Welcome to my email newsletter 'Never not [thinking about] running' - a weekly newsletter about running and mental health. If you haven't subscribed yet and you're not sure whether you really want to receive an e-mail from me on every Tuesday, have a look at the archive. I'm always happy to welcome new readers. I promise. I also look forward to your opinions on the topics discussed here. Feel free to contact me by e-mail or in the comments. Todays newsletter is about keeping your head up while managing three sick kids in different variations through the winter and trying to maintain a training plan.
The first therapist I had was such a fatherly type. He often didn't have much to say himself or would sit there and wait to hear what I had to say. Sometimes that was really exhausting. After all, you don't always want to be the entertainer. Especially when you are in therapy. One of his other specialties was that he explained virtually everything in pictures. I often rolled my eyes inwardly, but sometimes there was also something that made me listen with interest. One image he often quoted was the house with the different rooms.
You are the house
You are the house, so to speak, and if certain rooms don't exist or are too small or big, it's not a good house or it just doesn't fit together. So there's a room for the partnership, one for hobbies, one for children and so on. I'm sure you can imagine. Well - and if the living room is huge, but the kitchen is too small and you can't cook anything, that's kind of suboptimal.
Yesterday was a day when I sat on the sofa with my wife in the evening, watched TV (there's only a tiny TV in the very cramped imaginary partner's room at the moment) and simply fell asleep. My energy level was extremely low after child 3 had been coughing all night and child 2's birthday party had to be canceled at short notice due to illness - after we had thought long and hard about how we could organize it alternatively. Child 1 is still reasonably fit. Three knocks on wood. I myself had another cough and cold during the week. It's annoying. Somehow the rooms got very different sizes at the moment.
But that’s how it is. You can try to stay as healthy as possible, but if you have three virus slingers on board, it's almost impossible not to get a broadside from time to time.
6 out of 9
Today marks the start of the tenth of 20 weeks of training for the UTMB in Obernai and slight doubts are creeping into my head as to whether it will all work out. Of the nine weeks I completed, six went according to plan, three did not. In terms of fitness, I would put myself somewhere near the starting point, although I know that this will quickly change when things get a little quieter and more relaxed here at home. My body has already logged the kilometers I've already run, but the payoff is yet to come. Nevertheless, it doesn't feel like perfect preparation.
In previous years, I would probably have dropped out at this point, but this year is different. Despite the slight doubts, I'm confident enough to say that somehow I'll manage a nice run at the UTMB. It's an important step that I've taken in the last few months. Realizing that my energy level is low at the moment, but that it will change again. After all, kids can't be sick forever (it feels like they have been since mid-December and this winter has been the worst in a long time), and the weather is slowly improving - all factors in my favor. Then the world will look different. So put doubts aside, take it easy and the rest will come.
Thanks for listening. There will be less complaining soon. I promise.
Running
After my illness at the beginning of February, I modified my training plan so that instead of three weeks of exertion and one week of recovery, I only completed two weeks of exertion and one week of recovery in block 2. As in the recovery week of block 1, I was also in poor health in the recovery week of block 2, so instead of 40 easy kilometers I only ran around 20 the last week. Better than nothing.
You can find all updates on my training plan here.
The end
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Thanks for giving insights on your therapy sessions. It's been a long time since I wrote with a therapist myself but I also remember it being very annoying to do all the talking haha. But it worked. Silence can be a massive icebreaker. And regarding your training: In weeks where you're sick try to focus on the other things you need to master during the race. Test nutrition, create recipes, check your gear, do a walk in the park with your headlamp... It might help to stay connected to the race, even when you're not running.
oof as a parent of a child who also seems to be getting hit especially hard this season w a new virus every week i’ve also been (literally) running on empty and can commiserate with the frustration and exhaustion (mental and physical) this brings on. hopefully with spring around the corner there’s relief on the horizon. good luck with your training!