Friday Wrap Up + Bonus Workout!

Even when you have gone as far as you can, and everything hurts, and you are staring at the specter of self-doubt, you can find a bit more strength deep inside you, if you look closely enough. 

Hal Higdon, runner and author

This week has been rough. My sleep odometer has been below E, and as much as I've been trying to grab all the extra sleep I can, my runs have been suffering. I've been making a really nice slow progression every week, just a few extra miles, but I've finally fit 35 miles a week. This week I was really exited, hoping I could hit 40, but right now that looks really, really bleak. Next week will be another tough week, but after that, I'll be able to rest up, add an extra run in during the week, and keep bumping up those miles for the last 9 weeks or so of training. Wow, Marine Corps is 9 weeks away?!


Bonus Workout!

I had mentioned last week to a friend that I noticed my legs have really been slimming down over the past few weeks, and no doubt it has been because of my running schedule, but I thought it would be nice to post a simple mini-workout for those of you looking to strengthen/tone up your legs without running 18 milers every weekend!

All you need for this workout is some sort of stopwatch/timer. I love using the free app Seconds for my iPhone. If you don't have any sort of timer, just do 20-30 of each exercise, and count to 30 for your rest interval!

Warm up (either 10 minutes of easy running, or whatever cardio your prefer)
Each exercises is 30 seconds on/30 seconds rest interval unless noted otherwise!

- High Knees
- Butt Kicks
- Squats
- Side Lunges
- Burpees (add a pushup at the bottom if that is just too boring!)
- Jumping Switch Lunges
- Planks with single leg lifts (alternate lifting your legs for 30 seconds, not 30 on each leg)

Repeat this 2-4 times and you will definitely feel it the next day! If 30/30 seemed too easy, you can always shorten the rest period, and vice versa if it seemed too hard.

I'd definitely love to hear your feedback if you do the workout. Happy weekend everyone!