Peachtree Training: Week 6/13

Monday
Scheduled: 40min XT, 4 easy or off
Did: 0.8mi run @ 8:53/mi, 45min Mizuno Monday
Well, I'd planned on getting to ATC early (5:45) to meet some other MMers for a warm-up lap around Armour, but HBall had other plans. He slept TERRIBLY last night. Went down at 7:30pm, up at 10:30pm, up at 2:30am, and then up again at 4:30am. Oof. I got halfway through caring for him at 4:30 and then had to pass him off to Jerry to leave. 

I could see runners in the distance when I parked, so I decided to go the opposite way around the loop and just meet them. Ended up with 0.8mi (instead of the full 1.33), but I hung with the fast crew for the last half mile, clocking sub 8. Whooooosh!

Pros from the workout:

• felt easy, for the most part
• enjoyed pushing myself and engaging in sprint contests with Brad and Adrian
• feel like a badass

Cons:

• push-ups are still hard, as are mountain climbers-- not sure what the weak link in my body is, but it no longer feels like my core
• partnering up with sweaty people for ab throwdowns is a TERRIBLE plan- you will get their sweat flung into your eyes and onto your face EVERY SINGLE TIME. Barf.

Tuesday
Scheduled: 6 ONB, 4x400m relay, 200m dash
Did: (1) #10KTuesday ONB (-3:30 on back half-- 9:14/mi avg overall)
Today's out-and-back worked out pretty well. I felt like a total slug for the first bit, but that was totally in-line with the plan. Haha. 
Average pace for the first half: 9:50/mi. Average pace for the second half: 8:46/mi. Win.

Race report from track meet: here

Wednesday
Scheduled: off
Did: off
I wanted to do a stroller run tonight with Holden, but didn't have time before quartet practice. :( 


Thursday
Scheduled: 2mi warm-up, 3x1600/400, 1mi cool-down
Did: 0.9mi warm-up, 3x1600/400, 1mi cool-down
So, we forgot that this morning's speedworkout was supposed to have a 2mi warm-up and just did our normal YMCA-->track warm-up. Oops. 

This was me last year. Now, I freaking love mile repeat day.

Over the past few seasons, I've fallen in love with mile repeats. They're pretty much my favorite workout. They're long enough that I get a bit of a reprieve pace-wise, still short enough that I can go zoomzoomzoom, and can be distinctly broken into four smaller, "bite-size" laps. Oh, and because they're long, I have to do less of them in a given workout. ;)

I'd set up a workout on Garmin to keep me in the 7:35-7:45/mi range (goal: 7:42), but, for some reason, it didn't actually sync to my watch. Fortunately, 1600/400 is really easy to count/do on a track. I mentally figured that I'd need to be around a 1:54/lap to hit my target pace, and decided to just use the manual lap button to track myself for the workout.

I was absurdly consistent. Splits varied by 6s max over the entire workout, which is pretty baller for a recreational runner. Generally, my first two laps were slower than the last two, and my last lap of each mile was my fastest. I think this goes hand-in-hand with my mental state for the workout. Lap 1 is always about staying steady and starting off right. Lap 2 is about maintaing. Lap 3 starts to get hard, but reminding myself that I'm halfway through usually gives me a push. Lap 4 is a push- there's only one lap left, and I don't want to finish with too much in the tank. 

After my first mile, I was able to continue a jog around the track until the water table. After two and three, I needed a bit of a walk immediately after crossing the line. It felt really good to know that I'd pushed so well. I really tried to focus on leaning forward, using my glutes, and engaging my arms during this workout. I'm pretty sure I did so, because my arms were really tired by the end of it.

I'm still not sure whether I should use the track for distance or my GPS watch. Either way, I nailed the 7:42 goal, though. Since I tend to base all of my records off of my GPS watch, I'm going to take the time to celebrate the fact that I was basically running 7ish minute miles this morning by that count. It was pretty awesome to have my watch tell me I also got a new 5K PR (23:47) this morning... that makes THREE WEEKS in a row of speedwork where I've gotten a 5K PR during the workout, including my recovery intervals. 

As a result of these rocking speedwork results, I'm starting to think about future goals. First, I think my sub-25 at Braves is 100% within my abilities, which is REALLY FREAKING EXCITING. Second, I'm wondering how fast I can run a straight mile and am starting to consider doing the mile at the track meet on the 24th... 

Friday
Scheduled: 4 easy
Did: 4.17 @ 9:47/mi
As usual, this ended up being an unintentional progression run from a 10:10 down to a 9:10. We took a brief intermission at the halfway point to stop and stretch my sore quads/hamstrings from all this killer speedwork :) 

Saturday
Scheduled: 5 + 4 hills
Did: 5.11 @ 9:52/mi with the stroller
This was a mentally challenging run. Despite perfect (high 40s, partly cloudy) weather, I think I spent the entire run wanting to stop, or walk, or run/walk, or anything but keep running with the stroller. Pretty proud that I kept with it. I think the best thing that running has taught me is how to keep my focus on a longterm goal instead of reaching for instant gratification. I was able to tell myself "think of how good it'll feel to be able to check off your training" and "if you run 5 today, you only have to do 4 tomorrow" to get through.

That said, I didn't get the hill repeats done, but that was more a function of the greenway's flatness than a lack of desire. 

Sunday
Scheduled: 4 easy
Did: 5.77mi @ 9:39/mi
SundayRunday had TWO strollers and seven runners today (plus an extra three or four from the earlier, 7am, shift); another running couple from our training program brought their 15mo old-- so much fun! Jerry pushed H for the first four miles, so I was able to just "take it easy" and run alongside the other stroller family, who was stroller running with their son for the first time... except they were bookin' it! We clocked mid-to-low nines for the first part of the run, and I was super-grateful NOT to have a stroller, because I don't think I could have kept up. :P

Around the 4mi mark, we switched things up. The guys stopped and stayed at the park with the 15mo old while Shelly and I, pushing H, continued on for another ~2 miles. My pace slowed quite a bit once I was pushing the stroller again, but it was still a sub-10. 



Summary
Much improved this week! Still not quite to the 30mpw I'm looking for, but I'm sticking to the training program; by the end of the season, I'll be back closer to 30, and then it'll be up up up from there for marathon training. Guess I should enjoy the "easy" weeks while they last! 

Total Miles: 28.4
Days: 5 run, 1 strength
Average Pace: 9 w/o stroller, sub-10 w/stroller