2015 has been off to a great start.  It is my heart’s desire to complete the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon on April 25th.   I’m craving the taste of victory! 

I do not have any time goals to ease up  on the pressure.  This will be a redemptive marathon since I had to pull out of St.Louis RNR training last August. Logging training miles and balancing life is enough pressure as it is. 

I am following the Norton Sports Health KY Festival training plan.  The biggest adjustment for me is switching to evening workouts.  There are group hill sessions on Tuesday nights, and solo midweek runs on Wednesday and Thursday.  I’ve been fortunate to train on the campus of my job after school. 

I meet with the Norton Health training group on Saturdays for my long runs.  I’m being careful to keep the pace as close to 9:00 as possible.  Having a playlist helps.  Eminem’s Detroit vs. Everybody remix is 2 miles worth of distractions alone. 

It's cool being able to train in 2 states!

Sunday is my cross training day and I enjoy the refreshing feeling of swimming a mile.  It takes me between 35-40 minutes and then I relax in the sauna for the rest of the hour.

Monday and Friday are rest days.  I do not find my schedule to be strenuous.   I spent a great deal of time in the last couple months hitting the weight room.  I just need my knee to hold together as I baby myself through this training cycle.

I’ve learned that I am still a morning person regardless of evening work outs.  Sleeping in until 6 a.m. does me justice.  I like that I’m safer running on campus instead of the dark streets with a tightly gripped taser in my right hand.

Besides running, my year kicked off with a wedding of one of my former Smootents.  Imane, who is from Chad has been married to her Ethiopian husband for almost a year.  It is customary for her culture to host a “wedding” after the official marriage ceremony.

It was nice seeing some of my former Smootents and a co-worker from several years ago.  They are all doing well in their careers. 

On the family side, my cousin Taylor is in his senior year of basketball at WV Wesleyan.  My Dad and I drove to Urbana, OH to see the Bobcats in action.  Taylor majors in Physics and is the only player to wear a mouth guard.   I’m sure his mother, who is the Associate Dean of the College of Dentistry at WVU has a lot to do with that.

Some of our cousins from Springfield, OH came out to support.  We all went to dinner at The Farmers Daughter. The food was delicious!  I’ll be back in Springfield for the Air Force Marathon in the fall.  The Farmers Daughter will be a must stop.

So, this concludes what’s going on in my clamshell.  A pearl will soon emerge!

♡Kelsie Lou♡