Weeks 5 + 6

The first month of training was really successful. I can really feel myself coming into my own as a runner. I joked with my sister earlier that I'm truly becoming a distance runner because I'm just about warmed up around mile 6. 

Week 5 Unfortunately, last week, I was hit with a pretty bad cold. Not just any cold, but a really dry cough. Let me tell ya, it is reeeeally hard to run with a dry cough. I tried every remedy I could think of to get rid of this thing. Finally, I started religiously taking DayQuil and NyQuil and finally started seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

I had a 4 miler and two cross-training sessions scheduled. I tried going to the gym for some cross-training and I was strugggggling. Soooo I only got in one cross-training session for the whole week and that was it.

To top it off, I had tickets to a bunch of events all last week so I didn't have much time for rest. I went to the Bonnies basketball game, Pippin, and Audra McDonald at Eastman. Busy week!

My 9-miler was rough, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. I had really good time and paced myself well but I was hurting at the end of it. My hips were tight and I was just ready to be done. When I ran my 7 and 8-milers, I felt like a million bucks! Now I see the effects of not doing my short runs during the week.


Week 6
After getting over my week-long cold, I was ready to refocus. Thennnn my boss got jury duty. I had to work much longer hours than usual to help pick up the slack but that meant putting my workouts on the back-burner. This was a huge bummer because I was so motivated to get back into training. I was able to squeeze in one short run and one hour of circuit training and cross training throughout the week.

This morning, I headed out for my first double-digits run ever! The last couple of weeks have been bitter cold so I resorted to the treadmill. I decided this week that enough is enough, I'm lacing up to go outside. I have noticed that when I run on a treadmill, I baby myself a lot more: stopping for water, retying my shoes, stopping for a pee break, etc. When I'm outside, I feel much more confident in my form and there is nothing like fresh winter air to keep you pushing through the miles. (I ran through 3 different suburbs during my 10 miles! It was crazy!)

I had a very slow pace this morning because most of the path was covered in snow and ice. I brought tissues and a couple of pitted dates in a baggie if I needed some all-natural fuel. Luckily, I only needed the tissues to wipe down my face, no snack needed! 

Only 4 more weeks until Race Day!