Training doesn’t care if you’re on vacation. Training doesn’t care if it’s a national holiday. Training doesn’t care if you’re spending most of your day on an airplane or away from home. Race day doesn’t move back on the calendar because we spent several days celebrating Thanksgiving, going on a trip or decorating the house from top to bottom for Christmas. Training for endurance races happens around our lives. And, while we have to strike the right balance, we also have the choice to use life as an excuse or to opt for no excuses.

Last week, amidst holidays and vacation, I opted for no excuses. Mr. rUnladylike and I spent an awesome week out west – in Utah and then Las Vegas (more on that later this week). Although we were living out of a suitcase and had an incredible week of activities and fun planned, I managed to stay on track with my training for the ZOOMA Florida Half Marathon, which is now less than 7 weeks away.

Here is what last week’s half marathon training looked like:

MONDAY: 8 miles of hiking at Zion National Park in Utah
I’ll share more about this later in the week, but Mr. rUnladylike and I spent 4 hours hiking at one of the most beautiful places in the country. We even summited Angel’s Landing – Zion’s infamous 5,790-foot peak in which the last half mile to the top is extremely strenuous, with sharp drop offs, narrow paths and a chain to help keep you from sliding down the mountain. I was pretty proud of us for getting up and back down that last half-mile. Did I mention 6 people have died climbing Angel’s Landing since 2004?

TUESDAY: Ran a 5-mile progression/tempo run with Mr. rUnladylike in Utah around Snow Canyon at an average 7:54/mile pace. The first half was uphill before we turned around and came back downhill. The miles looked like this: 8:39, 8:25, 8:08, 7:16, 7:02.

After my run, I did a 1-hour gentle yoga class.

WEDNESDAY: Mr. rUnladylike and I did a 30-minute strength training circuit at the gym at the Venetian in Las Vegas that included a 5-minute warm-up on the elliptical machine followed by 4 sets of 6 arm exercises (chest, back, shoulders, triceps, biceps, and forearms). Afterward, I rode the stationary bike for 25 minutes (~7.81 miles).

THURSDAY (Thanksgiving): My typical Thanksgiving tradition is to get some exercise in early, either by running my local Atlanta half marathon or going for a 5-mile run at Stone Mountain and then a 2-mile hike up the mountain just outside of Atlanta. However, since we spent this Thanksgiving in Vegas, the Venetian hotel gym was where I started my day.

I attempted to do the speed work session that was on my training plan: 2 x 1,200 meters at 6:44/mile pace and 4 x 800 meters at 6:33/mile pace. As soon as I stepped on the treadmill I knew this was not going to be my day or the workout I was hoping for. I felt sluggish through my warm up. During my first 1,200 I decided to change the workout to 6 x 800 at my 1,200 pace. Halfway through my third 800, I called the workout. I slowed back down to a cool down pace until I hit 3 miles. I then did 15 minutes of ab work. All the walking around Vegas and eating rich foods did me in. Not every workout can be a good workout. This was my bad one. Ick.

FRIDAY: REST and travel day back to Atlanta

SATURDAY: 11-mile run at 8:09/mile pace with my good training pal, Tammy

SUNDAY: REST
Although I had planned to do some cross training (either swimming or biking) on Sunday, I let the aforementioned life get in my way. After having been gone for nearly a week, Sunday was my day to go grocery shopping, run errands and finish putting up our Christmas decorations. In addition to our main tree, I have a small tree in the dining room that only bears race medals for ornaments. {Check out my post on how to use your medals for holiday bling here.}

Our Christmas tree …

My race medal Christmas tree …

My favorite new ornament on my race medal Christmas tree this year (I added 5 new medals) …

If you’re interested in running the ZOOMA Florida Half Marathon (or 5K) with me, use code FLAAMB4 to get $10 off your registration. I’m an ambassador for the race.

How did your training go last week? Did you exercise on Thanksgiving? What big training goals do you have for this week?