It has been a while, and I think the timing couldn’t be better. I have 20 weeks until the Walt Disney World Marathon and I think it’s time for my training miles updates to start getting a bit more frequent. It’s also time for me to get serious.

Training Miles - Week 20 | My Hot Southern Mess

Over the summer life has been crazy but I have been working on taking care of things. Mainly me and doing a whole heck of a lot of Self Care. That basically means going to the doctor to get things taken care of, devoting time to go out and run while trying to avoid mommy guilt, generally making me the best possible version I can. Some things have been pushed to the side but it was necessary to get to where I am now.

One of my big obstacles with running has always been my breathing. I have asthma and it sucks sometimes. I have never done anything outside of a rescue inhaler for it though. I learned 2 puffs before running was too much so I did one and then used it as needed. I was using it a lot. I finally told my doctor and she put me on meds. They helped but not completely so she put me on another. I have always hated taking medication but I have come to the realization that I need it. Super humid days still take my breath away and on long runs I still use my inhaler but my breathing is much better now. Now that my breathing is getting under control my running is improving. Who knew! Makes me wish I had taken my asthma more seriously years ago.

On my Self Care block has been my weight. I vented about it a few months ago. I took charge and used the resources available to me thanks to the Army. I went and had metabolism testing done and checked out the Bod Pod. The Bod Pod is not my friend but the metabolism testing is just what I needed. I learned exactly how many calories my body needs. Paired with the app MyFitnessPal, I keep track of everything I eat and keep an eye on my calorie intake. In addition to what I eat, I have been running 6 days a week. As a result, I have dropped a bunch of weight and slimmed down. Lastly, I am finally seeing an endocrinologist, this is something I pushed my doctor for and I am glad I did. I have learned my endocrine system is not 100% but we are working on fixing that.

The last thing on my Self Care block is taking care of my hand so I can lift weights again. I learned I have an issue with my Ulnar Nerve and may end up needing surgery. I am trying out some nerve medication right now so hopefully, it will be enough to push off any possible surgeries until after the WDW Marathon. I gotta say this getting old stuff is so much fun

So what has all of this Self Care actually done for me? Over the summer I have gotten to where I need to get going to properly run the WDW Marathon and submit a Proof of Time of the required 2:45 half marathon. Before anyone gets in a tizzy yes, I completed the marathon last year and I properly trained but it was not the marathon I wanted or planned to do. I had to take it easy because of my foot injury so that meant a lot of walking. Yes, many people walk the WDW marathon but that’s not what I wanted to do. I did and still do follow Galloway principals and do run walk intervals. My 2016 marathon training times and marathon time were not what I wanted. Yeah, I rode Everest but… I knew I could do better. In September  I hope to take the first step to getting that better time. I need to do a half marathon. I know I should have already signed up but I am still debating which half. I just can’t decide what half to run. Anyone have any free entries they want to send my way? Will blog for race entries.

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