“Although we’ve come to the end of the road…”
The 6 week #returntoolympia challenge has come to an end as I glide into the final week of half marathon training, which began in May during the #stillinit17 challenge. Once again, I couldn’t peak for the end of the fitness challenge because I’m still nursing. I need to keep calories high and stay hydrated! We can imagine that training for a half marathon while dehydrated and in a caloric deficit would probably SUCK and could lead to some major problems!
- I didn’t lose weight, but I didn’t gain weight. My new runner brain initially thought I’d get ripped but I maintained my weight, which is a good thing. My biggest fear was training for long distances would cause me to look like an elite marathoner (I want a sprinter’s body) but my measly 20-25+ miles a week wouldn’t create either of those body types. Which leads to my next experience.
- I was RUNGRY. All the time! This can explain why some runners gain weight while training for long distance events. I ate all the time, day and night! Let’s not forget about all my carb loading and intake of electrolyte drinks.
- Running took alot out of me. Running is freaking hard! It caused fatigue, soreness, and achy knees/feet. I ran while my kiddo napped and I felt so wiped out that I just wanted to lay down but I still had to keep on being mama! Some days called for lifting AND a run, which leads me to this point…
- Towards the end of the challenge, lifting felt like a burden. Since May, I had to find the sweet spot of lifting hard enough so I wouldn’t be so sore that I could not run. In the last couple of weeks, I just wanted to RUN because I was tired & my athletic performance was more important than my physique. Around week 4, my rotator cuff issues (hurt it in February) got worse so lifting upper body left me frustrated.
- The #returntoolympia challenge is what kept me lifting until the end. Watching fellow challengers on social media lift weights and transform kept me in the game. If it weren’t for the challenge, it would have been easy to drop lifting from my training schedule. I believe lifting kept me strong and perhaps injury free in my back/lower body!
- My times improved quickly. I didn’t realize the amount of progress new runners could see in their times until I started challenging myself with local races. Since May, I went from over a 10-11 minute mile for my short runs to hitting a 9:03-9:15 minute mile pace during HIIT sessions! My long runs decreased from an 11-12 minute mile to about 10-10:30 minute mile. These running gains kept me motivated to lace up the sneakers every week.
- My #1 rule for lifters who want to train for a race: DO NOT RUN ON LEG DAY! I made that mistake once and only once. It ruined my runs for the remainder of the week. One more rule! Try to lift before you run!
As you can see, I didn’t have a dramatic weight loss transformation, but my legs and core are much stronger and I am addicted to running, for now. Half marathon in 6 days!
What’s your favorite race distances?
