Throwing it way back to {July 6} when I did my first official marathon training run. According to my running watch, it was only 3.65 miles at about a 12 min pace. For someone who had taken most of May and June off, I was more than happy to be just be back into a routine with my runner girls.
Our long run that weekend was actually a women’s quarter marathon trail run, but 6.7 miles on the trails feels a lot like 12-13 when you’re done. Even though our training plan called for 7, I was sore in places long forgotten after that race!! 
“Sorta” dark-thirty training runs were the theme of Week 2 – we were meeting a little later thanks to our summer hours :) But it was still definitely easier to log those miles first thing in the morning rather than trying to squeeze it in later in the day. 
Oh speed drills – how I have missed you! My favorite part of training is still running repeats. Yes, I really am that weird!
Completed Week 2 with a happy little 9 miler … still getting used to some longer mileage, but happy with my progress.
And then vacation happened.
Clearly, vacation is the best. The beach is good for my soul {and my sanity}, the salty air and sounds of the ocean are my happy place, and sunshine is the best medicine for nearly anything that ails you, IMHO.
But it wreaks havoc on my training plan every . single . time. 
And this particular trip was 2 weeks long, instead of our usual one, which meant the possibility for an even larger gap in training.
I did manage 2 {very scenic} shorter runs plus a 6 miler around the Island, accounting for about half of the mileage I was scheduled to run during that time.
After almost a month of varied vacation schedule, I was finally back with my runner girls!! A fun 3 miler to catch up with these lovelies and try to get back into that routine I need so badly!
Long Run! I might look happy in this picture, but the truth is that the humidity was getting the best of me and I struggled to keep up with Annette and Geri for our 11 miler that completed Week 5. Halfway through, Geri whipped out those salt tabs I love so much to save the day!
A quick 3 mile stretch out run a couple days later followed by a fantastic Circuit Craze class … and a new goal to be able to do barbell squats with that {pretty} pink barbell that just happens to weigh 65 lbs (more than double what I can squat right now) before my marathon on November 4!
My initiation to middle school sports, times two, has me searching for my new normal again! Two girls in 5th grade playing different sports and 4 away games in three days this week has presented me with the opportunity to shake up my routine.
The past two weeks, this means missing a lot of my week day runs and trying to play catch up on the weekend with my long runs. Which I certainly don’t recommend! Our 13 last weekend wasn’t too bad – I actually really enjoyed the first 8 before we looped back around to pick up some more runner girls for our last 5. But the last 2-3 miles were rough. I was tired. And improperly fueled. And probably beginning to get dehydrated despite having water with me the entire time. 
This weekend we have 10 coming up. I haven’t had a short run all week, but there are still daylight hours left in this gorgeous Friday and I’m currently plotting my 30 minute escape :) Running on Sunday will give me a good rest day in between and get me prepped for a Tuesday/Wednesday/Friday plan for next week!
And this. A last second add to this post because it makes me happy. And because I’m feeling brave. After struggling with stress and anxiety and some form of depression {I often refer to it as “the black hole”} for more than a year, my husband and I came up with a plan to help me regain some balance. I was able to move my work schedule from 5 days to 4 days, while keeping the same number of hours, and have a weekday at home. There will be time for grocery runs and laundry, volunteering in my kids’classrooms and tagging along on field trips, but there will also be time to write. And read. And run. And WRITE!!
So today, after the groceries were put away and the errands were run, I sat down to share a little piece of me with the blogosphere. Because Forward Is a Pace. Because, to go confidently in direction of our dreams, we have to take the first step. 