As I talked about a couple of weeks ago, things really get derailed around the holidays. Honestly, my goal was simply not to lose all my fitness, because come January 2nd, it's go time. I'll have about four months to start the serious training for the marathon on April 27th. I knew going into the end of December that I wouldn't have a ton of opportunities to work out, but even my modest goals got derailed a bit.
On Christmas Eve, I wanted to get the dog some exercise and log a little bit for myself, so I decided on a quick tempo run. I was planning on 5k. But you know what? I'm still terrible at judging my pace, and I also overestimated what I could get done. I ran only about 2 miles before I was just done. Adjusting for the dog's inevitable pit stop, I was probably on a 7:45 pace -- the second mile was actually under 7:30. I'd love to get to a point where I can sustain that for a 5k, but it's just not happening yet.
Christmas Day and Thursday were busts, for the reasons you'd expect. But Friday was looking good for a quick trip to Work Out World -- until I woke up with a stomach bug. So there went that.
Saturday was the Pinstripe Bowl. Rutgers gave it a great effort, but in the end, Notre Dame was just the better team. And then there were the anticipated post-game shenanigans in Midtown (and a nightcap back home in Keyport). I had a great day despite the loss, but I was just beat tired on Sunday.
That brings us to today, Monday. I was well-rested and well-hydrated, and not in a super rush, so I was able to get a lot done at the gym, and it felt pretty good. Started out with some core work (yay!), then did an arms rotation. I went a little conservative on the weight -- I really wasn't sure what I'd be able to push given the inconsistency of my workouts over the past few weeks. Next go-round, I think I'll be able to step it up a bit. Then onto the belt for a pace 6 miles. I did it at 0.5 percent incline, and varied the speed between 6.6 and 6.8 mph, with a little burst at the end to hit 6 at exactly a 9:00 pace. I probably could have done a bit more, but I think that's a good starting point given how little I've run in the past two weeks.
I got a really cool surprise gift for Christmas. My stepdad made me a portrait from the half-marathon back in October. It makes me proud, but it's also a reminder of what I've already been capable of doing. I know that I can get myself to 13.1, and now the challenge is to get myself all the way there. But seeing that portrait, which I plan to display prominently, gives me some confidence that I'll make it.
So as I mentioned above, it's basically go time. I need to fine-tune my training plan and start arranging my life so that I can get it done. I have to determine how much strength training I can realistically cram into my schedule as I start ramping up into 30, 40 and even 50 miles in a week. I need to get a new pair of shoes and start rotating them in. And tomorrow night, New Year's Eve, will probably be beer's last hurrah over Gatorade for a while.
I'm starting to get both excited and nervous about what's ahead. It's going to be a wild ride, I imagine, but one that I'll be glad to have taken. Any advice or just plain encouragement is welcome!
Tomorrow will likely be a similar workout to today's. I'll point to Saturday for a long run.
Total miles since starting the blog: 185.9
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