I can’t tell you how good it feels to be back on a running schedule. Of course, still taking it slow and easing back into it but to have a normal running schedule makes me happy.

Last week I loved sleeping until 6:00 AM, but for some reason every morning at work I had an awful time waking up. I had to up my caffeine intake almost daily, which I’ve been trying so hard to cut back on. However, when I get up and run in the morning it wakes me up and keeps me alert and ready for the day.

I still don’t enjoy waking up at 4:00 AM, but it sure does wonders for me by the time I get to work!

 

Here is a look at my running two weeks post marathon:

Monday – 5 miles

Monday was my first day back to early morning running, and my first morning breaking out the winter tights. It was super cold the first couple days of this week, but thankfully it’s slowly heated up.

In total I did 5 easy miles, 10 minutes of form drills, and 20 minutes of strength.

 

Tuesday – 5 miles

Tuesday my legs just didn’t really want to wake up. I even tried to rock my Chicago Marathon singlet in hopes it would help boost my motivation, alas it didn’t work.

I finished Tuesday’s run off with strength work.

 

Wednesday –   4 miles

Wednesday I decided to cut the mileage back a little bit to ensure my body was still on its way towards recovery.

I did 4 easy, slow miles and finished it up with 10 minutes of form drills.

 

Thursday – 6 miles

Thursday I really felt like I was back to my old self. All 6 of these miles felt much easier than earlier in the week and I could have easily kept going, but I didn’t!

I ended the run with 5 x 10 second short strides, 10 minutes of form drills, and 10 minutes of strength work.

 

Friday – Off

Keeping my body used to consistency, I took Friday off as normal.

I typically do nothing on my day off. I don’t run; do form drills, or strength work. It’s about complete recovery and giving my body a break.

I don’t think using your rest day for some strength work is a bad idea by any means, but it seems to work better for me when I just give myself a break.

 

Saturday – 9 miles

It was the perfect cool and overcast day when we woke up on Saturday. We both decided to take advantage of a rare chance to head to the local track.

I wanted to a moderate effort workout without over exerting myself. I ended up doing:

20 minute warm up
2 miles at HMP
3 x 400 meters (200 recovery)
2 x 200 meters (200 recovery)
3.5 miles easy with 2 x 100 meter strides

It ended up being somewhere between 9-9.5 miles. It was broken up into so many pieces I didn’t count exactly.

It wasn’t an all out workout but it got my legs moving and overall felt pretty good.

 

Sunday – 5 miles

The goal is to run 5 easy miles to recover from a longer Saturday run and finish it off with some form drills.

 

There you have it. Nothing too exciting for my second week post-marathon but I am slowly getting there.  I am excited that I’ve stuck with both form drills and strength work for a week, that’s a big deal for me, and I look forward to seeing how they continue to improve my running.

 

Internet Finds

Running Times did a write up on David Walters, who happens to be the father of my husband’s running coach.  At the age of 60 he ran a 2:45 marathon in Chicago winning his age group by 20 minutes! The very next day, he was the Pilot for the Chicago Marathon winner! This man is amazing!

 

I’m slightly obsessed with the speedy and extremely talented Tina Muir. I loved this article on her blog about how she stopped looking at her GPS watch to increase speed!

If you don’t already, make sure to check out all the awesome podcasts she does with Runner’s Connect!

 

A brand new runner at age 63 qualified for Boston on his very first attempt! Never give up on those dreams!

 

How did your running go this week?