Back in the States and Back on the Road

Well, there is no time to waste. I got back from Mexico last night after a great trip and it is time to get back on the running schedule. Last week didn't start out as I had planned. Knowing that I would be away for most of the week, I was hoping to get in at least my long run of 12-13 miles before I went on vacation, and hopefully one other run of 5 or 6 miles, but unfortunately neither of those things happened. About a week before I left for Mexico, I started getting a horrible pain in my cheek and then my tooth. I figured that maybe I had a cavity or I flossed too hard and inflamed my gum. I was hoping it would go away on its own but it kept on getting worse as the week progressed. It prevented me from sleeping and I was worried about leaving the country with this lingering over my head. Since it was President's Day weekend, I was not able to see my dentist until last Tuesday - only 2 days before leaving. I felt like crap from lack of sleep all weekend so I wasn't able to run on Monday (but I got a day of strength training in), and I spent all day Tuesday in the dentist's office and then finding out that I needed a route canal before I left, which I got later in the day. It was a pain in the butt, however I was happy to get everything settled before heading out of the country. Needless to say, there was no running on Tuesday either. Wednesday was not to be because I still felt very sluggish and I felt it wasn't worth the risk of getting sick before going away. Therefore, I was resigned to the fact that I would have to skip my long run for the week. I wasn't happy with it, but I was OK with it because my training has been going well so far, and it was still early on in the process. I had over two and a half months to go before the marathon to make up for any drop in mileage.

I was looking forward to the warm weather in Mexico. This would be a good way to recharge my batteries a bit and maybe even give my body a rest before the increased mileage begins this week. I knew that I wouldn't get in a lot of mileage on the trip, if at all, but I was hoping to get in a couple runs of any distance or pace just to keep my legs and body moving and to avoid being dormant for an entire week in the middle of training. If I got in at least two runs, that would be good with me and I figured I would be able to start up again with training when I got back to the States without losing much at all. I was pleasantly surprised to have gotten in 3 runs while in Mexico - 6 miles on Friday, 6 miles on Saturday, and 4 miles on Sunday. It was a bit of a shock to my body to run in 75 degree weather and humidity when I've been running in 30-40 degree weather and snow for the past couple of months. I was happy to see that it was a total loss for the week, runningwise. The trip was great and I had a really nice time.

Now it is back to the schedule. I looked and saw that 18 miles is on tap as my long run for this weekend. This will be my longest run in more than a year and a half. I am a bit nervous about it but I am excited to be moving forward with my training. Due to the rain, I got in a 4.5 mile run on the treadmill tonight.

Well, onward and upward.