Marathon #3 ... Oh noooooooooo!

I am really proud of myself.  I have not run a step this week, but I have managed a very full week of exercise in spite of it all.  I actually feel like I have earned my day of rest today.

To start things off, I was very happy this week to be back in good health and fine form after a week of feeling under the weather.  I hit each workout with enthusiasm, and I think I was paid back with good heart-pumping, sweat-inducing sessions.

http://thekalamazoomarathon.com/

Of course, it has not escaped my notice that part of my "enthusiasm" stems from Marathon #3, looming on the calendar.  With the shin injury and feeling sick I had managed to push thoughts of training out of my head, but when a friend of mine came up to me the other day saying she had started marathon training and how she was nervous because it was only 20-some weeks away, that finally broke through my veil of denial.   Said friend's marathon is actually several weeks AFTER mine.  So, after bumbling through the math, I realized, Oh, SH!T, I don't have a lot of time.  So, now, whereas I was antsy to get running just for the sake of running, now I am antsy because I have a marathon in May.

So, this week's workouts took on a new edge, as I determined that even if I am not running, I need to be hitting my cross-training like I was training for something.  And, I think I have accomplished that.  I did three elliptical sessions of 50 minutes, 40 minutes, and 50 minutes, respectively.  On one of those, I tried to emulate an interval session; the other a tempo run.  I am pretty happy with how those turned out.  I also managed this week to add my new cross-training of choice - rowing - twice, doing 6,000 meters the first day and 4,000 meters a few days later.  Additionally, I have done two strength training sessions this week and one yoga class.  I feel GOOD!

The only thing missing, of course, is the running, and I hope to get back into that tomorrow when we take the kids to a regional zoo for their annual 5K.  I am excited for E. who is signed up for her first two-mile event.  She'll be running with Hubby (a.k.a. Distance Dude), while the Little Guy is signed up for the quarter-mile kids' run.  That left me.  Since we couldn't all do the two-miler (no strollers allowed and the Little Guy couldn't manage that distance) and since I didn't want to run with E. alone - she's too fast for me - that left the 5K.  Yes, my first run back after three weeks off will be a 5K race event.  Since this is about the dumbest idea I have ever heard of, I am going to force myself to go slow by doing a forced walk/run.  That means, I will probably do intervals of 4 minutes walking to one-minute running  throughout the event.  The shin has been feeling REALLY good this past week, even after exercise, so I really don't mean to undo all that by one dumb run.

I am very curious to see how the shin feels after, how the foot feels, how the kids do, well,...I am curious about everything.  I guess I am looking forward to it.  More on how it went later.

Happy running!