What I should have done this training cycle

So, if anything should have been a dead giveaway to me right off the bat that my training was falling apart, I should have noticed it when I started to get spotty with my training recaps.

I should not have chosen a 27 week training plan because I know myself, and I know that I tend to get lost in the middle chunk of a cycle.

I should have been more realistic with my goals while trying to train through summer heat in South Florida and slowed down way more often so that maybe I wouldn’t be facing this nagging right hip pain.

I should have kept my gym membership and sucked it up for some treadmill runs instead of trying to brave the heat.

I should have sought out new friends to run with sooner to help keep me on track.

I should have been consistent with my ice baths and yoga.

I should… shut up! Right?! There’s a huge reason they say hindsight is 20/20, and that’s because it is the easiest thing in the world to look back and say what you should have done.

Should doesn’t help anyone. Should doesn’t put the missed training miles in my marathon bank. Should doesn’t alleviate my hip pain. Should doesn’t get me to the start line in 5 weeks any healthier or more ready. All “should” does is create stress, shame, and regret, and I’m not about that.

So no, this training cycle didn’t go like I had planned, and I am ok with that. I mean, yeah, I did some facepalming for a sec, but I also knew from the get-go my priorities weren’t necessarily putting marathon training at number 1. It was pretty high up, and I’ve logged the most consistent volume I’ve ever logged actually, and that’s what makes me happy. I’m making goals, and even if I fall short, I’m still hitting bigger targets than I used to. I’m in this beautiful stair-step process where my progress doesn’t always feel like an upward trajectory, but when I take a step back, I see how far I’ve come. And I’m pretty dang proud of that.