PRetty in Pittsburgh

Week 1 of marathon training is complete! I stuck to the plan, and lived to tell about it.

How I’m feeling this week:
TIRED. After working out five days this week, I am feeling the fatigue set in. You know what else? My left leg hurts. Feels like I could get my shin splints back if I don’t treat them now. Also, I have been hungry since my long run this afternoon, despite eating a few times. I haven’t felt like that since my first half marathon training days. What I attribute this to, though is I have not been on a regimented training schedule for 8 months. I like to think of this past week as transition week.

What I ran this week:

• Tuesday 1/17: 4.00 miles, 49:35 (12:23 average pace), treadmill
• Thursday 1/19: 5.02 miles, 1:00:42 (12:06 average pace), treadmill
• Saturday 1/21: 4.02 miles, 43:16 (10:46 average pace), treadmill
• Sunday 1/22: 6.02 miles, 1:06:18 (11:01 average pace), (snow-covered) track and road

TOTAL: 19.06 miles, 3:39:53

{That handy chart is thanks to Garmin Connect. Such a great way to track everything online.}

In this transition week, I am also pacing myself. I had a slow pace everyday, and I think this is for two reasons. One, I don’t want to burn myself out too quickly. I want to ease into it. Two, I am getting back into training shape.

How I cross-trained this week:
Wednesday 1/18: 1 hour of hot vinyasa yoga

What I ate this week:
Greens! Water! Yay! Although I wasn’t 100% perfect, I cut back on the badness and focused on the good. I even had a couple alcoholic beverages
{Left: Wheat grass. My gym has been selling them. I chase it with apple juice. Right: The old standard Green Monster.}

And I got reunited with “running food.”

{Left: Coconut water. I mix it with lemon and water. Right: Running Jelly Beans. Verdict? Delicious. Thanks to my running buddy Autumn for giving me those.}

Roadblocks this week:
None, really. I was excited to get started. I will say the snow was a bit of a roadblock, though. Hence why I was stuck on the treadmill Saturday morning. Today I braved the cold and headed outside. Running on a high school track covered with snow was interesting. It felt like running on sand at the beach (with the added fear of slipping). I managed a mile and a half, then kept to the school complex the rest of the time. Also, snowstorms make me want to curl up on the couch all day.

Goals for the week ahead:
Keep it up! I need that momentum to see me through. Also, ice and stretch to prevent shin splints. Finally, I have to travel for work on Wednesday, so my goal is to do a little cross training when we get back to Pittsburgh, despite 8 hours of car time. Maybe a spin class or 30 minutes on the elliptical at the gym. Business travel is definitely a road block.

This week’s running topic: Safety.
I’ve written about staying safe before, but Skinny Runner’s post this week provided a lot more tips in light of recent events of women being harmed while running. My biggest tip to stay safe is to not broadcast where you are. I run alone a lot, and I never talk online about where I am outdoors. I also always tell someone where I’m going and at what time, then again when I’m done. It’s easy to text your mom before and after a run.

Bonus round:
I’ve decided to add some hashtaggery to these recaps. If you’re on Twitter and following along or training yourself, let’s use #LRAM for Let’s Run a Marathon. This can be used for recaps and musings throughout the week.

And check back here on Wednesday morning — I will be posting the latest installment of Songs to Run to!

Past recaps:
Pre-training post with my training schedule

“After all it was a great big world, with lots of places to run to.”