Back on Track

I kept the streak alive last week, and got back into the groove for this week's goal with a 5.85 mile run on Sunday. I know, now, that I can run 3 miles during my exercise release time during the week, but I don't prefer to do so. At the pace that I am running, 2 to 2.5 is a more manageable distance for the time I have available. 

I have a regular 3 mile route that uses the nearby Greenbelt, but I only ran that once in the 4 times that I did 3 milers in the past couple weeks. I didn't like how crowded it was, and I had to cross a major street. My next 3 mile run was neighborhood laps - I did two 1 mile laps, alternating directions, then two half mile laps, alternating directions. Laps are good for staying close to home, but also pretty boring. I finally landed on a nice big loop that gives me 3 miles with minimal stoplights and no crossings of major streets. 

My first 6 mile routes had me crossing major streets two or three times (depending on some options). After I figured out my big 3 mile loop, I made some adjustments and figured out how to do a 6 mile loop by running the 3 mile and then looping back around inside it. 

I see a poorly drawn J - maybe I should change my route to make it prettier.

My legs are starting to get used to the running. They don't feel so much like lead when I run, and I'm getting less soreness from even the long runs. I did feel sore on yesterday's run, but that's not from running. That's from doing a whole bunch of squats at CrossFit on Monday - which was only my second class of the year. 

I had not been to CrossFit since late December until last Saturday. I wasn't feeling very well. Mostly it was my IBS flaring up. My tummy hurt and I didn't have enough energy or motivation to get myself to 5 am CrossFit. And, frankly, I benefitted from the rest. I had been pushing myself pretty hard in November and December. 

I haven't started back up on the Power Abs program; I'm thinking of doing another cycle in February in preparation for the CrossFit Open in March. The important thing is I'm not beating myself up over any of these "failures" - I'm doing my best. That's all I can do.