Work and training

The festive period meant a break from work which allowed me to rest, relax and run.  I was feeeling good with the running but knew the mileage would step up in January which it has.  But it's been tough so far and I'm not feeling 100% so far.  I shouldn't be surprised as this is a typical January feeling, and other athletes feel the same, as I shake off the excesses and also the impact that work has on training.  The first three days back at work have been hectic and this will continue for the foreseeable future so I have to get used to it.  My training will be my "stress buster" but I need to make sure my diary builds the regular training in and that I stick to it.
Last week was a good example in that I had a hard run on Tuesday and did nothing else till Saturday as the focus was on work.  Yesterday I went back to Dungavel and was hoping to improve on Tuesday's time.  The 3km uphill will never be easy but when I got to the turn at 8.5km I was a minute and a half quicker.  Then it went "pear shaped".  My heart rate was racing and my legs felt week so inevitably when I finished I was a minute and a half slower!  It's not about the time, as my ultra pals keep telling me, but I felt physically worse.
Today I went back to Chatelherault, it was -5, and ran 10km which is 2.5km longer than normal and we did it in the opposite direction.  The fatigue from the day before was still there so it wasn't the best run.  The pace was reasonable but I had to stop at a few points to get my breath back and heart rate down.
I'm sharing this with you for a number of reasons.  First of all it's so I can look back in 3 months time and appreciate just how much I have improved- it's the same every year but you still need to do the hard work. But I also want to encourage you if you are struggling either to get started or you have got started and are struggling like me.  We'll get there - this is normal.
On Tuesday I'm seeing the physio as my foot isn't happy and needs some TLC.  Here's hoping she can relieve some of the pain as there are a lot of miles ahead in 2018.  Let's see what I can accomplish this being the first full week back at work by allowing for my training schedule balanced against work.