Wow! After my post on Friday about how I felt like I was getting stuck in a running rut I received a lot of great feedback.
It made me realize a few things:
1.) I started training wayyy too early. I started training for the the Chicago marathon back in May which would give me 5 months of training before the race. What was I thinking? No wonder I’ve been feeling burnt out. Dumb Dumb Sarah
2.) I need to switch up my training plan a bit. I had been using Hal Higdon’s plan which basically has me running 5 days a week with 1 cross training day. I know that I need to 1.) have an active rest day after my long runs 2.) run less and incorporate more cross training during the week.
3.) I totally lost my happy running place. 😦 Where did it go? I used to literally go to bed thinking about waking up, lacing up my shoes and knocking out some miles. Granted I wasn’t running 10+ miles, I was doing 5-9 at the most…
So, now that I understand what is going on I just need to “drop back 10 and kick” as my dad would say.. (it’s a football phrase and it means you need to go about things a different way).
Starting on Friday I took the day off of marathon training which turned into a weekend off and ya know what? I feel great!
While I took the weekend off of marathon training that doesn’t mean I was a complete bum and took the weekend off of exercising. Who do you think I am anyways? I live for activity and don’t do well sitting still..
Friday afternoon was spent here:
- Devil’s Ice Box Trail Hike: We hiked around for a good 2 hours and while I didn’t track the distance I would say we did a good 4-5 miles (minimum).
Saturday was spent doing a little of this:
- Unplanned 20 mile bike ride: Whaaatt?? Yep, 20 miles! It was completely relaxed though. I’m pretty spoiled in my college town because the entire city is connected by trails. So, we hopped onto the trail and about 10 miles later landed downtown and were starving.
Naturally, we refueled with the usual:
- Red Mango Fro Yo Parfait: Peppermint + Pomegranate fro yo+ strawbs/blueberries/kiwi/blackberries/granola/walnuts = Bliss. Yumzo!
Sunday I woke up to do a short run:
- From my Daily Mile: 3.6 mi 00:32 08:53 pace
The weather was sooo humid this morning and my run was basically all uphill today. The distance felt good this morning though. Morning runs are the best though. Now, what to do with the rest of my Sunday??
- And continued to spend the rest of my day lounging, catching up on blog reading, grocery shopping 🙂 and making some yummy food! I forgot how much I love to cook. It’s relaxing, rewarding and delicious! I hope I never again fall into the lazy food trap.
Some Recent Eats:
- Jenna’s Spinach Feta Turkey Burgers
- Fancy Hawaiian Pizza from A Cozy Kitchen
- Baked Sweet Potato Fries courtesy of Rhodey Girl Tests
- Cherry Apple Pie: I’ve never made a pie until this weekend and boy am I glad that I did! Pair this little gem with a scoop of your favorite ice cream and you might find yourself in your our own heaven. I know I did! Yumzo.
Happy Monday Everyone!
~Sarah
Running On Smores 
You weren’t joking, you def cooked up some good grub and way to go on that bike ride!
I’m glad you were able to take the weekend off and look at your training in a new light. Good luck this week with the revamp!
Well thanks Morgan! This weekend was just what I needed. Hopefully, this week I’ll be out of my funk. Thanks for the advise last week!
I’ve been “unofficially” training for my marathon in December for a while..but not really taking it seriously or setting up a plan. But I am running a few times a week, hopefully making actual training a bit easier when I do start. Sorry you fell out of your happy running place, too. I know how you feel! I’m recently going through the same thing with independent weight lifting. I blame Body Pump for being so much more fun. 😉
I’ve been to 1 body pump class and loved it! So, I could totally see how that would happen. Taking a break from it all has helped a ton over these last few days. I can’t wait to get back at it tomorrow with a different mindset. Maybe a break from weight lifting will help you out a little bit too!
I started training for Chicago in March, the day I got back from Costa Rica. Granted I was rebuilding my mileage back up from an injury, but my training plan is 29 weeks total and I still havent ran beyond 13.1 miles. In a few weeks I will be running my first 14 miler. Some may say that I need to get those higher mileage long runs up quicker, but I dont want to burn myself out too much! Good job for reevaluating and going about a new course of action. Looks like you had a great weekend of fun!!! 🙂
I ran 14 a few weeks ago and now I’m scaling back to an 11 mile long run this week. I was going way to strong too fast. This weekend was great for re-evaluating my training plan. I just want this to be fun. Nothing too intense. We’ll both get our milage up in good time. Slow and steady wins the race!
Have you thought about getting a bike? Riding has done wonders for my running!
Yes! I do have one and ride it all the time. That’s one of the reasons I think I started to get burnt out. I was riding too and from class (8-14 miles, depending on which route I took) plus my runs every day. It took a toll for sure. So, I’m scaling back on my bike rides and trying to only incorporate it on active rest days and cross training days.
I’m glad you gave yourself a little break from marathon training this weekend. Five months is a really long time to train, so I can totally understand feeling burnt out. I think your new approach sounds great – it’s all about keeping it fresh and fun…while still making sure you’re ready to toe the line on race day, of course! The hike you took looks so beautiful. I wish I lived in an area that had hiking/biking trails nearby.
I feel so lucky to have so many trails! The whole town is connected by trails so I can literally hop on one wherever I am and get to where I need to go. I’m definitely going for the fresh and fun approach here. I just want to enjoy my marathon training journey and finish the race with a smile!
I am glad you are getting out of your running rut, it can be amazing how much rest and relaxing from running for just a day or two can refreash you. 20 mile bike ride…SWEET! I have no choice but to venture into a different gym, I am traveling for work so I am stuck to the hotel gym. I could run outside, but I am a little weary of the downtown area around me.
A little R&R does wonders! Heading to a gym is probably the best bet for a workout since your traveling. Especially at night in an unfamiliar area. Better safe than sorry!
Great job re-evaluating your plan and seeing where you need to make a change, lady! I have a feeling that you will be back in the longing for your morning runs in no time 🙂
Thanks Heather! I think you might be on to something. I woke up this morning ready to run!
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