DAY 199: WEEKS 26, 27 & 28

Greetings,

If I had a dog, this would have been me over the past few weeks. To say that I've been lazy would be a gross understatement. I had almost completely fallen off of the wagon in terms of my training regimen.

It's not that I didn't want to run; I am still totally motivated and amped about running. It's just that I've been preoccupied with something else new and exciting in my life. Early on, I promised that this blog would be dedicated to boring you with my journey to becoming a runner, and not to log the chronicles of my personal life (that would REALLY put you to sleep). So, let's just say that I've taken some much needed time to attend to my social life, or lack thereof.

Therefore, I feel a little guilty about missing my training goals over the past few weeks but I had a lot of fun slacking ;-) But thanks to some encouragement from a few of my training buddies and my overwhelming desire to run, I'm getting back on track into my routine.

I'm not going to recap every week I've missed because you could check out the "My Complete Training Log" link to the right, if you're really interested.

Bottom Line: I've been slacking on my training but I feel fine. And once again, there is no new gear to report.



Getting my groove back,

Almost Thirty

WEEKS 24 & 25: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Hello all,

Hope your holiday was awesome! Mine was semi-relaxing: I ran and worked out a lot, but that was the plan. I also worked at my 2nd job Friday, Saturday and Sunday both weekends during my full 2 week break from my regular job. Between working, shopping, spending time with family, and completely chillaxing, I inadvertently skipped my weekly post last week. So, I'm doubling up.

WEEK 24 (Dec. 22-Dec. 28) Recap:

• Monday: 5.27 miles
  
• Tuesday: 3.15 miles (Speed work)
  
• Wednesday: cross training
  
• Thursday: Merry Christmas!!!
  
• Friday: 2.74 miles (Tempo)
  
• Saturday: cross training
  
• Sunday: 5.10 miles
  
• TOTAL: 16.26 MILES

WEEK 24 was a good week, despite the fact that I didn't make my 7-mile long run on Sunday. I did an "easy" cross training workout with K on Saturday using the Spinning class bike, and it was anything but easy for me. My legs were completely tired the next day. I was surprised I made it 5 miles...it was tough to get through.

WEEK 25 (Dec. 29-Jan. 4) Recap:

• Monday: Rest
  
• Tuesday: 3.5 miles (Speed work)
  
• Wednesday: cross training
  
• Thursday: Happy New Year!!! 5.5 miles
  
• Friday: 2 miles, cross training
  
• Saturday: Rest
  
• Sunday: My first 8-miler!!!
  
• TOTAL: 19 MILES

WEEK 25 was my hardest training week thus far: speed work on Tuesday was BRUTAL; running 5.5 miles at 8 am after only 3 hours of sleep on New Year's Day was challenging, especially with K kicking up my treadmill speed every few minutes; we worked on legs twice this week; and I ran my first 8-miler on the trail with K and M at a 9-10 minute pace the ENTIRE 8 miles. I was totally surprised that I was able to keep up, but I guess that's the benefit of training hard and running with others who motivate and push you.

Injury/Health Report: I had a sore right IT band (illio-tibial band, back side of knee) after strength training on Wednesday, but that subsided after 2 days with good stretching. Outside of a few tight muscles after lifting, I've been physically fine. No complaints.

Tech Report: No new gear, yet :(

Still going strong in the new year,

Almost Thirty