Hard Work - 25 February 2007

Hard Work
Hello! Hope everyone has had a great weekend. So so for me, I wanted to get more work in but today hasn't been easy. Yesterday was great, had my first session with my new swim coach, Kirk. I am going to see him once a week for the next 2 months, I really need to get faster and more efficient to get out of that water in a decent time. Even in 1 lesson he got me on the right track and I felt faster.
I also did my longest run that I have done for a while. I hit Hyde Park, Green Park and a couple of laps of St James Park, then back and another lap of Kensington Gardens. Nice easy pace for 2 hours 15 mins, kept my heart rate in the high 140's. I have regularly been doing 2 hour runs but want to get up closer to 2 hours 30 and then onto 3 hours with in the next 6 weeks. I am finding it difficult to find the time to fit it in, but find that if I can get up early and do the run it doesn't eat into my weekend. Also did a weights session so went to bed really early last night. Let alone finding the time to train, I am sleeping loads. I have struggled for the last 2.5 years with having to get more sleep anyway so it is compounding at the moment. I used to survive on 5-6 hours a night, now I need 8-10, sometimes 12.
I had viral meningitis October 2004 and following on from that I had post viral chronic fatigue. I went from running marathons, I even did a 54 mile (85km) race, to at one point that I physically couldn't walk 50 metres without having to sit down and rest. My doctor told me on 17 March 2005 that I would never run again and that I had to learn to live with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. That was devastating news for me and me being me, I refused to believe her.
The first time I tried to run again was in April 2005 and I ran for 20 minutes. I ended up in bed for 6 days because I had physically wiped myself out. I didn't try again for another 6 weeks and I only had to spend 4 days in bed to recover so I knew it was only a matter of time before I could do it. :)
I persisted and I ran the Rome marathon on the 1 year anniversary of being told I would never run again. I crossed the line in 3.50 and had taken it really easy as I had injured my knee. I had trained, and was fit enough for a sub 3.30, but was stopping for 5 mins every 30 mins to walk and give my knee a rest. It was such an emotional race for me and one I will never forget. My Mum was brilliant and called me a few times to make sure I was OK, plus I had 5 friends out there who were dashing around the course to cheer me on inlcluding my brilliant flatmate Corinna who is doing her first marathon in April.
Unfortunately everything comes at a price and I ended up in bed for a week following the Rome race, but it didn't stop me running the London marathon 3 weeks after that. Predictably, I didn't have a great race as I wasn't able to train between Rome and London as I was still quite ill. I shouldn't have done the London race, but I refuse to back down. I managed another 3.50 but didn't have fun like I normally do in a marathon. I was in a lot of pain, was physically exhausted and vomited quite a lot during the race so I kept losing any nutrition and fluids I was taking on board. I finished and thats all that I needed to do, but it wasn't a happy day :(
So, the next challenge is IronmanUK. I found it very interesting listening to a sports psychologist a few weeks ago talking about positive affirmation and belief in yourself that you can complete ironman. I was sitting there thinking, wow, I am a step ahead because I already do that. I know I am mentally strong and if I put in the training, eat enough, get enough sleep I will do a time I can be proud of. Lesson for the day...hard work is the key. Have a great week! C x
PS have included one of my favourite Tough Guy pictures :)