A Good Week

I've been incredibly busy this week with wedding planning, but I'm happy to report that the new running schedule is going great! I ran all of my scheduled runs this week along with the strength and cross training. I had forgotten how great the accomplishment of simply following the plan feels. My five miles on Tuesday and today were slow. I didn't time myself, but I felt like I was a turtle. Every step on Tuesday required serious effort, but I didn't stop. I'm proud of myself for being able to take the run one step at a time (instead of being frustrated that I had so far to go until the finish) and showing self-discipline by not stopping, two things I'm not very good at.

This weekend I've decided I will do a 9 or 10 mile long run. Maybe 11. But not 13. And I'm really looking forward to playing tennis with my sister!

Cherry Blossoms

I stopped yesterday during my 9 mile run/walk to take a few pictures on my iPhone. The cherry blossoms were in their blooming peak. These pictures don't do it justice! It was way too crowded to run around the tidal basin, and I'm sure it will be even more crowded this weekend, so I'll stay away from DC for my run on Saturday. But I hope to spend some more time with the cherry blossoms this weekend.

New Month = New Plan

I've been really struggling with running since the half marathon. I haven't been getting up early to run in the mornings. I've been skipping runs. I've been walking halfway through. It makes no sense that I dragged myself out of bed in freezing temperatures to run, but I can't do it now in gorgeous weather. So I'm giving myself a new plan. I've based it on the last four weeks of Hal Higdon's Novice HM Training Schedule. It will take me right up to the Frederick Half.

(# cross = minutes of cross training; "+" = add strength training after the run)

I'm feeling great about this plan for several reasons:

1. I need to remember that getting out there and running 3 miles is an accomplishment. It's not much in the distance running world, but ask almost anyone else and they will tell you 3 miles is great.
2. Anything more than 6-7 miles is still no joke for me. 9 miles is still a long run for me. The marathon schedule had me running 9 miles in the middle of the week, sandwiched between two 5 mile runs. I don't think so! (No wonder why I've been skipping the runs or walking).
3. I can still run with my group on Tuesdays and Thursdays, because those distances match up with the full marathon training schedule. I can also run some of the Saturday long runs with the group because they taper in the last 2 weeks.
4. I have really been wanting to add strength training to my workout plan. I'm thrilled that this plan includes strength training twice a week. A focused strength workout is a much different stress reliever than running. Plus, I need to tone up those arms for the wedding!

I have two favorite fitness DVDs that I will be using as the base of my strength workouts. First is Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. Second is Women's Health: Total Body Workout in Ten!. I ordered both DVDs from amazon.com over a year ago and I've been using them on and off since. I'll write reviews of both next week.