Confidence Shattered

My friend Claudia sent me a text telling me of a little 5K in the morning and would I like to go. Since I had a 30 minute run planned anyway I said what the heck and we left in the morning for a little neighboring town. It was just a 5K and I've been training hard. It couldn't be too hard could it?

That run sent my confidence through the floor. I couldn't maintain my intervals past the second set of 4 minutes running and 1 minute walking. My pace while running was pretty good but my heart rate was constantly in the 160s. I ended up walking more then planned and finishing 2 minutes slower then I should have. Actually this was the slowest competitive 5K I've ever run. I was crushed. I'm not getting better, I'm getting worse!

After talking to a few runners about my issues I think I'm going to make an appointment with my doctor to rule out any major problems. So this morning when I went for my ride I was very down. I didn't push and took some time to think. I know the running is going to be the hardest part for me. But I really should be doing better then I am.

In the mean time I'll give myself pep talks and research nutrition and heart rate training some more. I have to trust that I'll get better at the run because I can't get much worse. There are possible races the next 3 weekends and I need to decide if they will help or hurt my training. Tomorrow is my rest day and I have a million things to catch up on around the house. I'm going to enjoy the day and start week 6 of my training with a positive attitude.