Back to Normal

I’m someone who thrives on routine.  My body feels best when there is a normal schedule in place, although  I can roll with disruptions pretty well.  This holds true for my exercise routine- while I try to mix things up somewhat regularly to keep my regime interesting and me motivated, when I find that something works I’ll generally fall back on it time and again.

Last week and this weekend was a test of this aspect of my personality- there was hardly anything routine about it! First, there was the MLK holiday.  This didn’t really mess with my work-out routine – I still went for a nice morning run, and the plus was additional time to stretch.

Then, Thursday morning was my firm’s last day in our office location; starting tomorrow we’ll be three blocks down the street.  We were closed from Thursday at noon and all day Friday for the move.  That meant we couldn’t use the office gym.  I like to go to the gym for strength training usually on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so the second session of the week ended up a casualty.  If I had work Monday, I probably would have bumped up the schedule to Monday and Wednesday.  I was considering doing something at my apartment Thursday afternoon, but I went to lunch with a former colleague at Georgia Browns, which was delicious but is heavy Southern food.  I ended up crashing on my couch instead, which I suspected would happen.  I can never make myself do weight training at the apartment!

I also like to take an easy afternoon run on Fridays around the Mall to loosen myself up for long run Saturdays.  I still got this in, overcoming a severe case of the lazies late Friday to get in a great 3 miler around Rosemont, totally making up for Wednesday’s lackluster run.

On top of that, I also had to change my long run from yesterday to today due to a busy Saturday.  I sat on a panel in the morning at my old law school to discuss my experience preparing and sitting for the VA bar for this year’s applicants.  Then my husband and I met some friends at the always yummy Rustico for brunch, and my best friend came over for a homemade dinner and ice cream.  I was half heartedly hoping to get in a slow 2.5 miles to keep myself loose for today, but between the weather and the hectic morning, I again opted for a longish nap before getting dinner ready.

Today’s 7 mile long run was a good one- it was cold for sure and lingering ice from yesterday’s precipitation forced me to stay alert, but I felt good ultimately.  So, aside from the lost toning session on Thursday, my half marathon training appears to be going very well.  One last hitch- the reason I like doing long runs on Saturday as opposed to Sunday is that I think it’s important to have a rest day after the long run, but I like starting off my work week with a morning run.  It just sets a good tone for the week, you know? But, life doesn’t work according to schedule, and I think a rest day trumps sticking to routine.

So, here’s my tentative work-out plan for the week:

Monday: Power hour yoga; strength training at new office gym (depending on how the first day goes)

Tuesday: Easy four mile morning run

Wednesday: Easy/maybe tempo 4.7 mile morning run; strength training

Thursday: Power hour yoga

Friday: Power hour yoga; easy afternoon 3.5/4 mile run around the Mall

Saturday: 8 mile long run

Sunday: Rest, maybe yoga

The plan is also to walk the dogs more regularly this week after work.  Let’s see how it goes.  Hope everyone had a great weekend.