The beauty of being at this stage in my running hobby is that I have already realized that I love running more than almost any other form of exercise (except of course dancin/shakin it, but that’s a given). Today, I was reminded of why.
This year, as part of my marathon training, I’m trying to train better, harder, and smarter than ever before. That means doing something more than watching TV while completing a mindless hour on the elliptical machine on my cross training days. It means really focusing in on core training, building upper body and leg strength, and working on my speed.
While I am up to 9 miles now in my long run distance (going for 10 this weekend!), I still have a ways to go on total body fitness. So tonight I attended the Team In Training Bootcamp class as my cross training for the day, and boy was it ever humbling! I felt completely out of shape and like a total wimp. For an hour straight we did various combinations of lunges, pushups, sprints, planks, crunches, and a little something called “but-kicks.” When we finally finished, all of my muscles were trembling with fatigue… but it was worth it!
Even though I felt lost and completely uncoordinated for half of the time, I felt so accomplished afterwards that I can’t wait to go back next week and try to do everything better than I did this time.
Other than that, training has been going great! We have done some hill training, and as I mentioned before, we’re gearing up to do 10 miles this weekend. And beyond all that, I have had a great time bonding with all of my Team In Training teammates. We’ve been going out to breakfast after most of our long runs, and we’ve had a shoe clinic and a nutrition clinic where we’ve gotten to learn about those interesting topics together. Last Friday, one of our coaches hosted a benefit comedy show as a fundraiser for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society and we all went together and had a great time! Training with the team and making great friends through the process is one of the most rewarding aspects of my participation. I feel so blessed to have it in my life.
I am about 1/3 of the way done with my fundraising thanks to some very generous donors! In case anyone is interested in helping me get a little further, the link to donate is: http://pages.teamintraining.org/la/nikesf10/gmcbri
All the money that is raised starts helping those who are affected by blood cancers immediately!
So, moving on to miles in the double digits… more updates to come!
