Stress And Focus

Thursday: The plan had been to begin my free gym trial from today but my friend couldn't make it due to her son's school sports' day. I decided not to go either since I know this coming week will be difficult running-wise. The free trial voucher has been put away for now; it will be much easier to run in the local park than to go to the gym at the moment. I had porridge for breakfast, getting used to it, not so bad with honey and reading Runner's World to take the mind off it not tasting like Crunchy Nut ;o) Drank some Lucozade too to pep me up; like yesterday, I did some stretching/dancing along to music in the house instead of a warm-up walk. I feel the urge to run as soon as I get out of the house, and I think making stretching a part of my routine is a good thing, especially for races, it's easier to stretch before a run. The right knee and calf felt odd, so I applied the calf gel (first time in a while). Again, today's run felt good, strong, doable :o) Two problems, though, a nagging, undulating stich throughout the run and the right heel aching more. But I ran fine, the target was 25mins, and I did 26mins 39secs, covering 2.63miles. It was sunny with cool winds when I ran, again missing the rain. I was pleased to feel good post-run, and walked home with some short sprints. Later in the evening, the right foot ached very strongly. I had a doctor's appointment I couldn't make, so will ring up for another one next week. It usually aches when I walk, but tonight it was hurting without any pressure on it. A good thing, then, that tomorrow is a rest day, hopefully the ache will die down before the next training run. Mentally, I am feeling so ready for the Half Marathon, perhaps wanting to channel my aggression over family issues, into my running. A dear friend successfully helped me de-stress; some aggression is a good thing, some stress too, but to a point. The coming few months may be quite stressful, in the unwanted and negative sense; this race is something for me to focus on, something to look forward to. When things get bad, and indeed they will when certain family gather, I have my running to keep me sane, and also, specially composed music to keep me smiling :o)