Three Things Thursday

1. I went for a cautious run last Saturday to see how my arches would react and they felt great. Phew! It was a slow, hard 3.1 miles, but it felt good to be back out there. My plan is to slowly build my base miles and to get up to a total of 8 miles by mid August so I can start my training schedule.
2. I signed up for the Hot Chocolate 15k in Atlanta the other day. I am very excited to run this distance and I’ll be running it with a friend! It is right smack in the middle of my two half marathons and I’m supposed to run 10 miles that day anyway. I can easily run it and tack on .7 to make it an even 10.
3. I am on an every-other-day schedule right now. I ran yesterday and then worked out my legs (hammys and glutes). Today is abs and arms. Tomorrow I run and do my legs again. I am sore, but this schedule is starting to feel good. I am hoping that this will help make me a stronger runner.

Strength

No running for me today. That's two in a row! J left for work at o'dark thirty this morning and won't be home until late tonight. The boys are on winter break until January 10th. Yes, I said January 10th! I'm going to go mental. Since they are not old enough to be left at home and all family is over 3,000 miles away, I'm going to focus on my strength training. I have been pretty lax in that area lately and I need to step it up. I know that my core is my tree trunk and I will be focusing on core exercises: sit-ups, crunches, leg raises and planks. I have a love-hate relationship with planks. I hate them with every fiber of my being, but they really get the job done! I will also work on my hips and butt because I struggle with my sciatica. Strengthening those areas are the way to go. Last but not least is my arms because if I don't use my two pound weights, my triceps (a.k.a. Granny arms) will flap in the wind like a flag.

Here's to hoping that I can sneak a run in tomorrow on J's day off AND that the weather cooperates! Maybe I should have asked Santa for a treadmill?