Week 18 & 19 - Dealing With Setbacks

It's been 7 months since I began this latest effort at getting fit and losing weight. If I had to review my performance to this point, I'd say "inconsistent with a lot of room to improve". The pain from my rib injury has finally subsided enough to resume my training, but the amount of time I've spent idle has set me back at least 3-4 weeks, maybe even longer. It's a frustrating feeling knowing the level I had achieved has waned away, leaving me feeling as though I'm once again starting over. The old me would have just as easily quit and left behind all the progress that I'd worked so hard to achieve. This time, I will have to strive to approach it from a positive point of view. My hard work can not, should not, and will not be overlooked.

I've forced myself to step back and analyze the situation. This stumbling block wasn't a direct result of a lack of initiative or effort on my part. In fact, the injury stemmed from intense physical activity. I was forced to the sidelines for a short while, and my time has now come to re-enter the fray. I've spent months building a solid foundation on which I can now continue to build. Though I may not be able to resume my training at the same pace it once was, the base level I've spent months creating should allow me to attain, and surpass, my previous benchmark. But, there's a caveat.

The 1/2 marathon is exactly 9 days from today. There's no conceivable way that I could be ready for a 21km run in 9 days, but that won't stop me from giving it a shot. If I'm feeling good about my fitness levels by the following weekend, I don't see any reason that I should not attempt the run. On the other hand, if I find myself struggling through 5-10km training runs this week, I may have to bow out of this one and look ahead to the summer's event, which itself is only 8 weeks away.

The only way to find out if I'm still capable of completing this run is to lace up, put my best foot forward, and just get out there and pound some pavement. Wish me luck, I'm going to need it.