The ups and downs of training for the European Superhalfs
Terry O Gara 5K in 2023 - 16:36
A couple of months ago I told Anita that we were going to have 6 weekend breaks, what I may not have said initially was these weekends included the Superhalf series of half marathons in Cardiff, Berlin, Prague, Lisbon, Copenhagen and Valencia. Luckily she is very understanding so I start in October with Cardiff.
What has this got to do with mental health I hear you ask? Well quite a lot, training for a half marathon can never be underestimated, negative emotions when you are not feeling up for a training session, being race ready and injuries/illness all take there toll on my mental health. This blog will go through my training journey, the ups and downs and I am hoping to help others who like me, put way too much pressure on themselves to succeed.
So let’s start from the beginning of the year, all set to put the end of 2023 behind me when my beloved dog Lilly passed away and the pain of finishing the Great North Run 2 weeks later with tears streaming down my eyes. My training started in Florida, holidays for me always include running as it is my escape and how I relax. This is where it all started to go wrong, I was running ok but felt very tired and wasn’t feeling 100%
When I got home that is when it hit me like a tonne of bricks, feeling lethargic, sore throaty and generally run down, no energy at all to run. I had mentally prepared myself for a really good start to training but my body had other ideas. Unfortunately my head hadn’t prepared for this and this is where my mental toughness started to leave me, I was already behind in training, my head wasn’t ready for a set back so quickly! Negative thoughts had already set in and frustration was beginning to take hold.
The beginning of February arrived and I was feeling 80% so started training again, 2 weeks in and just starting to feel myself again and covid hit, another virus and all the symptoms to go with it! This was all I needed as I had the Hetton Relays coming up and my confidence was at an all time low. All those usual questions were going through my mind again, will I ever get back to full fitness, how is this going to effect me long term, should I do the relays?
The next training session I was very anxious, not knowing how much I should be putting into it and regretting slightly doing a race the day after testing negative. It is amazing how much confidence can affect how much we put into a session and it was no surprise that on the 6th rep my breathing was all off and the coach (having been tipped off by somebody) told me to take the last two off and to look after myself.
On reflection one thing I struggle with is being kind to myself, I don’t know how many other runners are like me but if I don’t train well I berate myself, telling myself I should set my sights lower, I won’t ever get to the level I want and go through everything I do wrong. The reality is that I a run for a hobby and I should enjoy it, if I don’t enjoy it then why do I do it? Running helps me cope with the ups and downs of life, it is part of my mental health toolkit but when does this stop and the negative talk start which negatively impacts my mental health? I wish I had the answers.
I have changed my goals for the next few months and this is to try and enjoy the training more, enjoy training with my clubmates and focus on the positive things I am doing right. I still have my goals for the year but if I focus on just enjoying it those will happen right? Let’s see what March brings!