Where Am I?

I have not been blogging much these past few weeks and I apologize. I have no excuse other than lately I am honestly feeling over whelmed. I traveled for work last week and it honestly took me several days to recover. I fell behind a week in my classes that week as well. Combine that with running a house and marathon training and it is just a recipe for disaster!

It is just hard some days and lately it feels harder than ever. By the time I sit down at night to get to homework and blogging it is already 9PM. I wake everyday around 5am and go for a run and then head into work. I feel like I am being pulled in 10 different directions and I am stretching myself too thin.

The problem? I know what it is, I need to learn to say no. I need to learn to be a little more selfish and think more about only me and my little family. But its tough. I have all these ideas swimming in my head, I have all these goals I want to achieve.

I love going out and supporting people and causes, I love taking Peanut everywhere and letting her see everything. So weekends are always booked up and I find myself wondering where and when the down time will be. Maybe it is just because it is summer time and here in New England it seems we try to do everything in the summer time since it is the only nice weather we will have.

It is my first time training to run a full marathon and that in itself is overwhelming. This is also my first summer racing period. My first 5K was in September last year so all this is new to me still. I am still learning to find some balance between it all.

One thing you can be sure of? I am not giving up in any way shape or form. I am as determined as ever to achieve all of my goals. First one up is Rock and Roll Providence on Sunday!! I am looking forward to having fun and experiencing one of the rock and roll races for the first time! Then at the end of this month I am looking forward to my first obstacle race when I head out to my first Spartan Sprint.

What do you do when you get over whelmed?

Marathon Training Week 7

Week 7 yes. I know it seems surreal still. You know I sometimes still pinch myself to see if I am really doing all of this and not dreaming. As an obese girl turned runner in marathon training it has been a bit of a shock and there are those days where I forget who I am in a sense.

This week I probably learned the most about myself than I have the past 6 weeks. And what exactly was that you ask?

That I CAN do whatever I set my mind to and I will succeed at running the Philadelphia Marathon in November. No matter what obstacle I am facing I seem to have enough determination to over come it. And if I am feeling like I cannot? I have surrounded myself with some pretty kick ass people who will carry me when I need it. People have kept me inspired during this whole journey and this week was no exception!

I was in Las Vegas for a work conference all week and if you read my post I was not too happy about it. Vegas was miserable weather and tough for someone to train in. I was forced to wake up at 3-3:30am and get outside just to run.

Monday morning was my first outside Vegas run. I must admit it was Damian who made sure I got to running this week. He had planned to run at 3:30 every morning and it made me feel pressured to do the same. It was he who had already run the Vegas strip the morning before and advised me against it. He had found a parking lot that was just about a 1/4 mile loop and empty. It was not the most fun place to run but it was there. So on Monday I set out at 3:30 and I4 ran 4 miles and did some pushups and squats etc.

Tuesday I was running late and did my run solo. I got in a quick 3miles before a long day of meetings. yes Vegas was not a vacation LOL we were in meetings Tuesday from 8am to 9pm at night!

Wednesday I went out at 4am again and did 3 miles. I came back into my hotel room and did 15 minutes of core work as well. I really feel the core work helping me when I run. My core is literally tighter while running and I am having less lower back pain.

Thursday was my first rest day in 100 days!!! yes I worked out for a solid 100 days and Thursday was day 101! I did not have time to run because I was traveling literally all day and my flight was delayed so I did not get home until 10pm. i did walk at the airport for about 40 minutes but no running or strength work :/

Friday was my best run of the week. I guess a little rest did my body good because I knocked out a 4.75 mile run around newton in about 40 minutes. It felt so good to be back home and get some relief from the heat!

Saturday I ran a quick 3 miles before heading to New York for the day to spend time with my little brother before he deploys to Afghanistan.

And Sunday!!!!! I ran my longest run yet!!! 15 miles!!!!!!!!!!! Well 15.22 to be exact and I did it in 84 degrees temperatures but I did it in 2 hours and 32 minutes!!!! I was elated and ecstatic. I was almost in tears by the end of it. I just could not believe I finished the run! And to top things off the last 2 miles I felt so good I did some speed. I ran mile 13 in 8 minutes and mile 14 in 7 minutes!!!! Words cannot begin to describe how good it feels to be so strong and fit finally after all these years. I'm truly blessed.
Total mileage for the week: 33 miles! That's a new high for me :) Bring on the Rock and Roll half marathon Sunday woot woot