Why Regular Matters

You may have heard me mention once or twice that running is one of my main things to make matter at the moment. Well at least it was until about five days ago.

Up until then I had been rather proud of the fact that I could say I went for some sort of a run every other day. In fact on some levels it may even have been possible to say that I was even bragging about my new found ability to run.  After hitting the month mark and fast approaching the end of month number two I am sad to say I fear I may have let myself get just a little too over confident.

Thinking I had it all in the bag and this running thing was a sure thing I started to let it not matter quite some much.  Where once I was not letting excuses be an option, they now seem to have somehow crept in and I am not sure how to get them to leave.  There is a very slight chance that some of these excuses are in fact valid reasons but I just don't want to let either of them in.  I have no room for excuses or weak reasons.

People who make excuses get no where.  Fast.  Real fast. 

I have spent too many years of my life making excuses as opposed to making the time.  From here on in all I want to be doing is making the time to make things matter.  Things like running, that are good for me, in oh so many ways, they need to matter.  I need to make the time to make it matter.  On a regular (like every other day regular) basis.

Today was the day I once again stopped making excuses and instead made some time.  Today I paid a price and learnt a lesson.  Thankfully neither of which have been too high, but instead just enough to wake me up.

When I started this program way back on the 18th of February, I was short on breath and struggled to complete the thirty second running intervals.  I only managed to go 2.96 km at a pace of 10:07/km.  Since then however I have managed to get to as far as 4.47km wish a pace as fast as 7:20/km.  I have even managed to do a whole kilometer in a little over six and a half minutes.

Today was the first day I have not been able to complete a session.  I guess technically I did complete the session in that I was active for the full thirty minutes but I was by no means running anywhere near as much as I was meant to be.  I still told my little program that I had done it because that was the only way I could work out how to save the time so I could beat it tomorrow.

Today was the first day (since the actual first day) that I really struggled.  And when I say struggled I mean nearly broke me and hurt like hell.

The one that woke me up

Today felt like the very first day all over again.  Only this time much worse.

When I did the first day all those weeks ago I had no idea what I was capable of.  In fact back then I would scroll forward through the weeks and cringe at what was still to come.  I wondered how I would ever get through it all.  I stopped wondering though and just got one with it.

Now however I know what I am capable of.  I know that I can do this.  Even if it means doing a few days more than once and taking a little longer than originally planned.  I know I can do this.  I just need to make sure I keep making the time to make it matter.

One of the things I have loved most about training to run is the way I have felt stronger.  Each and every time I get out there I feel stronger than the time before.   I know that I can go just a little bit harder and faster than before.  Today was the complete opposite of that and I hated it.

When the friendly voice chimed into to say 'you are half way done' I just wanted to scream halfway done?!?!? I am more than halfway done buddy I am well and truly done and dusted call the ambulance to take me home.  Instead I tried to remind myself that it was the middle of the afternoon of a rather hot day and even though I was adequately fueled from brunch and chocolate maybe today wasn't the best day to try a full nine minute run.

For now though it looks like I will return to the previous week so that I can ease myself back into the rhythm of it all.  After all there is no deadline I just need to keep at it.  Hopefully before long this will all have been seamlessly integrated into my lifestyle and I will proudly be able to call myself a regular runner.

I have decided to join this post in with the blog hop hosted by the lovely Kate Says Stuff and Mummy Smiles  Check some of the other great fitness posts for this week