2 Week Countdown is On - Panic Stations

I am constantly surprised by how fast time is going by, and I was shocked to see a post on facebook today saying there was only 2 weeks left until the mini marathon....I was sure I had 3 weeks left. Despite the fact I only have 2 weeks to go I am feeling good. I have stuck to my training plan, and I have not missed a single training session (some have been rescheduled but none missed). This is the most consistently I have ever trained and no matter what time I get on the day I am proud of how far I have come.

                       

 


I've been a bit up and down with my pacing over the past few weeks and this past week in particular I have found things very tough going. I have been doing a lot of reading over the past week and everywhere says you should not aim for race pace during your training so I am trying to hold back a bit on my speed. I am also starting to get a bit paranoid about injury's, I don't want to go pulling anything that will take me out of the game!

I have had a couple of the dreaded panic attacks creep in over the past weeks, but luckily none while I've been running. I am trying not to put too much focus on them because that inevitably makes them worse and so I am just hoping for the best that one does not strike on race day. For anyone who suffers from panic attacks, you know what a nightmare they can be. I have got to the point where when they happen I just try to ignore them. This method works fine if I am sitting or lying down but if I am out and about I do need to take a minute, slow my pace and concentrate a bit more on calming my breathing down. I would love to hear if anyone else has any tips who is a fellow panic attack sufferer!

What I have learned over the past few weeks is I may never be fast, my speed has improved but I just don't think I am cut out for serious speed. I am surprising myself with my stamina though. I have now completed two 14.5km runs, and a few months ago I couldn't imagine getting past the 10k point. So many people have said to me over the past few weeks that they could never run that far, but I want to tell those people and anyone else, never say never. You can do anything you put your mind too. No matter what your goals are, if you want it and put the effort in you will get there. It may not happen overnight, you may have numerous false starts but do not give up!