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It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted on the blog – but I’m back and still training for the New Jersey Marathon!
I hope you’ve been doing well with your goals and workouts in January so far. I’ve really missed connecting with you all online and following my fellow running bloggers, but it’s been a difficult time over the past few weeks and I’ve been slowly trying to get things on track. This week, I’m hoping to get back to a more normal routine. I’ll explain more further down.
I’m joining HoHo and Wendy for the Weekly Wrap – it’s always great to see what my fellow running/fitness friends are up to! I’m also joining Courtney for her Weekly Training Recap linkup and Marcia, Patty, and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run!
Usually, I enjoy sharing tidbits about my life on the blog: favorite TV shows, office life, holiday recaps. I was so excited to share when Bret and I got engaged just a few months ago. But this latest update to my life is still so hard to bear, and difficult to discuss. On January 10, 2018, my mother passed away. It was completely unexpected. Thankfully, my siblings and I, who all live out of state, were able to make it to Buffalo in time to essentially say goodbye. While there were some health issues she was facing a few weeks prior, it was all very sudden for our family. So…we’ve been going through it.
I enjoy talking about my life but I don’t plan or intend to memorialize my mother on this blog. She loved Run With No Regrets; she shared my posts, and she was always very supportive of my running. And the fact that she was able to see me run my first marathon in Philadelphia is one of the hundreds of memories that I will always cherish. But this is all too raw for me right now. I appreciate the cards, flowers, condolences, and sympathy from friends that I’ve received thus far.
Since returning back to “regular life”, work has been overwhelming because I missed so many days (and go figure, a lot happened in my absence!). Blogging and posting on social media has been the last thing on my mind. I lost an entire week of marathon training, but otherwise, I’ve been able to keep up with my running and fitness. So I’m doing my best to keep moving forward and I thought it would be good to get back to these weekly recaps – here’s how I did the past 2 weeks.
Monday 1/15: This was my first run in over a week. The weather was in the 20’s and I had some trouble breathing with the cold air. It was frustrating, but it was good to get out there.
Tuesday 1/16: I went to barrex45 class first thing in the morning. The upper body work was so hard I had to put down the weights. We did lots of planking, pushups, and curtsy lunges – tough! I also used this time to do my long run – 12 miles. It was a decent run but I wore my barre tights on my long run and ended up with THE worst chafing the last 5 miles. This was a mentally tough run with various aches and pains but I made it through. That afternoon, I was on a plane heading back to Buffalo.
Wednesday 1/17: No workouts.
Thursday 1/18: No workouts. My mother’s viewing was that evening.
Friday 1/19: No workouts, my mother’s funeral. Just can’t put it into words…
Saturday 1/20: 4 miles on the hotel treadmill. It was hot as heck in the room and there were no cups available for water. I warmed up 10 minutes then did 3 x 10 minutes at 9:22 pace with 3 minutes of easy in between. It was a good workout and I enjoyed some old school Full House on the TV.
Sunday 1/21: Back to Philly from Buffalo. Bret and I went for a run together, a little over 3 miles. It was about 50 degrees out but there was a damp chill in the air.
Monday 1/22: Back to work, yoga at lunch. We did lots of shoulder opening work that was a bit of a challenge.
Tuesday 1/23: My shoulders were super sore from yoga! In the evening I did a 4 mile run at marathon pace in my old neighborhood on Kelly Drive. The target was 10:10-10:20 and I was SO nervous about it but I actually ended up way faster with an average 9:42/mile! Believe me when I say I was huffing and puffing during this run!
Wednesday 1/24: HIIT the Barre class. We did some high knees while “jumping rope” but my knees were NOT having it. We were tortured with more curtsy lunges and plank variations. The work at the actual barre was really tough for me and bothered my lower back a bit. And oh the squats…my legs were burning the same day!
Thursday 1/25: My legs felt so heavy from my hard work earlier in the week. I had 5 easy miles on the schedule. I really focused on taking it slow but even my slow pace wasn’t as slow as I expected. I was very dehydrated on this run…shame on me for not using any fuel. Still, a pretty solid run!
Friday 1/26: Rest day thank goodness!!
Saturday 1/27: Long run time – 14 miles! I was really nervous about this run too. I was originally going to do a 7 mile out and back but I ended up going from Forbidden Drive to Manayunk onto the Towpath out to 10 miles, then turning back around and taking a Lyft home from Manayunk! I’ve been really trying to find flatter surfaces for my long run training to help simulate the marathon…but boy was the pavement tough on that path between the mud and the asphalt! I ran a little over 4 miles with Bret and the rest was on my own. The route was boring as heck but the weather was fantastic! My knees really took a beating on this run.
Sunday 1/28: I started out the day with barre class. It was another really solid workout, especially for my calves! The only issue was my right knee was very unhappy doing lunges. I know that the 14 miler took a toll. I was supposed to also have a 3-mile recovery run but due to the rain and some wedding venue visits, I passed. Plus, my body was tired as hell!
With all things considered, I’m really proud of the past 2 weeks of training I was able to accomplish. I will say that running has definitely served as a form of therapy for me, and I’m sure that it will be that way for a long time. I usually don’t inflate my grades so high but I’m giving myself an A for week 3 and an A- for week 4. I really need to focus on doing my Runner’s Knee Recovery workouts because clearly, my knees are telling me that I’ve been neglecting them! This coming weekend I have 15 miles on the schedule…hopefully it’ll all go well!
What good things have happened in your world over the past 3 weeks? Tell me something good!
