5 weeks in

I've been following the training schedule as well as I could and am nearing the end of week 5 now. The race is 8 days away, and I don't actually think that I've improved. This past week was terrible because I missed every single workout due to schedule conflicts like a dentist appointment and an after-work meeting, and yesterday's freak I'm-so-tired-I-can-fall-asleep-standing-up-even-though-I-haven't-exerted-myself-in-the-least feeling. Today I finally laced up my sneakers again. I figured I'd just do a fast 3.1 miles to see how I've come along. Approaching mile 1 I started feeling terrible. I pushed to the mile point and marked the split on my watch: 8:20. Not as fast as I had hoped, especially since I felt ready to collapse. I actually felt sick. I slowed to a walk, thinking that I'd walk a little while and then run on the way back. When nausea really started to sweep over me, I just turned around and started walking home. Cramps gripped my lower abdomen and it reminded me of the last time I felt that way -- when I ran with one of my running buddies for the first time and was sick right there on the side of the road. So I walked, and what do you know? After a few minutes of walking, the nausea went away. It just disappeared. I realized that it was gone, and I had fully recovered my breath, so I ran the rest of the way home. The whole run/walk lasted 21:37, which isn't that bad considering I was walking for so long. I think that's the kind of training I should have been doing all along -- fast running, with some walk breaks, with the breaks getting shorter as I progress. I did do several interval workouts on the track, but I think I would have benefited more from fast running on the street with longer intervals. I'll keep that in mind as I make my way to the race next week. It's only the first run of the year, and I still have a lot of time to improve.