not get full which in turn left me craving foods that I know will not fuel my body properly. And my legs... yeah, they felt tired and worn down which in turn started playing more tricks on my mind. I felt this week like I had been defeated by my training schedule.

I only ran twice this week before today.
Monday I ran with Annabelle (my almost 8 yr old) around the pond loop at our gym. It was only .61 and with her tagging along we set a decent enough pace (12:52 min/mile), not bad considering her short little legs and the fact that she DID not want to be out there. But the nice mom that I am I wanted her there in the hopes that one day she will enjoy physical activity as much as I do. ;)
After dropping her off with the other kids to play I went inside to finish my run on the treadmill.
3.1 miles 30:14 9:45 min/mile
I was proud of this run as I really pushed myself with some fast intervals. And yeah so it was on the treadmill and not outside but I was okay with that.

WednesdayWhat better way to celebrate 9 years of marriage than to be at the gym on a treadmill next to the love of my life??
5 miles was on my training schedule and because I didn't pack my Garmin in my gym bag I decided to forgo running outside and hopped on my favorite treadmill instead.
5.02 miles 50:49 10:07 min/mile
Another training run done. And then it was off to dinner with my love.

ThursdayThe training schedule called for 4 miles but I was tired, had a headache and just felt the need to go home and rest. So I did.
FridayScheduled rest day and I took it. But I will say that I did feel guilty about taking an unscheduled rest day the day before but reminded myself that it's a taper week anyway and resting my body when my body clearly needed it is OK!

SaturdayThe schedule called for my long run today. 8 miles. The hubby and I decided that since I was going to be volunteering for the upcoming race we would not do a long run today but would run on Sunday. Besides that the forecast called for rain and we wanted to avoid a soggy run. So, I went to the pre-race goody bag stuffing event and he headed to the gym.
I was still feeling slightly bummed about taking extra rest days and wondered if I would even make it to the gym to run today. I had told myself I would at least get there and run a quick 5k. But I knew I would be walking or on my feet a lot while stuffing race goody bags and eating pizza for lunch. Neither of those sounded like loads of fun pre-run but I would see how I felt.

After volunteering (more on my day with that later!), a trip to the grocery store and Fresh Market I made it home in time to change quickly and get to the gym before closing time. It was raining and I did give some thought to just going out and running in the rain but I decided against that and hit up my favorite treadmill instead.
I had every intention of only running a 5k but I was feeling energetic (must have been the extra coffee!) so I went for 4 miles, which made up for the 4 I missed on Thursday.
4 miles 40:24 10:06 min/mile

And my excitement for the upcoming half marathon which is now a week away! More details on my excitement later. I'm headed to bed to rest up for my 8 mile run after church tomorrow!