Weeks 2 and 3 of 5k Training

What an adventure 5k training has been. Mostly the adventure has been finding the time to fit it in, but I will say I have been walking in some fun places too. Week 2 training was slow and steady. Week 3 training was a big fat flop. Oh well. We have to have those to make us stronger and better competitors, right?

So here's the breakdown for Week 2:
Week 2 started off our busy fall schedule with the TTM TX Throwdown for Haiti concert. At the beginning of the week, I was focused and determined on my training plan. By the end of the week, not so focused. While I managed to train for more time than the training plan called for, I could definitely see how I let my schedule and my lack of planning impact my training and eating. By mid-week my food intake was less on the healthy side, more on the 'do you want fries with that?' side. My sleep patterns were totally off (if you stay up til 4am, you are going to have to eat a midnight snack).

Here's where I really felt the slippery slope of not planning hit me the worst. On my second training walk at the track with our church group, I was running late so I didn't have my typical walking fuel-up: a rice cake with a tbsp of peanut butter and a tbsp of dark Karo syrup (hey it's my one and only way to enjoy this Southern goodness). Because I was running late, I ran out the door without taking a bottle of water. The night before the walk, I was running around and didn't eat dinner or drink anything (no water, no nothin'). By the time I got to the track, I wasn't feeling so hot. I started up my walk, and suddenly felt like I had a massive hangover from hades. My muscles felt like mush. My mind felt foggy. Everything felt awful. Then the words went through my mind, 'I should have listened to Caitlin's wonderful post on Healthy Tipping Point about cures for sluggish runs'.

I did manage to get in a great training walk with my walking buddy and a nice hike with my guys on my days off. We all have those weeks right?

And here's the breakdown for Week 3:
BIG FAT FAIL! I trained one day, and that wasn't even very good. I did a mile in 25 minutes, and I walked a quarter of that mile backward to take the pressure off my shin splints. For some reason, my shin splints do not like walking on the high school track. I can handle walking on concrete at the park just fine. I do great walking trails, but walking on the track is down right painful. Most of the time I end up walking the grass in the middle of the track or walking backward. I can't figure it out. Why don't my shins like the cushy track? I'm rebellious by nature, perhaps my shins are too...

Have a great day!