M is for "Marathon"; "March"; "Me"!

Hello Dear Reader-

Who knew this goal-setting/marathon-training/achieving/believing/doing-thing could feel so good?!

Still on a high from Sunday, I was at the gym bright and early on Monday morning...ready to prove myself right (That I am going to do this. That I am doing this. That I will continue to do this). According to my 10K training plan, Mondays are for cross training/stretching/strengthening. I started off with 20 minutes on the stair master, followed by core strengthening and circuit training. Part of me felt as though I could run 5K again, but the better part of me said that the good folks who developed the plan have a bit more expertise than me. My body needs periodic "breaks". Perhaps I should follow the rules? Even without running, I left the gym with a sense of accomplishment...determined to keep it up...keep it moving!

Since I had to take care of a little business at the gym (aka speak with my M.I.A. trainer), in addition to the fact that my roomie was going for an evening workout, I decided to stay for a workout session of my own. Twenty minutes on both the eliptical machine and stair master provided the exercise high I needed! Feeling good!

Tuesday morning (as in today)...my alarm went off at its (now) regular time...5:00 am. Q: What did I want to do? A: Go back to sleep!!! My spot in the bed was so warm...so comfortable...an evening workout sounded really good...could you blame me? Q: What did I actually do? A: Got up. Put my gym clothes on. Focused on my goal: M is for "marathon"; M is for "March"; M is for "Me"!

Staying focused turned out not to be such a bad thing...I ran 5K...again! Instead of Sunday's running pace/setting (between settings 7.5 and 8), I was able to run the entire way on 8.5. During my next workout, I'll note how these settings correspond to minutes per kilometer. What I do know, however, is that I'm progressing and will continue to do so!

As I was leaving the gym, two trainers (one was the Spin instructor) stopped me and noted how dedicated I seem to be during my workouts. They were curious if I was "working so hard" for any particular reason. With a smile on my face, I said, "I'm training for a marathon for my 30th birthday!" One trainer said, "Keep it up, you're almost there!" The other trainer replied, "I'm going to keep my eye on you!" With two verbal pats on the back, I headed out of the gym, prepared to start my day!

One day at a time...one foot in front of the other...I'm getting there!

Until next time...

Yours in (marathon) training,

Dani