Windermere 1/2 Marathon: Week 6 down, 6 weeks to go!

What a crazy week! By the time Sunday rolled around I was thoroughly exhausted. I had some great workouts and I am now really starting to look forward to running in some races to see exactly where my fitness level is at. I struggled with my eating a bit this week. I upped my calories for a couple of days, but I don't think it was the right time for me to do so. I am hoping that this next week will be a good one for me.

Monday: I went to pilates for the first time in probably a year. I was hoping that it would help stretch out my legs from being crammed in a car all weekend. I was pretty stiff and figured that working on my flexibility would be a good thing. The class was interesting; definitely not my type of pilates. The instructor mostly used the stability ball and bands. Instead of stretching out my poor, tired muscles I think that I made them work even more. Attending this class probably wasn't the best idea, but I didn't want to just get up and leave in the middle of class. It is safe to say that I probably won't go back next week.

Tuesday: I got it handed to me in class with resistive running drills. That is another thing that never gets easier no matter how many times you run them. After work I went for a very slow and relaxing 2 miler around the top of Lincoln Park. Sometimes I just need those moments to clear my head and have some "me" time.

Wednesday: Oh boy. Wednesday was fun. I had every intention to do my hill workout in the morning, but when I woke up it was half raining, half snowing. I decided that staying in bed a wee bit longer would be nice. When I finally peeled myself out of my warm bed, I went to TRX class. This is another class that I hadn't attended since last fall. I like TRX because you use your own body weight to build strength and because you can make it as hard or as easy as you prefer. My little pea shooters were a little shaky when I left class.

After work I rushed home so I could get my hill workout completed. The weather still wasn't looking promising. I ran a 2.3 mile warm up and then completed 10 sets of hills. My hill running totaled 3.1 miles. I finished off with a 2.1 mile cool down bringing my total to 7.5 miles. I felt like I did great running on the hills so overall it was a good workout. The weather didn't really hold up; it rained, hailed, snowed and then the sun came out. I am so ready for summer!!!!

Thursday: Class was tough! I am upping my kettle bell weights so I have been struggling towards the end of each set. It's a good struggle, but it sure hurts. I am amazed that 12 weeks ago I was using a 15 lb KB and it was hard; now I am using a 25 lb KB.

Friday: I wanted to sleep in a bit, even if it was only an extra 30 minutes. I had pretty stressful week so pulling myself out of bed at 5:15 to go to a TRX class was brutal. Of course, it was AB's class so it was more than worth it! No matter what, it is always the best feeling in the world to begin your day with a workout.

Saturday: Class was a tough one! Since it was nice we got to go outside on the hill outside of SAC and do lunges with our KB's and do sprints. Ouch! I am finally getting better at lunges, but not when a hill is involved! I was a little sore by the time we were done. After class Cam and I went to AB's spin class. It was my first time, but Cam had been to a couple of classes before. I was pretty hesitant about going, but AB said that it would be great cross training for running. I was super nervous about going (I am such a dork!). The class was a lot of fun and was great. I can see how it can help my running. I will be attending a spinning class on a more regular basis now. I think that it will help me out a lot. Thanks AB! On the other hand, my gluteus maximus was quite sore after the class, especially Sunday morning. Ouchie!

Sunday: I woke up kind of sore (see note above) so I didn't go running until around 11:00 am. I wanted to do some stuff around the house and hope that my muscles would loosen up a bit. They finally started to feel better so I headed out for my 12 miler. The first couple of miles were pretty slooooow. It took me a while to get warmed up and find my rhythm. Once I got going, each mile was faster than the last. I hit my 10 mile mark in 1 hr. 27 min (same time I ran 10 miles the Sunday before) and I finished in 1 hr. 43 min. I don't remember what my 6 mile time was, but I know that my last half was a lot faster. I felt super strong by the end of my run and I could have kept going, but by then it had started to rain and I had a strawberry & Greek yogurt chocolate protein shake calling my name.....

This next week is a recovery week so I won't be running as many miles. I plan on going to TRX and maybe a couple of spin classes too. :)

--Tasha