Week 1- the beginning

I couldn't have asked for a better place to start my training than Isle of Palms, SC. The scenery was gorgeous, and I had good company.  I started off the week with a strength workout. My sisters and I did Insanity Max 30 Power. It is a tabata style workout, meaning we did a move for 20 seconds then had 10 seconds of rest. It had been awhile since I did a Max workout, so I had forgotten had tough the workouts were for me! I definitely worked up a sweat and worked my muscles before heading to the beach.

My first run was a grueling three mile trek around the resort. I thought we were going to beat the heat and humidity by running at 7. Boy was I wrong! It was miserable outside. There were times that I wanted to stop, but running with Kevin and Abby pushed me through those moments. Make sure that you find running buddies or a running group to train with to help pass the time and push you out of your comfort zone. 

I decided to do my five run by myself on the beach, so I could run on the beach with the sun rising. I thought I would be a little bit cooler with the ocean breeze blowing on me. WRONG! It was still hot and humid. The heat intensified as the sun started rising. About half way through my run, I had to stop and stretch my hips. They started tightening up on me, and it was painful to run. After stretching, it was a little easier to run. I'm seeing a chiropractor on Wednesday to try and help with this issue. Running with the sun rising and the crashing waves was magical. The best part was cooling my feet off in the ocean as soon as I finished running. 

After struggling with the five miles, I was dreading my 8 mile run. How was I going to run 8 miles when I struggled with five? My sister-in-law wanted to run over the bridge in Charleston, and I was terrified of the incline. I barely slept the night before and was extremely tired when my alarm went off. My stomach was in knots the entire ride because I was nervous about the run. Once we started running, I was distracted by the scenery and conversation. Before I knew it, our 8 miles were complete. I did have to walk up one side of the bridge, and I was okay with it. I was able to finish the last few miles with negative splits and still felt strong. This was very encouraging since I will need to run 26.2 in November. 

I did my last training run at home with my BF. It gave me a chance to fill her in on my vacation and get in the last of my miles. It's hard to believe that week one is over. I'm hoping that he next 17 weeks go as smoothly as week one. Here's to working on my physical and mental endurance to get ready for race day. 

I came across this the other day and thought it fit this situation perfectly. I'm going to have to print this off and post it around the house!