Week in Review

55 Miles
6 Runs

1 Day off

12 Mile Long Run
3 Days of Lifting
2 Massages

This was a successful week 2 of my training plan. After last week's low mileage, my legs are feeling light and fresh, even with the addition of a weight lifting plan that Mark Kane developed for me. After doing body weights at Carolinas Rehab on Tuesday, I did more weights (low reps) with Mark on Wednesday at Pura Vida Fitness, and then decided to lift again on Saturday for fun. With Mark's advice, I will only be lifting twice a week once I'm hitting over 70 miles a week so as to ensure I do not tire my legs out any more than needed. I believe that lifting twice a week, combined with a massage once a week from Byran at Zenriffic Massage and Wellness, will increase my chances of staying injury free.

The best part of this week is that I ran over an hour for each of my runs. This is to increase my endurance as I prepare to run 80 miles a week in March. I enjoyed a minuter workout with an entourage of some my favorite guys and a long run with Megan Hovis this week. I trust that the next couple of weeks of training will go as well as these past two because my mind is in the right place and my body is responding well to the increase in mileage.

In non-running related news, I enjoyed five days with Garrett as we try to get in as much time with each other before he leaves for Spring Training on March 4. In an effort to convert my friends to vegetarianism one meal at a time, I cooked orange ginger tofu stir fry over rice and invited Matt and Jordan over to share in the delicious treat. I also cooked stuffed eggplant, parsley potatoes, asparagus, cauliflower, and kale salad. We enjoyed a birthday dinner with our friend Ottie and also did so bad at Brixx trivia that we left at halftime as we were in last place.

Quite possibly the best news of the week was finding out that the super secret squirrel Meagan Nedlo qualified for the Olympic Trials Marathon with her time (2:44xx) at the Mercedes Marathon in Birmingham, Alabama. It must also be noted that Mark Hadley coached athlete, Mike Kahn, followed her in 2:45:xx. In an effort to keep things under wrap to avoid any additional pressure, Meagan proved that she deserves her spot at the line in Houston 2012. This makes three women from Charlotte who have qualified! It will definitely be a special weekend.

I wrapped up the weekend with the CRC Valentine's Day Run and took a nice shot of the entire group, as you can see below. I posted the picture where I told members to "touch their neighbor." I think each person's personality shines through quite well!

The CRC Group at the Valentine's Run

Cicero hanging out the square of sunlight!