The first week of marathon training is complete and I don’t think it could have gone any better! Monday I was finally able to get back to Body Fusion, and after a month off I could tell the difference. I started with lighter weights, but felt great the entire time. I was sore the next day, but over time I’ll get right back to where I was before my May break.

Tuesday I headed to the track for my first speed session of the cycle. I met with some members of MCRR, and we started our warm up together. I originally wanted to hit them at 8:15-8:30, knowing I wasn’t used to the heat, I wanted to be cautious. But my legs had other plans. I started out a little too quick, and kept trying to slow myself down. Apparently it didn’t work, because my 800m split of my first mile was at a 6:25 pace. Whoa! Eventually I got my legs under control and I ended up with two sub 8 minute miles. I went back and forth about trying a third one, but my legs were getting a little sore, so instead I opted for an 800 and followed it up with a mile cool down. I hadn’t run those mile times since college, so it was a nice surprise to see those little 7’s on my watch again!

Wednesday I stopped by my parent’s house after work for a short recovery run. I convinced my dad to ride his bike with me (he’s been on a 60+ day cycling streak!) and we went for a short out and back. I held up a pretty fast pace for a recovery run, but I enjoyed every moment of running on my old streets again. Sometimes you need to get back to where it started and really just let go. I may have also felt like a rock star with my own personal entourage.

Thursday I ran with Second Sole Medina and MCRR out at Buckeye Woods. We started out as a group, but as the first mile went on, it was a little too quick for my liking. We spread out and I ended up with a few members as we tried to slow down our pace. We did a loop around the marsh, then headed out toward the inlet and back. I ended up with a little over 4 miles and an 8:37 average pace.

Monday: Body Fusion Class – 30 minutes of lifting/abs/squats & 30 minutes of yoga

Tuesday: 4 Miles, 1/2 Mile W/U, 2×1600(7:28, 7:45),1×800(3:55), 1 Mile C/D

Wednesday: 3 Miles

Thursday: 4 Miles

Friday: Off

Saturday: 13 Miles

Sunday: 1 Mile

Total Miles: 25 Miles

Saturday I met up with a few MCRR members and went out to Hinckley to run my first trail loop in the park. I was definitely excited and a little nervous. Most trails I’m used to are flat and relatively easy. Knowing I’d be up for 13 miles of trails I’d never experienced, well…I wasn’t sure what I was in for. Over the span of a couple hours we climbed rocks, jumped streams, trail blazed through grass, ventured single track and much more.

I had such a fun time, and forgot how much harder it is to run trails than it is roads. I enjoyed every minute of the run and look forward to adding more miles on my shoes doing a little off road running.

I enjoyed the trails so much, that I ended up at Second Sole that afternoon testing out trail shoes. Due to my tiny feet they’ll arrive later this week, but I was also able to pick up a pair of the Asics Kayano 20 as my second shoe for rotation. I’m hoping this will cut down on damage to the shoe as I add on miles, and keep any injuries away from my legs.

And naturally I couldn’t let them sit in their box all weekend, so I did a short shake out/recovery run on Sunday. I was definitely sore from the trails, but it was nice to get a morning run in before all of the rain.

I’m excited to jump into the second week of training. I’m a little sore from standing for about 4 hours straight on concrete Sunday night, but hopefully that will wear down throughout the day. I’ll be switching my long run to Sunday as I run the Park 2 Park Half Marathon this weekend. One week down, 17 to go!

How many shoes do you keep in rotation? Do you prefer trails or road?