Training Recap: April Week 3

Going into this week, I knew it was going to be a bit crazy. We will be heading down to The Plains on Friday to enjoy all the Auburn A-Day Festivities: celebrating the new head coach Gus Malzahn, view the 2013 Auburn players and enjoy one last roll of our beloved Toomer's Corner Oaks. Knowing our travel plans, I expected Friday and Saturday to be rest days so I would try to rearrange my training with that in mind. Little did I realize how crazy this week would unfold.

Monday: 3 Miles + 4 Strides or XT
I woke up and enjoyed coverage of The Boston Marathon. I was able to watch live online and the elite runners blew my mind.  I was tracking fellow runDisney enthusiasts Leah Conner & Linda Bachand and cheering them on from my living room. One of the guy's I ran the WDWMarathon with lives in Boston and his cousin was running and another Twitter friend was there spectating as her husband ran. It was fun following Twitter, so much excitement for those running in Boston! I have learned Boston isn't just another marathon, you actually have to qualify before you can register. I am in awe of these runners who qualify, they have great speed and great dedication for running!

I stepped away from my laptop and returned to find a ton of tweets about the finish line explosions. I immediately switched on the news while pulling up the runner tracking site to see where everyone was. Two runners had finished and two runners were halted before the Mile 26 marker. My heart broke for all the runners who had their race cut short, unable to finish after so much training to get to Boston. My heart broke as news clips replayed the explosions, knowing many people had to be injured or dead. My heart shattered when one of the reported deaths was an 8 year old child. I was speechless.

The runners didn't seem to be injured, it was the spectators. All those amazing families, friends and complete strangers who came out to watch and cheer on all the runners. My family has been there, at the finish line of my races. I am still speechless.

I couldn't take it anymore, I had to go for a run. I wanted to run away from the heartache. I wanted to run for those who were unable to finish their race. As I ran I couldn't stop thinking of the 8 year old child. A child getting to experience the tradition that is The Boston Marathon. I'm sure this day was to be remembered for many years, possibly dreaming of one day also running this prestigious race, just like Shalane Flanagan.

I was introduced to Shalane earlier in the day as one of the elite female runners, she was from Boston and first watched her dad race Boston when she was 8 years old. This was her dream and she placed forth in her first appearance of The Boston Marathon, after years of dreaming and training. But dreams can be cut short so devastatingly quick. So I ran and I ran, watching news coverage from the treadmill at the gym, I ran. I didn't intend on running 8 miles, that was not my plan, but I did. I just could not stop thinking about this child and his family.

Tuesday: 5 Miles
Since I started running, I have enjoyed the encouragement and support of the running community. It doesn't matter where we live or where we race, we are united as runners. This unity was only enhanced by this tragedy, it was and is truly amazing. The running community decided to wear race shirts to show their support for the Boston runners, the Boston community and for those injured and killed from the explosions. Abigail and I proudly sported our shirts from the WDWMarathon.

Abigail wearing her "My Mom Ran 26.2" shirt.

Adidas

Adidas, one of the Boston Marathon sponsors, quickly designed the Boston Tribute Tee with all profits being donated to The One Fund Boston. Other companies followed suit...these companies were also represented in Boston for the Marathon Expo and could have had employees running or spectating, everyone is taking this tragedy personally.

I was extra pleased when I learned two businesses I have fallen in love with since I've started running also created designs with all proceeds being donated to One Fund Boston. Sweaty Bands had 3 Boston designs and added 3 new Boston Strong styles. Raw Threads also had Boston specific items then added new Boston designs in order to help those most affected. There are so many opportunities to support Boston and I hope everyone is able to contribute something.

Raw Threads

Wednesday: XT or Rest

I tried my best to make it to the same Power Class I've attended the last two Wednesdays. I was a few minutes late, as we were coming from Abigail's swim class, but instead of bailing on the class all together, I just hopped on in. After Power, I even intended to run a few miles on the treadmill after Power but failed to wear the correct sports bra. I barely ran a half mile before deciding to walk. I logged two miles, walking. I was not pleased but it would have to do for today.

Thursday: 3 Miles Sprint Training
Abigail and I attended a skating rink playdate where for $5/kid admission you can skate (includes skate rental), play on their indoor playground or bring a ride on toy to share on the skating rink. Abigail prefers to skate because there are "skating helpers" (made from PVC pipe and wheels from inline skates) so she can be independent. We have been here a few times and Abigail really enjoys skating which thrills me because I used to love to skate when I was a kid too, and I love how this is something fun we can do together. She gets better each time we return! I can tell she's anxious to skate better because she kept trying to imitate me as I did a skating spin to turn around to watch her or try to take pictures/video.

Abigail had asked if I would skate with her so I decided to wear my Polar FT4 and see what type of calories I would burn skating. We skated for a bit over 30 minutes and I burned about 150 calories. If I had been continuously skating for 30min straight, I'm sure it would have been a higher calorie burn.

The lady helping Abigail is Miss Denise, she's an employee of the skating rink and couldn't be nicer! She is so encouraging with all the children and helps them learn to skate without the skating helpers. Abigail is definitely cautious but you can tell she seems to appreciate the help because she's doing it more independently than with the skating helper. So much fun!

Friday: 4 Miles or XT
Abigail and I attended another morning playdate before coming home to pack for our weekend in Auburn. Brewer was also getting his own separate weekend outing, so I had to get his stuff together as well. As expected, there was no working out or running done. On our way to Auburn we stopped to have dinner with my in-laws, nephew and niece. I was nervous about the not fried options at O'Charley's. I ordered tilapia and sweet potato fries (my new favorite) and managed to resist THREE baskets of their delicious rolls.

Saturday: LR: 8 Miles
While I'll post separately about A-Day in Auburn, as expected I did not get a true workout or run but from all the walking we did around the campus I had to have walked a good couple miles throughout the day. I tried to make good food choices throughout the day, and while they were not great choices, I did also resist the funnel cake Abigail wanted (and we waited at least 15mins for). It was slight torture seeing the sad bit of funnel cake that would not get eaten, but I was very proud of myself for not giving into the "there are hungry children in this world" mentality.


Sunday: Rest
We took it easy coming home from Auburn which was much needed after a very long Saturday! When we made it back home, Matt took Abs to pick up Brewer while I headed to the gym to get in a run. I managed a 5mi run at an 12mm pace. I struggled the first two miles like I usually do but by the time I was almost finished, I didn't want to stop. It's probably better I did stop at 5mi because I don't need to overdo it before the new week even starts.

QUESTIONS:
-Have you purchased any item contributing to or donated directly to The One Fund Boston?
-How do you manage crazy weeks, when they are expected or unexpected?