Friday, July 20, 2012

MCM Training Week 3 of 18 Re-cap

I am trying to catch up on posts. Still. Slowly but surely! This post is a recap of my training last week.

The week started off...not-so-great, a combination of very bad eating the weekend before, PMS, and lack of sleep, BUT it ended with two awesome runs.


You can read more about that awful Tuesday run HERE and my slow as molasses time HERE.



Wednesday was cross-training day for me. Cardio, abs, plyometrics, and sprints. It felt great to be back in this class after missing it last weekend due to the 4th of July holiday. Push ups, and I mean real push ups that are not on my knees, are feeling easier to do 5 at a time for a total of 4 sets. Planks are starting to feel very easy as well, thanks to the Plank A Day Challenge this past May. My longest held plank thus far is 2.5 minutes!



After Wednesday's class, I took the boys for a cheap treat: free 7.11 oz Slurpees from 7-Eleven!





Thursday was an emotional and exhausting day (darn PMS). I almost didn't run so I was happy that I went out anyway because it was one of my best runs ever. I headed out in the evening again for another shot at 5 miles. I didn't get out until 8:30pm so I stuck to the sidewalks in my neighborhood. It still felt humid out, but it was relatively cooler. Let me just say that this is one of those runs where I couldn't care less about pace...I was running like a kid again, so free. I just let go and ran by feel and with all heart. I could have run longer if I could. I so wish I could bottle up that feeling. It is why I run and that night, I was so in love with running...I know it sounds so hokey, but that was how it felt. Sigh.





Made Friday my rest day for my 6 mile trail run on Saturday.

Have you ever run trails before? If you haven't, you must try it! It is so liberating, challenging, and fulfilling at the same time. It's made me closer to my marathon training buddies. We laugh, cry, empathize, advise, and connect in ways you can't do on the road while running. Perhaps because the woods help protect our vulnerabilities or the scenery inspire us to connect with our deeper selves, not to mention the shade and relief from this heat and humidity!

So that's Marine Corps Marathon Training Week 3 for me, a roller coaster ride from an awful run culminating into two fabulous runs.

Lessons Learned: Don't beat myself up when a run goes bad. It is ok to have turtle days as long as I get the miles in. Listen to my body. I'll never know before a run whether it's going to be a good run or a bad run. Just go, be prepared for anything. Bad runs can only mean the next one will be good. Run solo and run with friends. Pace is not everything. Being in every mile, every step, every breath, is everything.



How is your training going?



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