Marathon Training Week #2

Week 2 of training went much better than week 1! I can honestly say I feel like it's off to a smashing start now. :-)

On the schedule for the week...

Mon, 2/20 - I was exhausted. Story of my life right now. I had a lot to do that evening, but I still managed to squeeze in 20 minutes of core exercises. Nothing too intense, so I wonder if it really did any good, but I'm kind of in the mindset of anything is better than nothing.

Tue, 2/21 - A quick 2 miles to help recover from Sunday's long run. I could definitely feel it in my calves, but overall a nice little run.

Wed, 2/22 - Fail. I didn't manage to get in either a cross training session or any core work. Booo!!

Thu, 2/23 - I walked home from school. :-) On the schedule was a 5 mile pace run. I had a little technical difficulty at the beginning and then tried to just remember my turn around point. I ended up turning around much earlier than I'd mapped out before leaving, so my run only ended up being 4.39 miles. It was still a pretty impressive pace at 9:30.

Fri, 2/24 - I hit up the treadmill for today's 3 miles. Sometimes, it's just easier to treadmill it than to decide on a route that will be the exact distance I want. After the treadmill, I did some core exercises at home. I didn't feel up to doing an entire Strong Stride workout cuz it always kicks my butt, so I just did 3 segments - Core, Plank, and Back.

Sat, 2/25 - It took me forever to get going on Saturday. Truth be told, I was actually relatively productive during the morning with school prep and household chores, so I'm not beating myself up about it. Plus, my intention was to hit the pool with Jeff. That didn't happen, but before it got too late, I finally headed to the gym around 7:45pm. I did my first ever Tabata Interval routine review on that later. It was a 30 minute workout, and I only did the first 20 minutes before I really felt like I was about to die. Round one was jumping jacks. Round two was jumping rope. Round 3, high knee running. Round 4, squat jumps. I really pooped out on the squat jumps, but I tried to push myself and still give it my all. I wanted to do an elliptical workout after my tabata, but turns out the cardio room closed at 8:30pm on Saturdays. Helps to check the schedule before heading to the gym! Oh well. Instead, I popped in a video when I got home.

I hadn't done this one in a very long time, and I really enjoyed the pilates / dance flow. I think I'll do this more often for some cross training.

Sun, 2/26 - Time for a long run! My friend from the previous weekend had to work, so I knew I'd be on my own for this one. I was nervous that I would get really bored and that the time / distance would really drag on. Much to my surprise, IT DIDN'T! In fact, before I knew it, I had my sights set on my finish. It was a great run with a sub-10:00 pace.

All in all, here is what my week looked like.

It was a great week - despite skipping one day of cross / core.

What are your favorite ways to cross training? If you're going to skip a workout, what are you most likely to skip?

Don't forget I'm always looking for sponsors to help me with my training. Let me know if you're interested. :)