The Week I Ran Every Mile: Training for Philadelphia {Week 4}

My goal this week was to follow the training schedule religiously. In other words, not skimp on my daily mileage and actually follow through.  And I am here to say: I did it!

Monday - 3 miles

I went to happy hour with coworkers after work on Monday. In the back of my head I knew I had 3 miles to finish, and I knew if I wanted to run outside, it needed to be before dark.  And well, since I don't have a treadmill hidden away somewhere, that was my only option. After a bottle of wine and some appetizers, I made my way over to the park to run my 3 miles. And I succeeded! I forget how beautiful Balboa Park is at dusk and just after dark.  Since I've started documenting my training, I've been stopping more to "smell the roses" and enjoy my surroundings. I kind of like it. It's less about getting to my end point and enjoying the run along the way.

Tuesday - Cross

2nd verse, same as the first. Or in this case, Fit Camp Tuesdays! Exercises and circuits are different, but the intent is the same. That's my favorite part about Fit Camp. I never know what's coming, but I know it will be good.

Wednesday - 4 miles

My friend from high school and her friend came to San Diego to visit on Wednesday for a few days.  They live on the east coast and it was their first time in San Diego, so I, of course, had to show them the sites.  We went downtown to the Gaslamp district for dinner and drinks.  A first for me: I changed and wore my running clothes to dinner so I would keep myself accountable. After eating too many french fries, I left them to wander a bit and explored a new route. I ran down to the bay and along the water for a couple miles.  It was really nice that time of night and there were plenty of people out so I felt safe too even though it was getting dark.

Thursday - Rest

My friends twisted my arm and instead of running on Thursday, we had a picnic in the park. Whole foods salad bar and a bottle of red for the win.  It was nice to relax in the park. I've lived in San Diego for 5 years and I've never taken the time to just chill out in the park.

Friday - 3 miles

I got up before work and knocked out the 3 miles I was supposed to cover on Thursday. I love when I am able to get myself in gear and get my run in before work. I always feel so great for the rest of the day. It's just so hard to pull myself out of bed.  I took my friend with me on this run, to show her my Balboa Park route. She seemed to really enjoy it. 

Saturday - 9 miles

Up until this week, I feel like my long runs really haven't been all that long.  Creeping up on double digits, however, were a wake up call.  I went back to Mission Beach to run the 6 mile boardwalk and then crossed over to the bay side to finish it up.  I found that if I ran 3 miles, walked to compose myself for a few minutes and then continued for another 3, I felt better about myself.  Compartmentalizing the run really helped.  I think I will continue this throughout my training. 

Sunday - Rest

Enough said. I succeeded in getting in every run on my schedule this week and it felt great.  I felt very accomplished!

Sorry for the lack of pictures on this post, I wrote it (obviously as you can tell by it's posting date) almost 3 weeks ago and hadn't put pictures in. In the interest of time, that's how it's going to stay. I promise, this won't happen again.