As you know, I ran the Asheville Marathon this past Sunday: recap here. After the race, it was time to recovery but also to really dig in to my 30-day Composition ID body fat challenge, which started last Thursday (and it’s actually 28 days, not 30). Oh, and what about that whole “2016 miles in 2016” thing? This post provides an update on ALL of that, plus a surprise I got in the mail this week…
Training for the Mississippi Blues Marathon
At the beginning of each training cycle, I set out my plan for the workouts I hope to do each week. But I’ve never looked back after the fact to see what workouts I actually completed. Until now! (Since I’m in taper mode for the Asheville Marathon, I had a little time on my hands.)
Friends,
I’ve previously documented my struggle (mental and physical) to qualify for the Boston Marathon. The closest I got was 3:45:47, about 10 minutes slower than the Boston application cutoff (but more like 15 minutes from what I’d actually need to get in). I’m several years older and wiser… although unfortunately still in the same age bracket for BQ qualifying times. And in the intervening years, I backed off the pressure, refocused my goals (hello, 50 states!), gained some weight, lost some weight, explored new workouts, changed jobs, gotten married, bought a home, and ultimately ended up with my marathon times back in the same range as they were in 2011.
So naturally, my mind wanders back to the BQ. Am I finally ready to tackle this challenge? At 30 years old, healthy, and childless, is this potentially my last, best chance? Or would I just be setting myself up for frustration and disappointment, and worst of all, would I be taking the joy out of running? So I have a plan.
So two Saturdays ago I ran the Mississippi Blues Marathon. I asked a fellow runner there — who had run like 136 marathons or something absurd — what he recommended for the spring. His first suggestion was the Asheville Marathon. I haven’t run a marathon in North Carolina, so that sounded good to me. Last Monday I registered and mapped out my training plan. This first week was a recovery week, of course, with lots of rest and extra protein in my smoothies (I used the usual Vega All in One plus Wild Foods whey protein). But I didn’t want to completely let myself go and become one with the couch because there’s another race around the corner. I’ll spend these first few weeks getting back to fighting weight, strength training, and doing shorter long runs. Here’s a recap of this past week.
Marathon Name: Mississippi Blues Marathon
Location: Jackson, Mississippi
Time of Year: Saturday in January
You can check out my goals for 2016 here, but this post is about looking back at a pretty marvelous year. Thanks to all of those who supported me and brought joy to my life in 2015.
Here are a few facts about 2015…
This past week was obviously Christmas week. I hope everyone had a merry Christmas! I had approximately (no, exactly) five Christmases: one with my immediate family, one with each side of my extended family, and one with each side of my husband’s family. Although it was lovely to see everyone, it took a TON of energy out of me. I also had no fewer than three meals prominently featuring macaroni and cheese.
I had anticipated being busy and tired around the actual holiday, so I got in some workouts earlier in the week before heading out of town. I also did pretty well on Christmas Eve at my parent’s place, with some walking (while listening to Serial), horseback riding, and hitting balls at the driving range. I unfortunately did not make it to yoga with the fam as I had planned (aka, I unfortunately could not drag my family to BOTH the horse farm and the yoga studio, so I had to choose one).
Here’s the full summary…
If you read this blog regularly, you know that I am training for the Mississippi Blues Marathon on January 9 (19 days from now!). Last week, I said I was going to just get my 20 miler done this past weekend a little early, so I didn’t have to worry about doing it over the holidays. Spoiler alert: it didn’t happen.
This time of year, I think it’s really common to get in a little bit of a fitness rut. The start of the holiday season, some increased intensity at work, important social events, and the colder weather have all been challenges for me the past few weeks. I’ve been working out, but I haven’t made it to Orangetheory, I skipped a few longer runs, and two weeks ago I even walked to work all week instead of running. Although I’m doing well at the Tea Streak and the Vending Machine Challenge, and really haven’t had many sweet treats apart from birthday cake(s), I’ve been taking in more calories than I’m burning. (Binge eating clementines probably doesn’t help.) I can feel some of the pre-wedding weight creeping back, which I was hoping to avoid because I know that I run faster and easier, with less risk of injury, when I’m a little leaner.
This past week, I’ve been working on crawling out of the rut!
Is the Mississippi Blues Marathon in only 6 weeks?! Time flies when you’re eating pumpkin cheesecake… or something like that.
Goals for This Past Week:
How did I do?
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