It's been a while (nearly two months, in fact) since I've updated this site. For the most part, I've been keeping up with my ATM training. I recently started doing long runs with a friend of mine which makes them go by so much faster. Well, they feel like it anyway... my pace isn't all that much faster, although I've done both my 8 and 9 mile runs without walking, a new accomplishment for me. This weekend, Adam and I are going to go for a 10 mile run before tapering next week. We've already got two 10 mile races and a half marathon under our belt, so we don't think it's going to hurt our overall time in the actual race to do a 10 mile run the week before since we've done the mileage before.

I'm in the final month before we leave for Hawaii on our honeymoon! I'm hoping to lose another 5 pounds or so and firm up a bit before we leave so I feel a little more confident walking around in a swimsuit for two weeks. (And no, I don't need to lose for the wedding... I made sure to get a dress I was comfortable in even if I didn't lose any weight. Swimsuits are another story altogether.) I've lost about 12 pounds so far since about February, but there was a long time there that I was just maintaining, rather than losing, weight. In the past month or so, I've pushed through a plateau and lost those last few pounds to get to where I am at now.

In order to meet my goal, Adam and I are planning on spending a lot more time strength training over the next few weeks. We are only going to work on the upper body until after the ATM, because we don't want to wear out our legs too much. We're alternating back/biceps with chest/shoulders/triceps, every other day. After the race, we'll rotate in a day of legs. (Groan!) I'm also going to keep going spinning two times a week, doing a long run (6-10 miles) on the weekends, and doing one or two shorter runs (3-5 miles) during the week. I also keep saying that I'm going to get up early and get some yoga in, but that hasn't happened yet. :-) (The type of yoga I do isn't really a hard workout, so I can definitely still do it on days I'm doing cardio and/or strength.)

It seems like a lot, but I am trying to mix everything up as much as I can so I don't overtrain anything. Muscle groups are only getting worked 2-3 times a week, and I'm varying my cardio workouts between spinning and running so I don't put too much stress on my legs by running five times a week. Plus, back in the earlier years of our relationship, Adam and I used to go to the gym together almost every night after work and strength train or run, so it's kind of like we're rekindling that part of our relationship... right before the wedding. Super romantic, right? (Mostly, it's just us walking around going, "I'm so sore... ")