The program…

Initially, I was very disappointed because I felt let-down. But I took time to figure this out. I know my body and I know what I need to prepare for. So my focus is on short, quality & strength-building sessions during the week and longer, more challenging road & trail-time on weekends. With enough rest and recovery time in between. So far, every single aspect of my planning worked. Again, also with the help of my amazing Bio, Rowen Brown. WOW, he sure knows movement! I am feeling very strong and confident and enjoying every moment of my training. I now have confidence in our training plan; I think I just needed a bit of proof. 

Build-up…

With the above said - the mileage increase is about to get serious. But, with 4 weeks’ strength training completed, I feel very confident. The first 4 weeks (foundation) were fairly easy. Now the build-up phase starts and it is now time to take out the big guns! I'm feeling good, motivated and strong! Loving everything about this journey - the commitment, the hard work, the program, the improvement, the trails, the new experiences, the strength work, the variety, the new running buddies, the rest days, etc.!

Mindset…

Although I loved running since I started – I always had a bit of ‘suffering’ mindset. I always focused on how many kilos were left while running. I used to always overthink everything. Luckily that changed! Like I said before – this is a process and I started realizing that it is not about tomorrow; hell it is not even about race day at the moment! The only thing that matters, is what I do TODAY! Do the days’ training with joy and focus only on what needs to be done today. This will get me to race-day ensuring that I enjoying every moment of the preparation as well as the race! Running became less painful and strength training became durable. My focus now is not on the distance left, but rather to have a great experience while I am on the road/trails for that particular run! It almost feels like my mind greatly expanded and I really started to see a bigger picture with no limitations.

Everything feels smooth and easy at the moment and I am now wondering if I maybe missed something all along?! Maybe this is the way it is supposed to feel. No rush, no overthinking, just easy, comfortable progress to a place where I can just run non-stop forever. Having fun, doing what I love most! Running free! One day at a time.

I never expected it to feel this good, and I am pleasantly surprised. I never knew that I could fall in love with running even more!