Hey everyone! It’s Monday and I know many of us dislike Mondays (end of the weekend) but this week I’m taking it as a fresh start! After a rough week last week, I’m ready to get started with a new plan.
I did want to mention, several of you, as well as my training group leader, said that marathon blues are a very real thing! Good to know I’m not the only one who gets a little depressed when the big day is over.
But how do you solve a problem like this? You start a new plan!
A month or two ago I signed up for the F^3 Half Marathon here in Chicago. Honestly, I’m not sure what F^3 stands for, but the race is on January 26th and it’s the fourth annual F^3 half. They warn that the race will sell out (they cap it to be small so it has a grassroots feel). The reason I signed up for this race is because 1) I wanted something I’d start training for about a month after the marathon and 2) they say the race takes place no matter the weather – ice or snow. I took this as a new challenge and thought it would get my butt outdoors to train during the winter.
I also hear they get creative with their medals – last year it was a bottle opener!
So, where does that leave me now?
Well, to train for the race I’ve decided to follow another Hal Higdon plan. It worked well for the marathon so I’m sticking with him. I am, however, going to try and follow the intermediate plan, rather than the novice 1 or 2. It incorporates speed training which is something I’ve wanted to work on. However, it may be a bit much for me so I’m willing to work with it, I might do 3 days of running instead of the 4 it suggests. We’ll just see how it goes.
I know I mentioned that I also want to get back into strength training, but I work best on a plan, so I’ve decided to sign up for Tina’s Best Body Bootcamp again. I participated in it’s inaugural round last spring and loved it, I just couldn’t work it into my schedule since then.
Bootcamp starts in 1 week, so until then I’m just going to follow a simple 3 days of strength training and running whenever I feel like it, with a longer run on Saturday. This past Saturday I headed out for 5 miles and turned it into 6.
My legs were SUPER tight, but other than that I felt pretty good. I do have two post-marathon injuries to report: my foot and my toe! Both the right.
The top of my right foot really hurts, it feels bruised. I have to lace my right shoe really loosely and even then I tend to loosen it again after an hour or so wearing tennis shoes. I’m hoping it’s something that will just go away…
My right big toe, however, is a whole other issue. I’d heard about “black toenails” from other marathoners but felt lucky I never had a problem with it. Well, after the marathon I discovered a lot of blisters on my toes and one had formed under my big toenail. I’ve done a lot of reading up on it and found I basically just have to wait for it to go away, either get better or fall off (OMG I KNOW, EWWWWW). Luckily it’s stopped hurting too much so we’ll see how it goes… And you’re welcome, I’m sure you wanted to know all about my feet.
What’s your workout plan right now?
Any black toenail advice??