27 days from now, I’m running my second 1/2 marathon. As a way to maintain my commitment to blogging regularly, and to serve (hopefully) as a bit of inspiration to others working toward a fitness goal, I’ve decided to chronicle my last few weeks of preparation. If you’ll indulge me in sharing a bit of background. . .
I was registered to run this race in April 2012, but due to an injury sustained while training, I was forced to defer. Luckily deferring was an option; after a note to the race director, a letter from my doctor, and an additional processing fee (grrrr).
I’ve been sidelined by injuries before – most notably, 6 years ago, by a nasty encounter with plantar fasciitis (on BOTH feet) that required months of physical therapy, orthotics, acupuncture, and finally, shockwave therapy. The first pain-free run I did post-rehab and recovery, I was in tears (of JOY!) – that’s how much I love to run. Luckily, until last year I’ve been injury-free, when as fate would have it, I was once again reminded that I’m really not invincible.
This training season (in progress since January 2013), I’ve been extra careful to avoid injury. So far, it’s working. I have new shoes that I broke in and adapted to s-l-o-w-l-y, I’ve been religious about strengthening and stretching muscles, tendons and ligaments in my feet, never increase my weekly mileage by more than 10%, divide my week into cross training activities, and take a well-deserved rest day (or two) each week. And equally, if not more importantly, I also pay close attention to training and recovery nutrition. . .the other piece of peak performance!
As it turns out, I’m starting my 27 day countdown in a hotel – which means my regular workout schedule is disrupted. Here’s what it typically looks like:
M, W, F – 20-30 minutes light cardio warm-up, 60 minutes strength training, 15 minutes stretching.
T, Th – 4-6 mile run, 30 minutes core and stretching.
Sat – OR – Sun – Distance run.
Last Saturday (March 30), I logged 11 miles. Since I’m travelling tomorrow morning and working in the afternoon/evening, I got my 4-mile run in this morning, on the hotel treadmill. I’m just grateful they had one! One of the lessons I learned long ago, is that when you make fitness a priority, you find a way to make it consistent. Planning ahead is the best way, and so far, it works for me pretty well.
Happy Monday, and thanks for reading along on my journey.
