Hi friends! :)
As I previously warned, keeping up with diaries was never my strong suit which is why I probably should have written a post last week, but didn't…oops-what can I say? I'm lazy…
Okay week 2 of training is done and week 3 is almost done!! I am proud to say that I have been sticking to my schedule except for this past Saturday when my boyfriend Joe was in town. We didn't do a 20 min run/walk, but we ran a million and one errands and were on our feet all day, so I considered it a success.
Week 2 consisted of 20 minutes of running/walking, and since I felt I was a little farther ahead of that I decided to do 20 minutes of running with walking intermixed. I did a 5 min warm up walk, then intervals consisting of: 4 min run + 1 minute of walking X 5 (does that make sense?) and finished up with a 5 minute walk cool down. It was pretty chilly all last week, but I actually prefer to run in cold weather--your muscles are more efficient and you actually can run faster because of that-plus I wasn't sweating my face off, hah! Each run was great, I kept it very dynamic running up as many hills as I could find around here and walking on the flat parts if the timing was right. Since I'm only running in short bursts right now, in order to get back into running shape, I figured I'd make it a little challenging so that I really got the most out of my cardio and kept my heart rate elevated. Right now my training days are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday with Tuesday, Friday as optional rest or cross training days and Sunday as a rest day.
I got a really good cross train/yoga session in that was called stretch and restoration (i think?) and was amazing. I didn't even realize how tight all my muscles were (because I am very diligent about stretching before and after I exercise) until I got into that class and basically was twisting myself into various pretzel positions and realizing how tight not only my legs and hip flexors, but also my back, shoulders, neck, etc. This lady turned me into a human rubber band for 2 hours. It was amazing. If anyone is ever in Hickory, NC--hit up Yoga with an Edge! Great yoga studio and very reasonably priced!
Week 3 consisted of 25 minutes of running/walking so I upped my ante just by 1 minute:
5 min warm up walk, 5 min run + 1 min walk X 5, 5 min cool down--today is a rest day and I'm heading to Hickory (my hometown) in a few minutes to travel to Greenville, SC with some of my family for the wedding of some dear friends of ours- Taylor and Gypsy! I'm packing my tennis shoes and my mom and I plan to run all over Greenville Saturday morning before we have to get ready for the festivities. Greenville is a beautiful little city that reminds me of Winston-Salem a bit--amazing food scene, shopping, parks, theater, etc. I'm excited to get back there to visit for the weekend and explore some more with Mom!
This week 3 I didn't feel great on my runs--my legs felt like blocks of lead! Just a sign I need to stretch even more and drink lots and lots more water. I was talking to Joe (my aforementioned bf) about it and how when I start to feel tired or out of breath or my legs hurt/feel like lead I just remind myself about the people who will never be able to run again, whether out of fear or disability resulting from the tragedy at the Boston Marathon. I don't want to focus on the negative, that's not what I mean--I just want to think about those people and push myself because, after all, they're the reason I've gotten myself into this craziness! I'm running for them, and thinking about that is such a positive motivation :)
Alright, must jet-excited to celebrate the marriage of two friends with tons more friends this weekend :)
PaigeMarie
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