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catching up (four runs and the upcoming marathon)

it's been exactly two weeks since my last post and a few things have happened since then. i was mostly busy getting my life back in line, reestablishing my routines that make me feel safe in my own four walls even when my mental is subpar. running has helped me quite a bit to distract myself from the many stressors that rest on my shoulders at the moment. i looked at my calendar this weekend and i almost wanted to cry at just how busy all my upcoming weekends are. but that's just how it is sometimes. it's not like i signed up for things that i don't want to do. quite the opposite. it's just a lot at the moment, really. i'm no good at planning ahead of time and keeping tabs on so many things at once is challenging my grey matter more than i thought.

regardless, here's the results of my runs of the past two weeks in chronological order.

3.8k in 21:43 (5:43/k)

5k in 29:50 (5:58/k)

3.9k in 22:10 (5:41/k)

3.8k in 20:42 (5:29/k)

i'm particularly proud of today's run which is the last one on the list. it's my best pace to date and that's despite one particular stretch which had me running in the blasting sun on asphalt (it was 30 degrees celsius in the shade today) while families set up barbecues in the nearby park left and right. i could feel how the immense heat drained my stamina with every step. i really wanted to complete another 5k today seeing as today was the last opportunity for me to practice before the 5k marathon on wednesday next week. however i think i did the right thing taking a shorter route and simply maintaining my pace as best as i could. this proves to me that i am well capable of achieving my goal of 5k in 30 minutes.

last monday i ran into a former coworker of mine during my 5k practice. i hadn't seen them for about half a year. we chatted for about two minutes but as i was trying to get back up to speed, i found it to be incredibly hard. a friend of mine has warned me not to stop while going for a run because that messes with your performance a lot. they were definitely right. and when i shared my insights with them, they simply said that this is exactly why they never stop for anyone during a run. i thought that's a bit sad. of course, opinions differ and they take running a bit more seriously than i do. and if i ran into a friend of mine who i see regularly then i probably wouldn't stop for them either. but if it's someone whose company i enjoy and who i really haven't seen in a long time then why would i just run past them? maybe there's the option of simply messaging them after the run but if someone i haven't seen in a long time would just run past me despite acknowledging me, i would feel pretty bummed out at first. or maybe i'm just overanalyzing. i now know not to stop during a run if i can prevent it.

mail: mybtm (at) proton (dot) me

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