In case you haven't noticed, I've taken a bit of a blog hiatus. Life has been crazy and has thrown me into a funk. After taking some time away from Molly's Miles to regain my positive energy, yours truly is back and ready to go!
I know you've been waiting on the edge of your seat for the past month wondering what I've been doing. Well don't you worry because I am back to get you up to speed on the past four weeks of this exciting life of mine that I know you've been missing so much!
Week 5
19 miles were on the books for week 5 and I ended up logging 19.5, thanks to a few races over the weekend. First up was the Freezeroo 5k. My cousin Liz came up for the weekend and is currently training to run the Flower City Half in April! Girlfriend kicked my butt in the race, but we had a great time!
The following day was time for a half marathon! The race was in Syracuse and a bunch of the runner gals ended up doing the race. It was a flat course but extremely boring... not sure I'd pay money to run this race again.
Week 6
After a weekend of races I was slow moving to get my run on during week 6. 24 miles were scheduled and I logged... wait for it... 9.5 miles. This week was a mental trainwreck and I just couldn't get my head in the game. I was burned out from running, from work, from life. Lots of stuff going on and I just couldn't pull it together to get my butt moving this week. I chalked this week up to "shit happens" and moved on.
Week 7
I went into this week determined to get my training back on track. Of the 25 miles I had on the books, I ended up logging 22.78. Considering that's 2.5x more than the previous week, I was happy. My long run this week was 13 miles.... you know you're in the trenches of marathon training when a half marathon becomes just a regular old training run! I even made it back to yoga this week and I think it was one of my best weeks yet.
Week 8
If marathon training has taught me one thing, it's that life does not always go according to plan and you need to learn to roll with the punches. I spent a lot of time getting my sweat on at the gym this week, but struggled to get my running shoes laced up. I had a real bad run at the beginning of the week and it did a darn good job deterring me from attempting my scheduled runs the rest of the week.
After watching an entire day's worth of Law and Order SVU marathons today, the sunshine streaming through my living room window was taunting me to get my butt off the couch. At 6pm I finally laced up my sneaks and headed out. I purposely chose a 4 mile route that can easily be cut short in case my body revolted. I decided I'd be content with 3 miles if need be and I was on my way.
The verdict? Best. Run. Ever. From the second I started I felt great and it just kept getting better as the miles ticked by. It was one of the most enjoyable runs that I can remember. Everything just clicked... my legs kept moving faster and faster, my brain knew when to ponder life and knew when to turn off, and the shuffle on my iTunes knew exactly what to play for me and when.
THIS is the run I've been waiting for to bring me back. THIS is why I stick with this whole training thing even when I want to throw in the towel. THIS is what I needed to be okay with the curveballs that life has been throwing at me.
THIS is what I needed to bring back the energy to Molly's Miles!
As I close out week 8 and gear up for week 9, I'm bracing myself for even more craziness. Training, life.... Bring it on!!! This girl is ready.