In Sickness & In Health: Grandma's Marathon Training Week 5

Grandma's Marathon Training

Week 5 Complete!!

It's hard to believe that it's been 5 full weeks of marathon training!  It's been a crazy week.  The sickness bug hit our house hard so my training was all over the map.  

Day ONE:  My 6 year old woke me up a bit earlier than my 4:45 am alarm due to a 104 degree fever.  I quickly went into panic mode because I realized that I wasn't going to be able to meet the girls at 5 am for sprints.   Obviously, William is priority, so when he asked that I lay with him it was a no-brainer.  BUT, that hiccup in my training had me getting creative with my sprint training.  

My husband suggested that I get my run in after work, so I did just that.  I worked my tail off.  And... in my opinion, 400 m. sprints at 6 pm is not fun.  I was very pleased with my sprints.  All total,  I did 10 and averaged 6:45/mile times.   My street was the back drop and I worked my ass off.  

What this run did teach me though is that giving up or taking a day off just because a "wrench" was thrown into my plans isn't an option during training.  I got it done and I'm happy I did.

 

On another note, I got an amazing gift from Wendy at www.takinglongwayhome.com.  The bracelet says "you got this" and it's motivation for my marathon.  I absolutely LOVE wearing it.  Thank you so much Wendy!! If it weren't for social media, we never would have met and become virtual friends and running buddies!

Day TWO:  This run came quick.  Less than 12 hours after my crazy evening sprints I woke up for what I thought was going to be an "easy" 5 miler.  8:50's wasn't slow by any means, so it was a tough morning.  I overdressed for sure as it was 55 degrees at 5 am.  Believe me!  I am NOT complaining about the amazing March weather we are having, but I forget how to dress when it gets warm again.

Day THREE:  Tempo run with hills.  My trainer loves to give us extra challenges.  The instructions were the hilliest route maintaining 8:30's or better.  I am extremely happy with my splits!  Again, I ran my butt off, and I almost hit negative splits!  Just so close!  My total time was 8:22/miles because we had a slower warm-up.  But, I think the total 5 miles of tempo would have been about 8:15's so that makes me extremely happy!

Day FOUR:  By Thursday, I was starting to feel less-than-stellar.  My son was sick for three days in a row and it had started to effect me.  And, my legs were TOAST!   I pushed my body slightly beyond limits the first three days.  Because I didn't have the energy to run on day 4, I decided an arm day was in order.  I headed to the gym to get some weights in.  Believe it or not, I was nauseous at the end.   My body was screaming for a break so I knew that Friday would be absolute rest.

But, before I left.... the obligatory mirror - gym - selfie took over and I just love this progress.

Day FIVE:  If you could have a crime scene for puke, you should have seen my son's room.  I've been lucky.  I have a 6 and 4 year old and really have never had to clean up much vomit that didn't hit a bucket or the toilet.  My luck ended.  Bed, pillows, comforter, sheets, floor, clothes, rugs... OH LORD!  This day was spent, washing and washing and washing.  In between, snuggles and naps and rest.  I kept both boys home and we just hung out and tried to get better.

On another totally CRAZY note:  A very intoxicated man drove into my neighbors house!!

He drove approximately 65 mph into the house when he couldn't make the corner.  He fled the scene but was caught minutes later.  Apparently, he had already hit and run another woman and was fleeing the scene.  THANK GOODNESS there were no kids in the way.  Every single child in the neighborhood was playing outside.  The owner of the home was just in his garage when the guy hit is house!!

People are crazy!  He deserves to be in jail a long time!!

Day SIX:  11 miles on plan today.  I told myself that if my head were in the clouds like the day before, I wouldn't go.  Alarm rang at 5:00 am.  I laid in bed for 5 minutes with my phone in my hand contemplating texting the girls to tell them I was out.

I remembered an article about when you should and should not run when you're sick.  Anything above the neck is OK, anything below it's recommended not to run.  Since my sickness was cough and cold I thought..... WWSD.  " What - Would - Susan - DO?"

Consequently, I jumped out of bed and got it done!  8:45 per mile on a gorgeous morning! Can't beat it!  The picture above is my post-run selfie.  The sun was amazing as it rose in the sky!  I was happy to be alive and happy to have pushed through!

Thankfully, everyone in our house is on the mend and we can get back to our regular routine and smiles!

STATS: 

28.6 miles
4.2 hours
3123 calories
4 runs


I'm linking up with Holly and Tricia for their Weekly Wrap!  Check out their great blogs and other great blogs in the process!