New Plan of Attack

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Thank you so much, my friends, for your comments on yesterday’s post! I was reminded by your loving kindness that I am not as bad off as I like to sometimes think I am, while also recognizing that this running journey is supposed to be FUN and if it stops being fun then maybe a marathon IS more than I can handle at the moment. And you know what, that’s okay too!  But I’ve been inspired to find a new plan of attack on this thing and truly get my head (and rear!!) in gear over the next

YIKES!!!

So here we go:

Strategy #1

All lunch prep (the cutting, cooking, packaging) will take place on Sunday. Then each night before bed I will set the coffee maker to brew and organize lunch items as needed for the next day so that all I have to do is throw it quickly in the lunch bag and go. For example, I typically have almonds for an afternoon snack, but instead of using a gazillion different plastic containers I usually just throw the amount for the day in a small container and then refill it the next day. These are the types of things I can do the night before instead of the morning of.

Strategy #2

Pits and Legs shaving is only going to happen on non-work days. Okay, that might be too much information, but it’s a reality…shaving takes time and in order for me to have the time I need to dedicate to sleep and exercise some things just have to GO. No way around it…so Friday, Saturday, Sunday – looks like you’re the new shave days and I’ll just have to get creative about what I wear this summer. LOL! Oh, and in case you’re not wondering, thankfully I have Nordic roots so I can kind of get away with less regular shaving of the legs and I constantly worry about "bingo wings" so tank tops at work are not something I usually do, so we’re good there! Haha

Love her!!!

Strategy #3

I have got to quit hitting that darn snooze button. I will get up earlier the two days a week that it is necessary to (Tues/Thurs) in order to fit in those longer mid-week runs. I’ve been shortchanging myself for the most part and have had to skimp on a lot of those 5-8 mile runs on a weekday because I just don’t get up in time. That has got to stop because I am SURE it is making those long runs on the weekend exponentially harder than they need to be.

Strategy #4

Explore long run alternatives. I have 16 miles on the plan this weekend and I am going to continue with what I’ve been doing which has been heading to the local lake and running the trail. It really is quite pretty, but is also extremely short on shade. However, there isn’t NO shade, as there are a couple spots where the mountains provide shade until the sun gets above. I will run repeats in those shady areas until they are gone, gone, gone and then move on to just straight trail so that I can get as much shade as possible.

Diamond Valley Lake in Hemet, CA

I mean, that’s pretty, right?? BUT in the event that this weekend’s run is just as crummy as last weekend then I have a back-up strategy. If it is because of: A) Loneliness: I kindly request force my BFF on her bicycle out there with me; B) Heat: I find a new route that offers some additional shade; C) Motivation to Keep Moving: I try running with the Riverside Road Runners on a Sunday morning instead. If it’s because of all of those things then I’ll re-think my strategy and motivations again. Truth is that it is only ten more long runs and two of those are taper; so eight weekends of long mileage. I’m sure I can figure out a way to make it work!!

Strategy #5

Eat like a boss from here on out. Yes, yes…broken record time here. I will make better food choices, but I’m also going to make sure I’m getting some PLANNED treats in there so I don’t feel deprived.

Strategy #6

Add strength training back in at least once a week. I haven’t been finding the time (which is pretty much the same thing as haven’t been motivated, right?) to regularly strength train, but if my core, legs and upper body are stronger it will make the long run that much easier. Time to add it back in and I don’t think doing it at least one time a week is too much to ask from myself.

Strategy #7

I may start playing with some different walk/run intervals. I’ve been doing a 7 minute jog/3 minute walk ratio (for my long runs only) but if that proves to be more than I can do in the summer heat then I’ll play around with it a bit and see if shorter intervals work better.

So there, I think I’ve come up with some good strategies to be successful…well, at least hopefully more successful than I’ve been lately! Time to keep my eye on the prize and make this happen!