Adios RW Plan

Wk	Dat	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total
5	7/12 7/18	Easy Run Dist: 2 mi @10:14	Rest / XT	Tempo Run Dist: 6 mi, inc Warm; 4 mi @ 8:45; Cool	Rest / XT	Rest / XT	Long Run Dist: 12 mi @10:14	Rest / XT	20 miles

This is the last time I'll be cutting and pasting the weekly RW plan, because I'm now pretty much completely off it. I think it's been hard for me to give up because I really liked the projected marathon finish time it came up with (4:02: 29). I don't know how exactly they got that number, but I'm letting go of the dream. While I'm all about a challenge, a four hour goal for my inaugural marathon is ludicrous. My faith is now officially in the PJ (YMCA run club leader) plan, with a goal simply to finish.

Here's how my week went:

Monday: A fantabulous six miler from out of nowhere. It was hot, my planned childcare fell through. I was tired from the Nebraska journey. Yet, I went out there and had a great run. Oh, how I love it when that happens.

Tuesday: Goose egg

Wednesday: 3.23 miles of sprints and hills on one of the hottest, most humid days of the summer. This was pure hell. Ten times up and down that damn hill along with some (hilly) laps around Adams park, along with some speed surges. I hate Wednesdays.

Thursday: Goose egg

Friday: I finally made it back to the pool. Swam 1150 meters in about a half hour. I struggled with getting my heart rate where I wanted it, which was a bummer. Ultimately, though, I was just happy to get some cross training in, as that has been quite a struggle of late.

Saturday: 11.23 miles, Calhoun and Harriet and some parkway action. My usual long run buddy (Chris) abandoned me, so I was very grateful for the run club.

On that note, Chris has been gone for a long four days. As a result, I haven't slept worth a crap. To make a long story short, I got about three hours of shut-eye before this run. The run itself went ok. The post-run crash, however, was NOT a pretty site.

Today: getting ready for a little mini golf with the kids

While the running went well, this week has not been without its struggles. I think a plan where one runs only three days a week to train for something like this is genius. I think that for a myriad of reasons which I won't go into now, because the mini-golfers await. However, if that's the approach one chooses to take, I believe cross training takes on a whole new level of importance.

Finding that time to cross train is my biggest hurdle right now. My practical cross training options are: biking, cycle class, swimming, or yoga. I suppose I could throw in the elliptical, but I hate that thing with a passion of epic proportions. I'm frustrated because I feel like, as an unemployed person, finding this time to cross train should not be such a struggle.

Taxiing kids to soccer camp and baseball this week effectively ruled out both yoga and cycle classes. OK, then, we'll bike. I threw out the idea of biking to baseball on Thursday (about a six mile journey, round trip), and my eight year old proceeded to throw a fit. I maturely responded by sending him on a major guilt trip. But, the kid had a point. He's barely eight after all, he had played soccer in the same miserable heat and humidity that I ran hills in on Wednesday evening, and we were headed to b-ball... where he would be hanging out in the heat and sun. We drove. Was that the right choice? Should I have forced him to get his skinny butt on that bike so that I could log a few miles (which in the grand scheme could probably be described as insignificant anyway)? Who knows. I'm obviously struggling a bit to find balance.