Marathon Monday: Week 5

I am training for the Columbus Marathon and following the "Train Like A Mother" finish it plan. These posts document my training.

This week, in running:

Monday: 6.65 miles, easy (in Central Park!)
Wednesday: 3 miles, easy
Thursday: 5.07 miles, tempo
Sunday: 12.1 miles, long (was supposed to be 13 but stomach made it difficult)

I only ran four times this week. Only four.

I never thought I would be someone to type a sentence like that. I felt like four times a week running was my sweet spot, and I didn't dare do more for fear of injuring myself. However, the "Train Like a Mother" plan alternates between four days a week and five days a week running. And I try to do what the plan says.

Emphasis on try.

While I've failed to nail workouts, a combo of fueling, heat and hydration issues, I've felt no stress with the five-day weeks. The extra day of running is usually a lighter day, an easy 3 miler per se, and I find the short, no expectation runs to be good for the soul. I've actually began to so look forward to those runs that I actually felt myself kind of lost this past week when I didn't have a run to fill in a canceled BODYPUMP class (local festival/parade closed the gym).

I ran through all of my options - do nothing, do Pump in the basement, do something else in the basement - when I remembered I still had a punch card for Piloxing and there's a Friday morning class that I can sort of work into my schedule.

To say I was excited about the prospect would be to put it mildly. I was going to get to wake up, eat a full breakfast, relax and then work out with one of my favorite instructors. While she kicked my butt, I would also get to take some mental notes on ways I could improve my classes.

Just one thing - there was a sub. A sub in the form of Abel, who had previously kicked my butt two ways from Sunday with his crazy cardio-intensive kickboxing class.

And did I mention that I was the only one who showed up?

It could have been a bit awkward to say the least but I decided to embrace the opportunity to have a one-on-one class. Abel is all about cardio conditioning, and we lapped the room, did footwork and burpees to spike the heart rate. We also did squat-like dips as we punched and elbowed potential attackers.

The session finished up with abs. Abel guided me through three exercises that I can do at home. He said to focus on doing 10 or so reps and building up from there. I've actually been looking for ways (in addition to BODYPUMP) to strengthen my core, and I am excited to have something in my arsenal that I can do in 10 minutes while I watch TV.

Not so exciting? The sweat stain I left on the gym floor after completing said exercises.

The first time I took a class from Abel, it would be safe to say that I didn't embrace it. It was hard and much different than what I was anticipating. This time, though, I could only think about how such conditioning could make me a better runner - especially some of the footwork that focused on light, quick steps. In a perfect world, I might even do the class once a week.

Well, the weeks with only four runs.