Vacation, Naps, and Trust

If you didn't already know, I have very creative blog titles.

So I took the MCAT and didn't die. Let's not talk about it though.

Then I went on a week-long vacation to hot and humid Florida. I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to train for my marathon because of the heat and humidity.......

I went running a total of 3 times for the whole week I was there. At first I felt really guilty because those runs were no longer than 3 miles each, but then I was like....I need to give myself a break. I actually can't even believe I ran at a sub 9:00 pace. I woke up at 7:45AM to run there and it was 80 and probably like, 90% humidity! Ridiculous. Then I decided to run over this bridge {A. Max Brewer Memorial Bridge} and back at like 10AM one day and there was NO SHADE and half of it was UPHILL. I am crazy.

Aside from running in a sauna, I did a lot of eating, touristy stuff, and napping. I seriously passed out every time I got in the car. Probably from a food coma. Or the humidity. Then in the evening I would lay around on the couch and watch TV or fall asleep. I didn't muster up the energy to go night swimming until the 3rd day. Oh, the life. I am not used to so much activity I guess!

So yesterday when I came home from the airport, I totally thought I was going to go for a short run. What a joke. I passed out for about 3 hours. And then this morning, I woke up early with every intention of running. But then my cousins slept over and my dad made breakfast and I had to entertain them and it didn't happen.

Excuses, excuses. Ugh. Finally, I went for a short run before dinner. I had no mileage goal in mind, I just told my legs to run for as long as they could (or until the sun went down). {It ended up being 4 miles at an 8:30 pace}

IT WAS AWESOME

Sometimes you just have to trust yourself. Trust in your legs, your lungs, your mind. Whenever I fall out of my training schedule I worry that it will be so so hard to get back into it. I think the fear of losing that bit of fitness from skipping a session, a day or a week is all in my head. As someone who likes to run long distances and by themselves, maintaining a positive mentality is much harder for me than actually completing the run. There are so many times when I am 75% through my run and my mind wants to quit. Sometimes I give in and I stop - I have actually called my mom to pick me up before. Other times I push those thoughts away and tell myself I can finish my run. In the end, I just have to trust myself. It always amazes me what my body is capable of when I let my doubts subside!

{My sister running with me for the 1st mile. Look at those clouds! The clouds in FL were unreal}