It was cold. REALLY cold. But it was still a great week and with each run I feel myself running stronger and more efficiently. Thursday was a great mental test as the extreme temps forced me inside to the treadmill and where a year ago I could never imagine being a four season outdoor runner, now I cannot imagine that I ever used to run solely on a treadmill.
As I have mentioned previously, learning to take cues from your body and allow yourself rest are equally as important as logging the miles. Since I eased back into my reformer pilates classes this week after holidays/work resulted in two weeks off, on Friday I was really feeling it in my legs after class so decided to skip the arc trainer. For Saturday's long run, I really wanted to go 14, but I was fine with coming in just under as there were a LOT of hills and I felt really good about the run I put in. It is all about balance and I am feeling really good about where I am training wise at this point.
The week ahead will be a cut back week, meaning that in marathon training you build mileage for a few weeks and then scale back the frequency of runs/mileage before building to even higher mileage in the subsequent weeks. And given that as I post this it is about 45 minutes past my usual bedtime (hey, the Golden Globes are on), I am grateful that tomorrow morning is an additional cross-training day as it will allow me a few more minutes of sleep.
On the fundraising front, once a few checks clear in the coming weeks I will be just above the 40% mark towards my goal to raise $10,000 before Marathon Monday. And if you are looking to Sponsor-A-Mile with a gift of $126.20 or more, there are only four remaining miles so if you were thinking of sponsoring one, now is the time!
Onwards to Week 5! T-Minus 98 days (wowzers, we are down to double digits!!!)
