The National Marathon, cross-training, my new gym, and Daily Mile

The National Marathon

I'm running it. As in all 26.2 miles. I am going to try really hard to run, and not race, it but I have been forgetting the fact that I have a marathon Saturday all week. I'm starting to get excited! To keep my pace down, and prep me for the JFK 50 miler in November, I'm thinking of running it without my iPod. I know, that its a crazy idea (me, who obsesses over her running playlists), but it will keep me focused on what my body is telling me instead of the beat. Still undecided though. 

Its going to be a bit warm, and super sunny, so I'm sticking with the little outfit I wore for MCM and hoping I'll finish before the temp rises above 70 degrees. After, everyone is invited to my unofficial after party at Good Stuff Eatery on 3rd and Penn SE. Can you beat delicious, free-range burgers on whole wheat buns, with farmer's market quality veggies, delicious ice cream and shakes, and carb filled fries? No, you really can't.

Cross-training

Since my weekly mileage is so low for peak training, I have made up for it by including a ton of cross-training, and its become such a great habit! My running has been average-to-slow paced, and so I've been using the bike to really get my heart rate up mid-week. I've been hitting a peak of 180-185 on the bike, which is pretty high up there (although, I'm not an expert on training according to heart rate).

In the last 30-days, my Garmin calendar tells me I've done 32 workouts/activities (I do double and triple up some days) and I haven't even felt very worn out. I really love that I'm getting sculpted shoulders from weight training and swimming, my core is definitely becoming stronger and my abs more defined, and I've been cycling more miles than I'm running! I feel more active and fit then on running alone, now that I'm taking time for other activities to work other muscles.

My Monday recovery swim is becoming a strict habit. Every Monday after work, I go to the local pool and do anywhere from 30-60 minutes of light swimming. My legs feel so refreshed, and I'm able to stretch once my muscles are warmed up. I also really love doing a lunch-time bike ride the afternoon of my mid-length weekday run (usually 8-10 miles). It just gets my muscles warm and ready for my evening run. Also, a longer (60-100 minute) bike ride on a rest day kicks my ass every time. Yesterday I did a double spin class and covered 38 miles.

I'm trying to do more weight training, but I'm still on only once a week. This week, I hope to get another one in, and focus on getting some hip and leg work in on top of just arms and core.

New gym

Most of this has been made easy by my awesome new gym. Results gym is located at the entrance of my new metro station (we moved offices at work) and right across the street from my workplace. So, if I want to skip a workout, I have to walk past my gym on the way home which would probably put me on a guilt trip. I can now do lunch time bike rides and weight training. Plus, the have a pool with a treadmill for aqua-jogging! I haven't tried it yet, but it looks pretty spiffy. Its clean, they provide towels, and their spinning classes are great. The bikes have all your stats (most spinning bikes just have resistance) and if there isn't a class going on you can do a recorded workout off the giant plasma screen.

Daily Mile

I finally caved and joined Daily Mile (the runner's version of facebook) once they started the Garmin sync, and I love it! I could go on and on about how cool it is! I really like the bar graph of all the miles you've logged. You can connect with local runners, those you'll be doing a race with, motivate friends, receive encouragement, and see how many doughnuts you've burned off.