Week 13: I'm Starting to FREAK OUT!

My race is only 5 weeks away...5 WEEKS AWAY!!! If I felt as good as I did a month ago, I wouldn't be so concerned. But, with my recent health issues, I'm not feeling as great during and after runs...that's why I'm FREAKING OUT! I've been so mentally tough until the last couple of weeks. Whatever is wrong with me is affecting my energy level and I don't feel as great post-run. This past week, I've been getting intense abdominal cramping during runs.

I made it through Hip Hop Fitness on Monday without any problems...did 5 miles Wednesday and felt decent. But Saturday rolled around and I had 20 miles ahead of me. Just as usual, before Saturday long runs begin, I was confident. I knew I could do this. I told myself "You did 18 miles the other weekend. You can do 20." Then I remembered that the 18 miles was before all of this health drama. My next thought: "Holy Crap!" Literally. As I began mile 5, the cramping began...my lower abdomen was what I call "rumbly tumbly."  All I could think about was finding the nearest bathroom (which happened to be at my house...which was 4 miles away!).

By the time I made it to my house, I thought I was going to explode. By the time it was all said and done, I knew my body couldn't do 12 more miles. I felt like such a failure. But then I reminded myself that, because of my body's current state, I'm not getting all the nutrients, etc. that my body needs to make it through this run. That made me feel a little better...just a little. Then I started getting bummed because the race is only 5 weeks away. I set a goal and now I don't know if I can meet it. I hate that feeling! My boo made me feel a little better and encouraged me to stay strong. His encouragement made me decide to go back out today and try to do some more miles. I ended up running 8 miles Saturday (10:20 pace) and 8 miles today (9:37 pace). You can tell from my average pace how I was feeling Saturday!

What I'm looking forward to this week: hearing from my doctor to get some answers about my condition and discussing what happens next!