This week was yet another eventful week down here in Dunedin. On Monday we celebrated St Paddy’s and I cannot tell you I have ever seen more students dress up in green than I did then, it was definitely a new experience. I guess I better get used to for the annual event that it is down here. My week’s continue to be full with lectures and study which I have continued to stay on top of, which is definitely hard but achievable if I make sure to structure my week as well as I can.
My new study idea of revising my lectures the day after and doing the notes the day before has been working allowing me to feel less pressure to get them done straight after as-well as letting me test my understanding by letting it marinate in my brain overnight before I go over it in detail the next day, which I truly think helps me remember it more.
Aside from that my training has also been going well with this being my last week before I transition into my next quality phase of training towards my races this year, and Christchurch 10km only being a couple weekends away!
With my training phase changing Ray has also changed the layout of my training plan to fit in completing a parkrun each Saturday , which I think will change in how I race it week by week occasionally testing myself to see what times I can produce. This is going to be exciting but also nerve racking as it will be my first time running in one of these regular races, but I know it should be a good addition not just running with myself day in and day out as that’s not what happens on race day, allowing me to have other competitors around me, but the parkrun being far less competitive.
My long runs have continued to be my favourite part of the week a time for me to just be with my own thoughts and zone out which is crazy to think I am able to just zone out on a 26km run compared to where I started but that’s the reality, to reflect and have time to think and not be pressured by anything, other than staying in zone of course.
Having settled down into a routine I think it’s a good time to change my consistent plan into a new one as other aspects of my life will stay consistent, so I guess we will see how this week will go and I’ll let you know in a following week.
Mondays are usually my rest day but they will now change to a Wednesday so this week of training did just extend an extra 3 days, but who’s to say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and the change needs to be made at some point so, why not now?
The new schedule fits my uni as I will now double train both Monday and Tuesday allowing me to complete these under less time pressure as if I did them on a different day of the week which is nice. The only major impact will be me having to make sure I start my long run on a Wednesday on time to make my class, which again will be a good tool of consistency which applies back to how I live my everyday life.
As well as that getting up early means I get to see the best sunrises! Unless it’s raining of course but the days it’s not make it so worth it. One thing I have learnt the most in the last few weeks is the mentality I have built from my training of how hard work consistently over time is worth it in the long run and by doing the same in my study I’m hoping I will also be able to say I tried everything I can no matter the outcome, as in the end that truely is all I can do, show up and try my best.
– Jessica Bray