Recap: First Two Weeks of Training + Sugar 'n' Spice Cookies

Half Marathon Training, Week 1 - in Review.

The schedule:

1  1/10-1/16

Spin  +abs

3 mi   easy

5 x 400   @5k pace

Boot   Camp

Rest

3 mi  pace

5 mi  long

Here's what I did:

Monday: Spinning
Tuesday: 3.13 mi run
Wednesday: 3.65 mi run
Thursday: 1 hour bootcamp + 15 minutes on spin bike
Friday: Rest!  But I did 150 crunches and a total of 7 x 12 reps of various lower back exercises on my stability ball (I did all the ones featured on that site).
Saturday: 4.09 mi pace run incl. warm up and cool down
Sunday: 2.5 mile dog walk (pushed back long run to Week 2)

Week 2 Schedule:

2  1/17-1/23

Spin  +abs

3 mi   easy

30 min   tempo

Boot   Camp

Rest

3 mi  pace

6 mi  long

 
What I actually did:

Monday:  6.22 mile long run (from Sunday of Week 1)
Tuesday: 1.56 easy miles + 45 minutes of kickboxing
Wednesday: 25 minute/2.17 mile tempo run on ice.
Thursday: 55 minutes of the super-intense beyond-boot camp class
Friday: Rest day
Saturday: Another Rest day...it was freaking cold, and my quads still hurt from Thursday. Seriously.
Sunday: 7.58 mi long run


I expect some deviation from my official plan...Hoping to stick to it exactly when other things come up is just setting me up for failure/disappointment/whatever.

Saturday, after going to see Harry Potter (good movie, but really dark-- people and creatures died on screen-- I was really surprised so many people brought their small children) and eating half my weight in popcorn (haven't gotten movie popcorn in a really long time!!) we came home, it was 6pm, dark and 17 degrees.  Additionally, my quads were still sore from Thursday night and my arches were sore (wahh, I know I'm whining). 

So I chose not to run.  My leg muscles were sore just sitting down and standing up. Instead I did a bunch of stretching for my legs. Luckily, my super awesome husband offered to rub my feet! It felt fantastic.

Sunday, I went for my long run. My plan called for 6 miles, but I had energy from not running for 3 days.  So I did a little over 7!  (Also, prior to my training plan starting, my long run was up to about 5 miles.  During Week 1, I did a 6 mile run when the plan called for 5. I decided to up my long run by one mile for now, giving me some added flexibility in my training - I can build up to 13 before the half if I'm feeling up to it, or I can take an extra week to build up later on, if needed).

It was about 23-25F for my run, and especially cold when my route took me through some open fields and I caught a strong breeze.  At least it was sunny!

And, now, so I can include some pictures in this post... Sunday night I made cookies!  I'm not sure where this recipe is from, but my mom has made these cookies at Christmas time for as long as I can remember.  When trying to google the recipe, it seems there are some variations floating around out there.

Sugar 'n' Spice Cookies

3/4 cup soft shortening (butter)                 2 tsp. soda
1c. sugar                                                1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg                                                      1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. molasses                                       3/4 tsp. ground cloves
2 c. flour                                                  3/4 tsp. ginger

Mix together shortening, sugar, egg and molasses.  Add dry ingredients mixed together.  Mix thoroughly. 

Super moist dough.

Form into small balls the size of a small walnut.  Place 2 in. apart on greased cookie sheet. 

Bake at 375 for 8-9 min. 

Notice someone (ahem, hubby) took one before I could even photograph them!

Roll in confectioners sugar while still warm.  Makes approx. 4 doz.  

I made the third sheet of dough balls a little bigger than the first two; we ended up with 43 cookies.

Perfect!  I had three or four last night just for quality control :)