Just because you haven’t heard from me in awhile about my half-marathon training, doesn’t mean that nothing has been happening. Well, mostly…
Week 7: Even though I was in a different city every other day, I managed to squeeze in some great runs this week. Monday: Brussels – awesome way to see the sights! Wednesday: Karlsruhe – rainy, cold and miserable. Friday: Munich – a beautiful run along the river. Sunday: Munich – a rainy, but lovely, 9-mile run in the English Gardens.
It was actually surprisingly easy to fit all my runs in, despite the hectic schedule. Funny how there are no scheduling conflicts when you run at 7:00 a.m. I also always had a running partner waiting for me in the hotel lobby (thanks Abby and Taolue!). Plus, just about all 30 of my traveling partners knew I was in-training, so there was always somebody asking, “Did you go for a run today?” Hello, accountability. It was just the kick that I needed. Not to mention the fact that I felt much more connected to the cities that I ran through.
Week 8: One of my favorite runs of the trip was in the lovely park on the outskirts of Weimar. The sun was shining through the trees, the grass was covered in frost, and there was steam rising from the creek beds. No wonder Goethe spent so much time here! But other than that, I didn’t run again until I was home at the end of the week. Even though I was dead exhausted from all the traveling, I still managed to pull off a 10-mile run in Hamburg on Sunday. But it was Slow, with a capital S. Apparently, that was my immune system revolting, and I promptly ended up with a two-week long cold.
Weeks 9-10: No running of any kind. The cold kicked my butt and I mostly just wanted to sleep a lot.
So, what is one to do when one hasn’t run in two weeks, but only has two more weeks to prepare for a half-marathon? Make the rest of your scheduled runs really count by going a little longer than originally planned. Get lots of rest, eat right, take your vitamins, and hope to god that you don’t get sick again.
Check back with me this weekend and find out how my next-to-last week of training went!