For a minute there it looked like I almost had it all! Nailing those sub-12 minute miles like it ain’t no thang, rocking all the cross training I could get my hands on… It had to come crashing down eventually. And it did, in last week’s first training run on Tuesday:

While these numbers aren’t that bad by my standards, they’re deceptive. Because those 54 minutes were PURE TORTURE. I fought through the entire run with a painful, swollen ACL knee (thanks, humidity and rain for 4 days in a row) and each water break was a struggle to come out of without quitting. But the miles were logged and I was only slightly off my goal.

The next day I did some minor strength training (mostly arms and abs), then went to acupuncture. Thursday’s next run was for redemption, and I wasn’t disappointed:

While it wasn’t 100% easier, the pain in my knee wasn’t as biting and I was able to rock through all 4 miles much faster than a few days prior. I guess that’s what they mean by good runs and bad runs.

After taking my rest day Friday and heading down to Atlantic City with my mama for a little girls’ getaway, I set out for my long run on the boardwalk for a change of pace Saturday morning (and prayed that all the wine I drank the night before wouldn’t hurt my performance).

The weather was super warm for February at around 55 degrees, but the winds coming up from the south were brutal. After shaking out, I took off for one mile going north and thought “This is great! I could go forever!” That is, until I turned around at the northernmost point of the boardwalk and ran smack into a wall of wind that didn’t quit for the next 2 miles. The tears streamed from my eyes even under sunglasses, and my face stayed pink for the rest of the day. Once I made it just past mile 3, I had to turn around and get the wind at my back again. I had hoped to go farther south so I didn’t have to double up my route, but the wind was just too much.

So I spun and ran through thickening crowds back to the northern end of the boards at around mile 5, then spun around again to fight through mile 6, and back again for 7. It wasn’t the most efficient route, but I had to do what I had to do to fight through the winds and get the miles in! I only stopped to stretch and drink once at mile 3.5ish, and kept a good pace the rest of the time. My A Goal was to stay under 12:00/mile again for the long run, but once I hit that wind I knew it wasn’t going to be possible. B Goal was to finish under 12:30/mile without walking too much, and I nailed that easily.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank my Skirt Sports Tantrum print Lotta Love top for going the distance. The little pocket in the back did double duty by holding my phone AND keeping the edge of my top weighed down so I didn’t have to tug at it the whole time I ran (like I do in other brands). PS: if you want to score your own Skirt Sports gear, use code JRH20 for 20% off your order!

Once I hit 7 miles and cooled down for a bit, I headed back up to the room to change and shower for a nice massage (YES) and then mama and I got all dolled up for a good old fashioned Mardi Gras party!

All in all Week 3 was a little more low-key than I’d hoped – I wanted to get more strength training in, but acupuncture and traveling cut into my schedule more than anticipated. It’s alright though – I’m still way ahead of the game in terms of my long run mileage (almost a full month ahead, technically), so I’m not going to rush anything. That said, I can’t wait to run tonight, even if it is on another damn treadmill because of the pouring rain and freezing temps outside. Bring it on, treadmill!

How’s your training going? Tell me in the comments!