Schedule Changes: Marathon Training & New Workout Splits

There have been a lot of changes to my schedule the past two weeks. The first one being that I started my marathon training last week which means that I need to make sure that I am following the plan, and keeping running a priority over lifting. Yes I want to maintain muscle but I also really, really want to cross that finish line. I know it's completely possible to do both but if I end up losing a little bit of muscle along the way, I'm not going to sweat it. 

The most important reason as to why my schedule has changed is that my grandma just got diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. She's going to be in the hospital for the next 4-6 weeks as she starts extremely intense chemotherapy. The biggest blessing is the hospital is literally 5 blocks from my office so I'll be able to visit her every day after work in addition to weekends. 

I plan on visiting her every day that I can because this is going to be a stressful time for her and my whole family. Not only does my grandma need support but so does her husband and her children, my dad and aunt. I'm not going to let my workouts get in the way of that. They were all there for me during my mom's aneurysm/stroke/recovery, and I don't plan on abandoning them now when they need help. 

I have goals for 2015 but my family trumps everything. I've already done some tweaking to my schedule that I think will allow me to balance being with family, working full-time, and my goals. It's going to be a trial this week, and if I have to make more adjustments then I will. I also have many substitute workouts that I can do at home if necessary depending on my work schedule that day. In the end, I don't care if I go a few days without working out if it means that my grandma feels supported and loved. 

So here's the new breakdown:

Monday: Legs 

I used to split legs up into two separate days (quads and glutes/hamstrings) but not anymore. 

Tuesday: Shoulders & 3 mile run
I used to incorporate some chest work with shoulders but I decided to just fully focus on shoulders because I don't necessarily care so much about chest. That's completely my own personal preference and I know some people really like to work on chest. But I'm not one of them so I cut it out to make more room for training runs and focus on shoulders. 

Wednesday: Training Run

Thursday: Bis/Tris & 3 mile run

Friday: Back/Abs
I used to run on this day, too but I switched that around after I cut out the second leg day. This gives me much more breathing room because instead of working out twice a day (morning then after work) I only need to make time for one workout! 

Saturday: Long Run

Sunday: Rest!!

Eventually, when my legs may not recover after leg days and higher mileage weeks, I'll cut out Mondays to replace with longer training runs. That's probably not until about halfway through the training plan so I'll come to that bridge when I cross it. I may not have to cut leg days at all because my quads can actually recover fairly quickly. We'll just have to see! 

I'll also be posting my training runs each week with the mileage and any other notes that I think could be useful or helpful! 

And, please, keep my grandma in your prayers! She's amazingly strong and optimistic about it all but there's no denying that she's in for a rough 4-6 weeks. She means the world to me, and I don't know where I'd be without her!