Saturday, January 21, 2017

Happy New Year - Run-cations and New Beginnings

The new year doesn't bring any crazy changes to my life. I will be trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle and be trying to build enough speed and endurance to run faster than I ever have before in a marathon.

Since running Twin Cities in October, I have been taking it pretty easy, running 35-45 miles a week. I have been having fun taking a breaking, but I always feel like I lack purpose when I am not training for something. My marathon training began on January 1st (sort of). 

Kristjan and I booked a vacation on the 30th of December to leave on the first of January. We went to Cayo Coco, Cuba. I know that many runners choose not to run on vacation, but it is how I relax! Running on vacation is not always easy. I have always struggled with dogs chasing me in Jamaica or Mexico, but in Cayo Coco there were no dogs! It was like a dream come true! Every day I got up in the morning, ate breakfast, went for a run for an hour or so and then came back to stretch and do core. The road conditions were fantastic for running. There was a two lane highway that connects all of the hotels on Cayo Coco. There is very little traffic and no stop lights, just roundabouts. There was a large patch of grass between the road and the forest that you could also run on, if you don't feel comfortable on the road.


The ocean is unbelievable in Cuba and the beaches are gorgeous! Everyday after my run we sat by  the adult pool or went to the beach. We didn't go on any excursions or anything. We just sat back and relaxed for a week straight. It was perfect!



Since returning from Cuba, I have been increasing my mileage and intensity. I have started doing workouts, tempos and long runs again and it feels good!

Mileage for the first 3 weeks of January:
Week 1 - 42.5 miles (Cuba)
Week 2 - 51 miles
Week 3 - 62 miles

I've got very little speed as of right now, but we will be putting in a lot of work in the next couple of months and I am looking forward to it!

Happy running everyone!