A Bump in the Road - But Eyes Back on the Prize!

Last week I suffered my first major bump in the fitness road: I was REALLY sick.  Like, strep throat + flu + bronchitis, sick.  All at once.  It was miserable, everything hurt, I could barely breathe...  And I had to give up an entire week of my life.  I cut my first-ever run streak woefully short at 10 days, giving up my goal of one month.  I had to cancel a week's worth of fitness classes, since I was unable to find a sub in enough time, which also meant I lost income.  I missed almost an entire week of "real" work at my day job.  And I missed the Shamrock Shuffle, the first race for which I've ever actually trained with any consistency.

Now that I'm getting back to healthy, I can already tell just how fragile "being in shape" really is!  I'm tiring quickly from simple activities, and I'm more sore from those activities than I was before.  Fortunately, I'm definitely recovering, but I learned a lot this week about having to put health first.  In the past, especially during my collegiate years, I pushed and played through anything, despite the possible negative impacts.  If only I had realized back then how much toll it would take down the road!  Thankfully I've learned the lesson and don't believe there has been any lasting damage done by pressuring myself to do anything overboard during my week of illness.

I'm back in action though, and it's time to start getting serious!  I have my second half marathon coming up in just over two months (part of the Sunburst Races in South Bend, June 6th) and my goal is to get as close to a 2 hour half as I possibly can.  My first half last summer took about 2:45, but it was with minimal notice, no preparation, and blistering late summer heat.  I'm confident with some training and better weather, I can knock off a LOT of time.  Can I cut 45 minutes?  Realistically, probably not, but I DO believe I can make it in about 2:15 if I work hard leading up to the race.  So that's the plan now!  Work hard and try to make it happen - and maybe I'll get to share another great race with my dad in the process!

A photo posted by Amanda Nyx (@fitnyxblogs) on Mar 24, 2015 at 5:49am PDT

At least I got to spend some great cuddle time with my puppy! She was right there for me the entire week! How do YOU cope with setbacks, especially illness or injury? Do you have a furkid to keep you company?