My Yearly Spring Cold.....please leave now!

I have twice a year that I always seem to get some sort of respiratory bug. It always seems to be late April / early May and again in mid September. This has been a ritual for as long as I can remember. I started feeling achy after last Saturdays 5k. I knew it was a sick ache as soon as it came on. By Saturday night it was fever and chills. I did that for roughly 3 days and now it seems to have settled in my chest and I have a very annoying cough. I am pretty sure most of my lungs have been coughed up by now. Where does all of the mucus come from?  I feel like I have the death rattle when I breath. Sorry, if this is tmi but, I am a nurse and it takes a lot to be tmi for me. 

So, needless to say, I have not been able to breath well enough to get much of any kind of workout done. Monday, I did a little strength training, Tuesday I did a very slow 3 miles with 8 sets of strides at the end, Wednesday I did nothing, and today I did 20 minutes of hills.  I have another 5 k planned for this weekend and am keeping my fingers crossed that I can turn out at least a descent time. 

Overall, I am happy to say that I have done at least a little bit of working out through this misery. 

On another note, how about Mebs win in Boston?!?!?! I am really glad he won. I enjoy following him and Ryan Hall.  Those sketchers that Meb wear are awesome by the way. I got a pair back around Christmas and they are up there in my top 2 favorite running shoes. 

This Weeks Wrap Up

I have had a very productive week with my workouts and thst is a great feeling. Wednesday was a hill workout. I had to do it on my treadmill before getting the boys ready and off to school. I did 7 hill repeats of 40 seconds at a 7% incline. After each climb I would jog for 2 minutes at recovery pace. Total was 2.5 miles. Thursday was a mixed tempo run, and I had to do this on the treadmill as well for the same reasons. I did a two minute warm up followed by 6 minutes at marathon pace, 4 minutes at half marathon pace, and two minutes at long run pace. I did this twice for a total of 3 ish miles. I accidentally knocked the emergency stop key out so it cleared out my miles and time. Friday was a rest day and my first day off of work in what seems to be forever. I spent the majority of the day doing laundry, vacuuming, mopping, and grocery shopping. That doesn't sound like much of a rest day to me 😃. Today I did another 5k. It was at the Govenor's Frog Jump in Springfield, SC.  The rain held off for the race and, I was appreciative of that. I finished 2nd overall female and scored another nice trophy.  I finished in 25:52 on a certified course. Last weeks course was not certified so I think that was were the fast time came from last week. My splits were pretty much identical. It was a fun race and the girl who best me was super fast! 

I would love some ideas on what to do with my trophy collection. 

What are recommended incline setting for hill workouts?  

Blogging My Way to the Marine Corp Marathon 2014

I have really enjoyed writing the post I have done this far on my blog but, I have been pondering on ways to become more consistent with posting. After a little thought, I have decided to blog my training schedule and how my workouts go leading up to the 2014 Marine Corp Marathon.  I am hoping that this will lead me to establish new friendships and hopefully meet up with others that are doing the MCM. 

I have decided that I am going to take the next few months to work on my speed. I have let that area suffer in the past year because I have focused more on distance. 

I used a local 5k this past Saturday as my starting VDOT test. I actually was pleased with my time and pleased with the fact that I finished first female. My official time was 25:38. Not a PR for me but, it was satisfactory.  Seeing my boys waiting on me at the finish line made me suddenly forget that I felt like I was going to vomit and pass out at the same time. 

Here are a few other pics from the race:

My friend Winter was on my heels and finished first in her age group. There is nothing wrong with a little friendly competition right 😁😉

Not only did I get a trophy but, there was a cash prize involved that I was unaware of too 💰💵🏆. 

Sunday, was a long run and my friend Nikki joined me. We did a slow 10 miles on rolling terrain. 

Monday, Nikki joined me again for a 30 minute recovery run with some strides at the end. Let me just say, my legs were spent after this.  

Tuesday, I did about 30 minute of strength training, mainly focusing in the upper body and core. 

I have also met with a Registered Dietician regarding diet.  I have a broad knowledge of health and healthy choices but, am lacking the understanding I eating like an athlete. This subject could be a post of its own so, I will save the details for later. 

Well, again I am really looking forward to getting acquainted with other runners like me and other runners who are doing the 2014 Marine Corp Marathon.