One Week Down...17 to Go....

"Every life is a story...Make yours a best seller." - Unknown

Alright, so maybe I should not have started the title that way.  Maybe a "Successful First Week" or "One Week Closer" would have been better.

With the Patriots losing today, it puts a damper on what has been a great weekend as I finish off the first week of  training for the Cleveland Marathon.  And for the first time in along time I actually did NOT travel outside of Columbus.  Shocking I know.....

Friday was a scheduled rest day...And shocking to myself, I did indeed REST the whole day.  I got the itch to go to the gym after work, but held strong.  Partly because I did promise someone I would behave and rest the whole day.  A promise is a promise. (and they don't need to know that me resting may or may not have had anything to do with great weekend workouts....teehee)  Plus it helped as I stayed in for the night and got some time to organize and read.

Saturday was the day my legs were anticipating all week.  No, unfortunately for me, I was not getting a massage.  It was my scheduled long run for the week.  6 miles....longest run since the half marathon in October.  My first hope was for the condo gym to be empty, which it was.  Doing 6 miles on a treadmill, along with being boring, is also tough with people watching or being busy and people waiting.  With signs stating "please limit to 30 minutes" is tough justify.  And I of course was not finishing my run in 30 minutes, as I'm not from Kenya...LOL
One of my goals during training is to break 2 hours in a Half Marathon.  In order to do that I need to average 9:09 minute miles.  So after a few positive words/texts from a friend, all morning I decided my first long run would mimic the Half.  I set the treadmill at 9:05 and off I went....My adrenaline was kicking in and the next thing I knew, I was halfway through workout.  Positive thoughts filled my head, IPod blaring....then as I close in on mile 5, my good friend the side stitch came...Oh, how I despise thee...Focused on breathing and it stayed with me for about a 1/2 mile until I kicked it to the curb.  I the looked down and realized I only had 1 mile to go.  So I decided to finish with a bang.  I set the treadmill at 8:41 and finished strong (54:06)  Followed doctors orders and stretched, which surprisingly felt good...
After leaving the gym, I stopped at Tim Hortons and got 2 XL hot chocolates, went home and took a nice relaxing bath (granted, this bath had 22 lbs of ice in it, but it felt good...heehee)
Headed out to pick up some chinese food and went over to a buddy's to watch the game and just chill....Another successful day.
I was encouraged with the run because I really did feel I could keep that pace for a bit....Now of course is the test...How would the legs feel tomorrow.

Due to my "long run" yesterday, today was cross train day and felt great, got some encouraging words from a friend, could walk without pain....Ready to go.  Had my plan all laid out.  Elliptical, weights/core, then finish off with swim....Well, the gym would not cooperate...lol  Community Center was jam packed and I've never seen it like this.  Parking lot was full, which started to get me down....went upstairs and EVERYTHING was full...literally everything.  Elliptical machines, treadmills, bikes, stair climbers....Checked out the pool, all 8 lanes full with 2 people each....So I decided to adjust my plan and went for the weights first.  After finishing my routine, went back to cardio area and yes, still packed.  Just as I thought about leaving to go to other gym, a machine opened up...Since I felt surprisingly good with no ill effects from yesterdays run  (woohoo...knock on wood), I got in 45 minutes on elliptical.  Stretched, did some core work and headed down to the pool for a nice and easy 1 mile swim.  Great workout for me mentally as I've had a lot of things to think about.  :-)
Unfortunately as I mentioned, tonight ended on a down note as the Patriots lost.  Meaning football is over...The AFC representative will be either the rival Jets and the coach with some weird internet foot fetish scandal....or the Steelers and their lovely bandwagon fans that live here in Ohio....

For the week, I've gotten to think a lot about what will be....I'm able to look back on the week and realize that this is one of those "good weeks" during training....I need to be thankful for it.
While I realize I can't control every aspect in my life, I'm able to keep learning that when a curveball is thrown, rather than buckle at the knees and swing n miss....to just foul it off and go after the next pitch. 

Never give up, don't accept anything but the best for you, your friends and your family.  And most importantly......Experience Life....by living it...

Until next time.....