Which is exactly what I did this week. I know making excuses is frowned upon when it comes to working out, but here's what I was up against this week:
- My mother-in-law's health took a turn so my husband was out of town for a few days.
- A heat wave with temperatures in the 90s and humidity just as high made me visibly cringe at the thought of running outside.
- Friends visiting this weekend = (let's be realistic) little chance of doing my long run on Saturday or Sunday
- Needing to clean my apartment before said friends visit
- I got new running sneakers, which I was nervous to break in.
- Wonky feeling in my shin making me nervous that my leg was secretly broken even though I was perfectly capable of walking on it
But now it's Friday, and I'm proud to look back and see how I dealt with each of those obstacles:
- I supported my husband like any good wifey would.
- I ran at the gym on Tuesday and Wednesday instead of outside. When I ran outside Thursday and today, I did run/walk intervals to save my energy (and sweat).
- I ran 6 miles this morning, which is darn close to the 7 miles my long run was supposed to be.
- I cleaned little bits of my apartment after work throughout the week.
- After one run in my new kicks, I could feel my ankles leaning in, so I bought arch supports to help jack up my flat-as-heck feet.
- I bought compression leg sleeves (like socks without the foot) and elevated my leg Wednesday night, and voila - next day, no shin pain.
Normally I'm one to cave under self-created pressure when a bunch of things pile up, but instead, I was motivated to get in as many runs as I could given my circumstances. All in all, according to the schedule I should have run 20 miles, and I ran 19. So, a big booya for me on week 1. A bigger booya would be had with donations to one or both of my charities - check the end of the post for links!
(Note, mostly to myself: I'd like to keep writing these weekly training summaries throughout the next 19 weeks, sharing not only my workouts but my mood, motivation level, (hopefully a lack of ) injuries, etc. Let's see if I keep it up!)
Photo of the week: My obnoxiously turquoise kicks. Don't hate.
Week 1 Workouts
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 4 mile run (treadmill)
Wednesday: Time trials on treadmill. 1.25 mi x3, full recovery in between. Did the first two at 6.0, the last at 6.2.
Thursday: 5 mile run outside. 5:1 run/walk
Friday: 6 mile run outside. 6:1 run/walk
Saturday: Rest, but probably a lot of walking
Sunday: Rest
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If you'd like to donate to either of the charities I'm running for, click one or both of these links!
Athletes to End Alzheimer's
Emslie's Fight - read Emslie's story then click on my name in the team list
