Good morning people! It’s already Thursday – seriously, where is this week going? More importantly, where is this month going? I’m almost down to a single digit number of days left living in Nashville. Crazy.

Several people have been asking what my plans are for running (and fitness in general) now that I’ve finished my half marathon. And when I say several, I mean like two people. But still. If two people are curious, that means others must be curious also, right? Right??

Well, regardless, I’m going to tell you. I’ll give you a little behind-the-scenes peek into what my workout routine has looked like for the past few weeks, and what I think it will look like in the near future.

First week back
I’m not going to lie – that week was rough. My legs felt like they had been put through the shredder. It was difficult to walk up and down stairs, let alone to run! I took Sunday off, then went to a hot yoga class on Monday. It actually wasn’t half bad! Tuesday I did a few arm weights and walked (slowly) for a bit on the treadmill, and then I took Wednesday off (per usual – Wednesday was one of my rest days during training). Thursday was my first run – it was slow, and it was rough. But I did it! Friday and Sunday I did some cross-training, and took Saturday off for the Derby.

Second week back
I wanted to get back to my basic training pattern this week, so I went for a run on Monday (went pretty well, and I even attempted to do a little speedwork!) and cross-trained on Tuesday. Rest on Wednesday, and then Thursday I tackled my first outdoor run. It was super hard. I felt like I was running in water, and could only do a couple of miles. But I was glad to get the first one under my belt! Cross-training again on Friday, and then a rest on Saturday for Steeplechase. Unless you count walking a mile lugging two folding chairs, in which case I did a workout! Sunday was my real rest day.

Third week back (this week)
This week is the first week that I’ve felt pretty much back to normal. I went for a longer run on Monday (still not terribly long, but it was outside!) and did a weights workout and the stationary bike yesterday. Today, I did a three-mile walk around the block before dinner. I think I’m going to start transitioning to only having one rest day per week (Sundays), and maybe add another one in here and there if I’m having an especially busy week, or if I feel overly tired.

So there you have it. I’m not currently training for anything (unless you count this awesome 5k that I promised to come back and do with the roomies in October). I’m just working towards overall fitness and health! Do I see another half marathon in my future? Yes. I would say I have definitely caught the racing bug, and not just the running bug anymore.

That feeling of crossing the finish line, knowing that you have achieved a huge goal and done something that not many people will ever do in their lifetime? Yeah, that was pretty cool. I just think that my next half marathon will be in a city that is flatter!