As I watched the Boston Marathon coverage Monday morning, one of the announcers started talking about how competitive running is commonly referred to as “athletics” in Europe – a term we refer to as track and field in the United States. As Kenya’s Carolina Rotich and Ethiopia’s Mare Dibaba sprinted shoulder-to-shoulder down Boylston Street to the finish, the announcer commented about how appropriate the term “athletics” was to describe that moment. The origin comes from a Greek word meaning competition where battling and struggling is summed up in that one word. It was a battle and a struggle to give it everything they had.

Whether you’re an elite runner headed to a world major win or an everyday runner like most of us, running is often a struggle and a battle. That’s the only way to sum up my outdoor runs last week.

On Wednesday, my friend Elizabeth and I decided to run 8 miles in honor of the 2-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings and everyone who was affected by that tragic day.

What started as a decent run quickly turned into a suffer fest. I had to stop three times and go to the bathroom (and yes, by “go to the bathroom” I do mean explosive diarrhea #unladylike). This picture pretty much describes my run:

With about 1.5 miles to go, I told Elizabeth to run ahead without me. Void of all energy, I walked the rest of the way home. The silver lining was that I could still laugh at myself and I was wearing a killer pair of shoes (the Brooks Running Boston Marathon limited edition lobster Launch 2s) and the official 2015 Boston Marathon tech tee my dad bought me when I ran my first BQ race last October.

This is running. Some days are glorious and some days are a struggle and a fight. Perhaps I’ll just start calling my bad runs “athletics.”

Today’s Boston Marathon not only reminded me about the difficult journey we go on as runners that can sometimes be a struggle, but that every struggle is part of our progress. Just one year ago today, I wrote this about my thoughts on the Boston Marathon: “I want to run this race … 3:35 is attainable. Not this year, and maybe not next year, but eventually.”

Since those words, I did qualify for the 2016 Boston Marathon. Only time will tell when I will get to run the race, but I was reminded, yet again, that we are capable of much more than we think, bad runs and all.

Here’s what my past week of training looked like.

Every week I share my weekly training and how I’m taking action against my 2015 goals. I also share the one thing I’m most proud of from the week and the one pitfall that has challenged me the most. Then, I invite you to do the same. There is a place at the bottom of this post for you to share a link to your weekly recap for others to come and cheer you on or offer you support. If you don’t have a Web site, simply share about your week in the comments section.

Getting Sweaty and Stronger

My fitness goals for 2015 are to stay in half marathon shape year-round (20-30 miles of running per week and long runs of 8-11 miles) and get stronger (2-3 strength training and cross training workouts each week).

• Monday: 1-hour at Blast alternating between 10-minute sets of running on the treadmill (sprints and hill work) and strength training on the floor … ran a total of 3.6 miles
• Tuesday: AM – Ran 5.75 sluggish miles; PM: 75 minutes restorative yoga
• Wednesday: Ran the disastrous 6.2 miles mentioned above + 40 minutes of deep stretching and foam rolling
• Thursday: 1 hour at Orangetheory Fitness, including 3 miles of running with tempo-paced intervals and 2,200 meters of rowing + strength training
• Friday: REST + house hunting in Tampa
• Saturday: REST + house hunting in Tampa
• Sunday: 45-minute IronStrength workout from Running Strong (I’ll post more about this workout and my thoughts on the book soon.)

Eating Clean

My nutrition goals for 2015 are to cook most days of the week, limit sugar and bread intake, track my food daily and focus on eating clean(er).

When I exercise in the evening, dinner can be a challenge. On Tuesday, I made this Slow Cooker Enchilada Soup from Gimme Some Oven in the crockpot so I could go to an evening yoga class and still get a great dinner on the table for Mr. rUnladylike and me. We both liked it and agreed it was good enough to keep on the rotation. I used the enchilada sauce from Trader Joes and topped each serving with diced avocado and one ounce of freshly grated Cracker Barrel sharp white cheddar cheese. The cheese really makes it!

I’ve also been using two incredible salts I purchased from the Salt Table while I was in Savannah for the Publix Women’s Half Marathon. This company was at the expo, and after the race I went to their shop and tasted tons of different salts. This black truffle sea salt as well as their all ‘round good grinder blend are my favorites.

On Wednesday night, I cooked up a bowl of pasta that was half whole wheat angel hair and half spiralized zucchini (zoodles), Adele’s chicken meatballs and sauce. I added some of the black truffle salt (which I’ve been adding to everything lately). Yum!

On Thursday, I used the all-around salt on a beef tenderloin which was excellent alongside corn on the cobb and roasted brussels sprouts.  (Note: I do NOT have a relationship with this salt company.)

What I’m Most Proud of

My attention to foam rolling and deep stretching and finishing a four-week photography class (one of my non-running goals for the year)

Where I Struggled

Acclimating to the heat and humidity while running as the hotter temps return to the south

Thought for the Week Ahead

“Being a runner means you are now ‘free’ to win and lose and live life to its fullest.”
~Bill Rodgers, Four-time Boston Marathon winner

How was your week last week? How did your training go? What are you most proud of? Where were you most challenged? Share your comments and/or link up to your weekly recap post below.