The Road to 26.2: Week 12

After a frustrating week 11, I had high hopes for week 12.  And it was a better week, if only by degrees.  I made it outside twice, got my cross training done, and finally got to turn the page on February.  In greater detail:

Monday (2/23):  5 mile run.
Facing the treadmill again after the weekend's 18-miler, I wanted nothing to do with this run.  I forced myself to apply a mantra I often use in life but rarely need for a run: shut up and do it.
Tuesday (2/24):  yoga and strength work.
A good release of my over-tired muscles.  I'm getting to the point where my muscles are fatigued most of the time, so the yoga is more important that ever.  My body - especially my calves - are so happy when I'm faithful to yoga.  I followed the yoga with my usual strength roundup: squats, planks, pushups, glute and core work.
Wednesday (2/25):  8 mile run.
OUTSIDE!!  After 36 consecutive treadmill miles, my feet loved every second of this cold midweek mid-distance run.  The miles flew by!  Happy does not even begin to express the elation I felt as I cruised through the neighborhood.

Adding to Wednesday's happy run, I glimpsed a brightening
sky as I returned home.  Spring is coming!

Thursday (2/26):  5 mile run.
A frustrating day from start to finish, this treadmill 5-miler while the kids napped was the lone bright spot.  When a treadmill run makes it on the highlight reel, you know it was a rotten day.
Friday (2/27):  brisk walk plus strength.
Cold but sunny, I enjoyed a speedy walk through the neighborhood followed by my tried-and-true strength favorites.
Saturday (2/28):  13 mile run.
I still marvel at the fact that a 13 mile run is a stepback distance.  How far I've come in the last three months...  In the snow in the middle of the afternoon, this run took me outside my comfort zone and challenged me to consider whether cold and snow is actually better than treadmill boredom.  The jury's still out on that question.

Sunday (3/1):  REST!
Three cheers for March!  I gleefully changed the calendar page and bid farewell to February.

A family snowball fight on Sunday afternoon.
I thought I was all done with snow after Saturday's run,
but we had a blast :)

In addition to doing yoga to help relax my tired muscles, over the last few weeks I've also tried to be more attentive with foam rolling.  My husband and I enjoy watching Netflix in the evening when the kids are in bed, and I'm attempting to use Netflix time to foam roll.  Some nights I just can't face it, but I'd say I'm making it happen about four times per week, which seems pretty reasonable to me.  My calves and upper back, especially around the shoulders, are my primary targets for the foam roller.  I think the calves are tight from the accumulated miles, but I'm pretty sure general life stress gets the blame for the shoulders.  Whatever the source, I need to roll out that stress to keep this body moving towards the starting line.  6 weeks to go!

A snowy view of my favorite tree.