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During the holidays I was anticipating the impending doom of a training schedule. But I was ready for it… until I got the flu. It took a total of two weeks to fully recover. My doctor delayed the start of training for a week to make sure I was 100% in good health.
As difficult as it was, I listened to my doctors orders (ugh) and got myself back to 100%. It was totally worth it because when I jumped into training, I really, really, jumped in. All in.
I’m following the Hal Higdons training plan. Yes, novice, even though it seems a teeny bit too easy (thus far). But I’m working out as much as possible.
The plan is as follows:
- 3-semi-easy runs during the week. Thus far, it’s been 3, 4, 5 miles on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays.
- Mondays + Saturdays are my “rest days,” to which I’ve been having to convince myself to rest. Seriously. Once I commit to training, I really commit.
- Long run Sunday. I have a love-hate relationship with long run Sunday. It’s both fantastic and awful at the same time. It’s a commitment on my calendar that is non-negotiable. I hate it at the beginning and I love it at the end.
- Cross-training. Yoga and weight-lifting. Yay and nay. It hurts SO good. I’ve committed to a 6:30 AM hot power yoga class every Friday with one of my fave yoga teachers. Yeah, Friday is my day off; yep, I could be sleeping in; but I’m committed to this. I’m committed to getting stronger through this type of training.
The truth:
- It sucks. And it’s awesome. It sucks because it’s incredibly time-consuming and that means I have to keep a very tight schedule and schedule every single workout; it’s awesome because I NEED to keep myself accountable; but it’s also hard being a working mom. ‘Cause things come up. Sometimes your kid goes batshit crazy on a day when you’re supposed to take him to the gym daycare. And things just don’t work out. But you have to make it work when you’re training for a marathon.
- I’m adjusting the training schedule as the unanticipated conflicts come up. Saturday is supposed to be my long run day, but I work 8 hours on Saturdays… so long run day is Sunday instead. Minor adjustments,but still making sure to fit it all in — even the rest days!
- There is a bit of guilt associated with rest days. I mean, I understand the need for rest days; but I’m always so torn inside. I *should* be working out, right?? Usually by my rest day I’m feeling awesome; I don’t feel like I need to rest. But then I remember that rest days are scheduled for a reason. So I rest. But the struggle is real, y’all.
Tips, tricks + inspiration are appreciated, friends! 🙂 XO
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