After a week of vacation and a month of not running regularly, this past week was a rude awakening! While we were away, the Alzheimer’s Association NYCM team started their informal practices. (P.S. did I tell you I was running and fundraising again for the Alzheimer’s Association?) While the official practices don’t start until June 25th, I wanted to make every effort to attend as many runs as possible so I can fall back into a routine. Here is a recap of the work-outs since coming back to reality:

Sunday, June 9th – 6-mile run with the team. We were just back for less than two days and I really patted myself on the back for not chickening out of this run. After a pretty miserable commute over to the Upper East Side to meet the team, I made it, finished the run despite how hard it felt through all of the Central Park hills, and even had a chance to meet some new teammates.

Tuesday, June 11th – 5-mile run with the team plus some strength training. The squats, high knees, jumping jacks, and everything else we did before the start of the run really did me in. When we started the run, my legs were shaking and my quads and hamstrings were sore the entire run. It really did not get better from there…

Wednesday, June 12th – barre class. I had high hopes to go to a barre class and then a short run afterwards to shake out my extremely sore legs. However, barre class compounded the pain and by the time Josh got home from work, I was gimping around the apartment. Wednesday was a true test of whether or not I can handle not pushing myself when I probably shouldn’t.

Thursday, June 13th – virtual run. I didn’t run. I was going to try to meet up with Josh at the Corporate Challenge but that was canceled due to weather. However, I did attend a steering committee meeting for the 2013 NYCM team. I believe with all the thinking I did about running, it counts as a virtual run.

Friday, June 14th – 3-mile treadmill run. I was proud of myself for getting a run in after work and before my dinner plans. Also, I was even more proud that I decided to run on the treadmill instead going outside. Josh downloaded the Forecast app on my phone a little while ago and it seems to predict rain pretty darn accurately. Before leaving, I pulled up the app to see if I had enough time to get a run in before it started to rain. The app predicted that it would drizzle in the next two minutes and last for 20, so I decided to go down to the gym. As soon as I got into the gym, it started pouring outside (so fine, not a drizzle but I was glad I was not outside) for the next 20 minutes! Anyway, despite my still extremely sore muscles, I got in a little over three miles on the treadmill.

Sunday, June 16th – 5-mile race and short team run. Since the team run wasn’t starting until 9am and I wanted to get an early start on the day so I could head home and spend some time with my dad for Father’s Day, I signed up for the NYRR Portugal Day 5-miler race that started at 8am. I figured then I could meet up with the team for a short run to complete a total of seven miles. The race went okay; it was a PR for the distance but again that’s not saying much since I haven’t raced a 5-miler since a year ago when my pacing was almost two minutes slower per mile. The race felt hard and my heart rate was consistently high the whole time (180 bpm+). When I finished, I knew that it was definitely time get back into a routine. I am glad I raced purely for the experience of pushing myself in a race setting, seeing some other teammates who had also run the race, and meeting up with the team for a short run. After all this, I felt like I deserved to eat my way through Father’s Day! And even before making it home to spend time with my family, Josh and I attempted to make our skillets for the first time. Now, I don’t think they were as good as the “Florida ones” (haha, obviously the connection is that I was running while the “Florida ones” were being made), but we did get to show and tell them to Josh’s family over FaceTime.

Overall, it was a tough week trying to get back on a routine and it reminded me of how much I like having a schedule. So with my first unofficial training week coming to a close and the second one about to begin, here are things I need to start doing regularly outside of running (forming habits, see the things I learn from my reading!):

• Cross-training – two days a week; I am attending my first fitness class today at Work it Out Hoboken. Tonight’s class is a boot camp type session and then I figured if I like the studio, I will try spin as well. I am hoping that this can help supplement my barre routine.
• Planking – every day; I need to just make this a habit. It was great on vacation to plank on the beach but I need to make it a regular occurrence outside of barre class. A stronger core will help with my running form, and it’s pretty clear to me (and our coaches) that I need help with that!
• Foam rolling – every day; I really need to make this darn thing my best friend. After all, I have like three different variations of foam rollers at home!