Why back to workouts? + How to avoid nerves leading up to workouts!

(Shirt, shorts, shoes, socks, bra, watch, sunglasses)

Why am I doing speed again?!  I’m pretty sure I have my eye on a marathon and I’m working with my coach… Do I recommend runners do this so soon after a marathon?  No.  Am I playing with fire?  Absolutely.  My hamstring is 100% after taking nine days off, and I’m feeling back to myself again even though I thought there was no way I was going to do this type of thing again, ha.  I think the heat of St. George held me back a bit, so we are experimenting with what to do next.  I love training so much, so even if I don’t do a race soon, I love the grind.  I’ll just keep listening closely to my body.

Tis’ the season where I go back and forth throughout the entire run shedding or adding a layer.

I was thinking during my workout yesterday about how much workouts used to stress me out.  I focus now on making sure I’m fueling correctly before, during, and after, but the actual run part doesn’t make me nervous anymore.  Leading up to big workouts, I would practically have a stomachache from nerves, and now I barely even think about the workout until I am actually doing it.  Over the years, I have just realized that there is nothing to worry about.  The actual splits don’t matter because every day is different during training, and I know I want to pay attention to the effort.  As long as I put in a good effort and push myself, I am doing exactly what I need to do.  That could be faster or slower than previous attempts, but why worry about what the outcome will be leading up to it… I know I’ll do my best for the day, and that’s what matters.   It’s the accumulation of the efforts that get us to our goals on race day.  <— That, along with doing more and more workouts, has taken away any nerves I used to have leading up to a workout.

PS the Vaporflys are not meant for running through burs.  Those suckers get caught in that foam but luckily my long nails could get them out.

Andrew grabbed this running shirt for me the other day when he saw it because he knew I would love the little hole for my watch to peak out… and he was very right.  It’s the details of running gear that make me so happy.

4 x 2 mile repeats with friends.  Felt strong and held them at a bit faster than marathon effort.

Another tangent—> Andrew and I are always going out to new spots to make my Instagram Reels (I have so much fun with these lately), and we tried a new spot that looked cool because of all the signs.  While there, we saw the BYU women’s track/cross-country teams, along with the coaches and pacers.  I was hyperventilating seeing them;)

Just my paparazzi picture:

Okay, one more tangent–> I am sick of graham crackers and so I tried out oatmeal before my run (I felt so energized and it did great on my stomach).  I attempted to take a picture of the oatmeal at Dark:Thirty and ended up with a picture of part of my head instead.  I was tired.

And here’s what the rest of the day looked like:

I got to sit out on the lawn with my sister and the kids for a while.

These two tried new stunts.

We went to get Knox’s skis and Beck thinks he needs new shoes.

Turns out Beck hates his costume.

—————————————————————————————————————

What about you?  Ever get nervous leading up to a big workout?  How do you deal with the nerves?

What’s your next race?

A detail on running clothes/gear that makes you happy?

Is Oatmeal your thing?  Favorite toppings?

-The cold months of the year it makes me so happy.