First off, the countdown: 47 days until El Maratón!

Tuesday: 5.88km, avg 7:44/km

Thursday: 11:30km, avg 6:03/km

Friday CrossFit: mobility drills, handstands (first full handstand off the wall!)
Push press, 5×3: 95 lbs
8:00 AMRAP: Jump split squats, explosive push-ups, sit-ups, dumbbell swings (40lbs). Two full rounds plus 5 pushups

Saturday: 8:17km, avg 6:47/km

Sunday: 22:84km, avg 6:36/km

This past week was the week this became work.

Like I mentioned last week, the initial excitement and motivation has worn off but the trip to South America and the marathon is still far out in the distance. Now it’s habit and internal drive that’s pushing me along.

The weather got hot again and while still recovering from the Jesus Year Extravaganza, I struggled mightily on Tuesday. Schedule to go 8 km, I barely covered 6 km. Thursday was much better, but running in the afternoon without bringing water was a bad decision. Thank God for Starbucks (yup, that’ll be the first and last time you ever read that phrase on this blog).

CrossFit saved me this week. I was able to complete a full handstand off the wall. It took a slight adjustment and shift in perspective and before I knew it, both feet were off the wall. Once it registered, I yelled (upside down, mind you), “Holy Shit, I’m doing this!” As a result, I lost my concentration and fell down. And that experience best sums up my training at this point.

It’s amazing that this is happening and it’s still a bit surreal. It’s now to the point that my neighbors are noticing that I’ve lost weight. My dentist stopped his examination half-way through to ask what my secrets were. I’m noticing photographs of myself and it feels like I’m looking at a different person. Really, it’s a new me.

But that’s only part of the goal and really, it wasn’t the primary goal. The primary goal was to have my outsides match my insides. For me, how I feel and how I’m starting to look is how I feel and how I really look. It’s a relief to feel that way. Again, I’m only half-way there.

For every handstand I complete, there’s runs that I’m struggling to finish. Saturday’s run was good but the Sunday long run was brutal. It was really by God’s grace and extra energy gels that I completed 23km. After a busy weekend with friends in town, the start of another fantasy football season and additional sugar and alcohol, I was sucking wind big-time.

I tried to imagine the finish line and how I’ll feel when I cross the line. That helped me finish. But once the marathon is completed and in the past, there’s another finish line I want to cross. And another. And another. My ultimate objective is to do the work. Keep doing the work.