Into Week 5 and going strong

Well as my title would suggest (obviously), I'm into week 5 of half marathon training and I'm going strong! I have some soreness after yoga and strength training sessions and foam rolling is rough but for the most part running is feeling more and more natural.

Today was an "off-day". Now I don't mean "rest day", I mean "OFF-day". Today my 4-mile run was majorly off. I went into it after a good warm-up too (which I'll admit I am often too impatient to do). My L lower leg was burning, I felt sluggish and about mile 2 I just about pooped myself. Thankfully I made it to the Rite Aid. I blame my 2nd cup of coffee, which I usually never drink before a run! My body has just been a little bit off today. Nothing to totally throw me off my plan. I am hydrating better today and I think the #2 issue should be resolved. It was just hard...I didn't even want to think about how the half marathon is 9 more miles!

Generally speaking my body is feeling a lot better since starting running. I was dealing with an ulcer, and was having issues with gas and constipation and some blood sugar-regulation issues when I began my half marathon plan. Since then it seems most of the gas/constipation issues are very rare, and the ulcer is healed nicely. Running seems to work out a lot of stuff digestively speaking. I am more careful about what I eat for sure as well. I also feel like the energy I expend during a run helps to regulate my blood sugar and of course offers much-appreciated endorphins. I'm relieving stress and my body feels so much better. It also trickles into other areas of my life as well and I am getting better at remembering my vitamins, stretching, drinking more water and generally taking better care of myself. Of course these are generalities which did not exactly apply to today ;)

Also I am part of a small but active running group on Facebook. We report in on our daily runs, share funny pictures and helpful articles we find online. I like having a group with like-minded ladies.

I'm getting so excited about my target race! The Carlsbad Marathon/Half Marathon has a Facebook page as well and they post something every couple of days, such as a recent video. I am really looking forward to this race!