It’s Marathon Monday! I was watching a video of the elite women taking off at the starting line and I thought to myself, “I’m pretty sure that’s what I think I look like taking off for a 5K.” I can’t even imagine going out of the gate like that for a marathon. Incredible athleticism and endurance!

While we’re on the topic of Boston, did you see that the first woman who ran the Boston Marathon is running it again this year…50 years later!? She’s 70 years old now. When she ran Boston back in 1967 it was a man’s race only because women were considered “too fragile to run it.” That is craziness ladies! It is insanity to me how much the strength of women has been doubted and minimized throughout the course of time when we just keep showing everyone how freaking strong we are.

Read the full and inspiring story about Katherine Switzer in this New York Times article.

Wearing Newton Fate II. I just ordered another pair today! They are 100% the best!

Let’s talk a little more about running. I haven’t been doing a whole lot of it lately. I only ran two times for a total of 9 miles this week. In my ideal world my average weekly mileage would be around 20 but I’d be happy with 15. The problem is that work and other workouts get in the way…along with dog mom guilt. I am constantly trying to juggle finding the time to fit in a workout (on top of time to walk to dogs) along with my balance between strength, yoga and running. And I’m not willing to sacrifice my yoga practice or strength work to run more because they’re so, so important to me for their own reasons.

I’d mostly like to run more regularly because I love how it makes me feel. I don’t have any current desire to race or to break PRs…I just want to run more. There is just nothing like a good run to wipe my slate clean and as I know I’ve said many times before, it’s the best way for me to deal with stress and anxiety. I’d also like to run more regularly because when I don’t run consistently, running starts to feel HARD! It’s crazy how fast you start to lose your endurance.

Basically, I just need this to be my reality. 😉

In all seriousness, I did a good job at moving my body last week. At the end of yesterday’s run, my Apple Watch told me I had a perfect exercise week…it was the first time I ever got that notification! Tanner got me an Apple Watch for Christmas. I still prefer my TomTom Spark 3 for running (by a landslide) but if it’s not charged, I’ll just wear my Apple Watch.

Last Week’s Workouts

Monday: 3 mile run + hot yoga

Tuesday: 3 mile walk + taught a 50 minute strength class at the Y

Wednesday: 3 mile walk

Thursday: hot yoga

Friday: hot yoga + lift + 30 minute walk

3 rounds:
20 two-step shuffles
10 monster walks
10 back squats (85#)
10 ring rows
10 push ups

3 rounds:
10 bench press (75#)
10 pull ups (5 strict and 5 light assist)
20 alternating back stepping lunges holding a 25# plate in each hand

3 rounds:
10 back squats (105#)
10 parallette pass thrus
15 tricep extensions on the racked barbell

3 rounds:
10 deadlifts from the ground (105#)
10 dumbbell strict overhead press (20#)
30 jump lunges
10 dumbbell bicep curl (20#)

Saturday: hot yoga

Sunday: 6 mile run

While I did wish I could have squeezed in another run or two, I loved all the yoga I got in last week. I took from four different teachers at the studio and every class was awesome in its own different way!

This Week’s Workout Playlist

I say this every week but I’m LOVING this week’s workout playlist that I just put together on Spotify.

Happy sweating!

What is your ideal when it comes to how many days a week to run and your weekly total mileage?

Do you have an Apple Watch? If so, what do you think of it?