Trainin'

End-of-Month Annual Goal Check-in:
Run a Mile Under 6:33: Accomplished 1/1/17
(2) - 30min strength sessions per week: 4 out of 4 weeks so far
Break 23:00 in a 5K
Run a race in just a sports bra and shorts

Monday
Scheduled: 4mi with 5 strides (5k pace, 3k pace, mile pace, 800m pace, fast but controlled)
Did: 4mi @ 9:29/mi with strides from 7:13-5:59/mi, plus bootcamp
No commentary on this. Too much work to do this week.

Tuesday
Scheduled: 10KTuesday, recovery pace
Did: 6.32 @ 9:18/mi
It's hard to dress for 44 with 10mph wind gusts... I walked out the door thinking I was overdressed in a thin shirt, cotton full-zip, earband, gloves, and full tights. When the wind blew, though, I was perfectly prepared. Problem: wind was intermittent. :P I rolled the sleeves of my jacket and wore it open for the back half and was comfortable enough.

First mile felt sooooo hard (10:08 that felt like a 9:08), but, by mile 3, we were whipping sub-9s like they were comfortable (because, well, they were). It was nice to meet up en route with Anthony, one of the other morning runners B and I met a few years ago (we always saw him and his training partner out and would chat a bit since there aren't many people out running at 5am... lol), and catch up with him. 

Overall, a good run. 


Wednesday
Scheduled: rest
Did: NOTHING
OMG. I LOVE REST DAY.

Seriously, though, it's been 9 days since my last day completely off due to bootcamp schedules, and, when I was "off" 9 days ago, it was because I felt like death. 

What did I do with my rest day? Enjoyed sleeping in until the cats woke us at 4:30 because they're used to being fed at 4:30, spent the morning with baby boy (and J), and then stayed late at work because, well, deadlines. 


Thursday
Scheduled: 2mi WU, 3x1mi @ 5K PR pace (7:34)/3min jog, 2mi CD
Did: as scheduled, 8.08 @ 8:58/mi avg
I just ran 8 miles before work. What happened to "after the marathon, I'll have more time"? I'm not running more than I did during marathon training, but, with the drives to other venues besides my house, six days of running, and two strength sessions a week, I can't imagine I've cut THAT much time out of my "morning workouts". Guess I"ll enjoy it while I can, since Jerry's planning on a fall marathon, and I'll have to cut back so I can take over more parent duties.

I felt good going into this morning's workout. Mile repeats are my favorite, especially when there are only three of them (there was one workout for Chicago that was SIX mile repeats). This "2mi WU/CD" stuff is a little cumbersome, since our normal car-to-track route is either 1 or 1.5, depending on which gate we use. Not only did we have to add distance, but we also had to meet earlier (weee, 4:45am workouts! also, that's not crazy early... it's normal... that's crazy, isn't it?). 

The warm-up felt hard. My chest felt like it had a weight on it, my windpipe seemed to have half its normal diameter, and my calves were still upset at me for wearing heeled chorus shoes all Tuesday rehearsal. Plus, the jacket I'd brought to shield me from the 10-12mph winds during our WU/CD was really, really hot since there wasn't any wind.

Mile 1: 7:33
Took off my jacket and shirt for a sports-bra only run. I'm feeling a TON better about my body these days, so there's something mental for me about doing speedwork in just a sports bra. I just feel faster. Plus, feeling the air on my stomach really helps me cooldown. I started off too fast and realized it around the 100m (thanks, math!). It was nice to have Brandi going for about the same time. We just ran stride for stride in silence around the track. I did a lot of thinking about my form on this one, particularly using my arms, and it helped take some of the burden off of my legs. 

Mile 2: 7:26
The wind picked up between these two, so I put my half-sleeve shirt back on, but rolled it up and tucked it under my bra to bare my midriff. Maybe I need a long-sleeve crop top. lol. I had a bit of a sluggish start, but picked it up for the back half. I knew I was going to come in under goal pace, but didn't realize how MUCH. :) Also, how come we had a 10mph headwind on half of the track, but never had the same gust as a tailwind when we were running in circles?!?! :P 

Mile 3: 7:27

This was the lap of mental math. I aimed for 1:53 @ 400m, 3:46 @ 800m, and 5:39 @ 1200m, and hit every single one of them. :D I had a really hard time physically on the last two laps, and had to dig deep to pull it out. Being out there with my training partner helped immensely. 

Friday
Scheduled: 4mi recovery
Did: 4mi @ 9:22/mi plus bootcamp
Run went well enough. We miscalculated distance or something because we had to do some parking lot loops, but still ended up with a respectable pace.

Today's bootcamp was one of my favorites. We did a great mix of arms, legs, and abs. I found everything easy enough for the first 20s of the 45s work period, but, as time went on, they got more challenging-- the sign of a perfect workout! I had a hard time with the finisher and had to rest a few times during the superplanks, but got it done. 

3x45/10: box jumps, medicine ball russian twists or jacknife, band swimmers, BOSU squats, KB rows 28#, stepup/side/down, sprint to backpedal with a touch, bar burpees (still the hardest thing for me), and standing tricep extensions

finisher: 30 flat palm frog jumps, 25 super planks, 20 elbow-to-knee 'shups x 2 

Saturday
Scheduled: 9mi long run with the stroller
Did: 7.17mi @ 9:50/mi w/stroller, 2mi @ 9:11/mi on treadmill 
I was a little intimidated by this at first (the longest stroller run I've done is around 8), but seeing another mother runner friend push her baby 11+ miles over hilly terrain last weekend inspired me. The plan was to meet three other 10KTuesday ladies at 7:30am to do 5 ONB before one of them had to leave for a 5K race, and then finish up with 4-5ONB for a total of 9-10. 

I had baby boy this morning, and figured he would be totally fine in his clothes + jacket + weathershield + gloves. He's always been quite agreeable during stroller runs and I had no indication that today was going to be an exception. Starting off, I was only worried about myself and whether I'd be able to keep up with the rest of the crew for such a long distance with a stroller. 

The first four miles went great, and we dropped B back off at her car around 4.5 to get off to her 5K. When we stopped briefly for me to take off my jacket, baby boy started to fuss. I figured he was just upset that the stroller had stopped moving. Nope. Over the next couple miles, I stopped a handful of times to check in on him, give him milk/food, attempt to put the gloves he'd removed back on, etc. It soon became clear that he was not comfortable, despite my efforts to make him so, and I turned around and left the group at 6.5 of 10 miles. 

I booked it back to the car, knowing he was too cold and uncomfortable. Man, there is nothing like a baby's cry to make a mama do superhuman stuff, like clocking a 7:30 for my last half mile back to the car. 

check out THAT pace spike

After I got baby boy warm and cozy back at home, I finished up my workout with two miles on the dreadmill. Surprisingly, I was able to knock this out without stopping and enjoyed a pretty brisk 9:11/mi pace for the last two of my long run of the week. 


Sunday
Scheduled: 3mi recovery
Did: 3.11 @ 9:39/mi avg with the stroller
This run felt so effortless-- so much so that I had to slow myself down a few times so as not to leave my other running mamas too far behind me! Definitely feeling really capable and strong these days. :) 

Running Mamas :) 

OH! OH! OH! ALSO:
SOME OF THE #10KTUESDAY PHOTO SHOOT PICS HAVE BEEN RELEASED AND THEY LOOK AMAZING. CANNOT WAIT FOR THE FEB EDITION OF WINGFOOT TO COME TO MY MAILBOX!!!

#weareatlantatrackclub

The Faster You Run, The Faster You Have to Run Next Time...

After unintentional 5K and half PRs and a much faster-than-expected mile at the tail end of 2016/first day of 2017, I've had to acknowledge that I actually am quite a bit faster than I thought. I need to seriously reconsider my 2017 goals.

I sought guidance from some of our indicator run outputs, Runners World race predictors, and FinalSurge's workout intensity calculator: 

Based on 5K PR:

This is remotely comparable to what I've been doing for 1mi and up

Based on mile PR: 

this is more like what my speedwork paces have been

And just in case there were any doubt about the fact that I'm much better at shorter distances:

athlinks.com

Anyways, all this is just to kind of take stock of where I'm at right now and figure out where to go from here. It's been a crazy ride these past few years of training and getting faster, having a baby and getting slower, and then ramping back up to be in the best shape of my life (all only to have another baby in the next few years and have to do it all over again... but we'll save that rant for another time and place). I look at some of these paces and wonder whose results I'm looking at, because they can't possibly be mine. 

Who IS that?!?

~10 years ago, this girl ran/walked a 5K around a 12min/mi pace and felt like she was dying afterwards
Note the cotton RACE SHIRT, cotton leggings, tennis shoes, and earphones with an iPad armband... hahahahah

After a decade of work, though, those ARE my times. I am a mid-7 5K runner. I am a 6-something miler. I am a marathon mama. (and it's pretty awesome)

The thing about getting faster, though, is you no longer have a feel for what you're capable of and what a "good goal" is. A year ago, I was just trying to break 25min in a 5K. The idea of a 23:xx was inconceivable... but I ran that time... twice. The first time took everything I had, but the second... didn't. So I can go faster than that, but how much faster? 

I'm working with a coach to figure out what a reasonable 5K goal for this year (#Yearofthe5K) is. The idea of aiming for 23:00 or anything faster is intimidating, but then I look at my mile repeats and think, "yeah, maybe I can do that". I know that, eventually, I'm going to hit a wall where speedy results required exponentially more effort, but I don't think I've hit that wall yet... and I can't wait to find out where it is. :) Still, it's pretty scary going into races knowing you're expected to run a "crazy fast" time. Every time I hit one goal, it just means the next one is going to be that much harder... 

Here's to another year of challenging myself, sharing the journey with my training buddies, and loving every minute. 

just another week of runnin'

It's 2017. How did that happen? I feel like just yesterday I was baking a potato... 



Monday
Scheduled: 3 wtih 4x150m (50 accel, 50 cruise, 50 close)
Did: 3 with 3x150m (because I mis-remembered the workout) @ 9:39/mi avg
I can tell I'm still sick because I was in short sleeves in 52 degrees and still felt a bit chilled. I kept the run easy and then tried to do the acceleration repeats at the end. They were hard, though, so I didn't push nearly as much as I normally could. No sense in overexerting myself and prolonging this crap.

mwargh.
y-scale from 12:00/mi to 6:00/mi

Tuesday
Scheduled:10KTuesday
Did: 6.32 @ 10:08/mi avg
I think I finally found conditions where I can comfortably wear all my half-sleeve shirts: when it's warm enough for a singlet, but I'm not healthy. lol. At least my drawer of amazing race shirts will get some love this week... 

It was a little hard to fight the urge to stick with the group this morning, but my body was screaming at me to slow down. Honestly, it felt like the same sort of fatigue I had when I was running pregnant (no, I'm NOT pregnant now)- just a very heavy body, pushing through viscous air, and struggling to do anything. I remembered how much yesterday's three miler had taken out of me and vowed to keep the pace super easy. By the halfway point, though, I was ready to be done, and welcomed the extended rest break (which usually bothers me since we stop and chat FOREVER before starting back up ;) ). 

I had a hard time on the hills on the way back and considered walking them, but ended up just slowing my pace and falling off the back of the group. Glad to have made it through another 10KTuesday. (56 in a row, baby!)

By the end of the day, I felt 95% recovered (thank goodness!). Went to show chorus rehearsal (and even stayed until the end--- whaaaaaat?!?!?), and had a great time... until I got home at 10:40pm and couldn't wind down enough to fall asleep until midnight. 


Wednesday
Scheduled: rest
Did: boot camp
...and this is why I can't stay out until 10:30pm at night. Ugggggggghhhhhhhh.

Since there wasn't a 5:30am class on Monday due to the federal holiday, B and I had to go today if we wanted our two for the week. That meant a 4:55am alarm (that's about 4 hours and 55min of sleep, for anyone who's counting). I have not missed that these last few months without chorus. Even without bootcamp, I'd still have a 5:30am alarm for work.... 

I don't know which exercise did it, but my neck and shoulders have been INCREDIBLY stiff/sore all day. :( 

Workout felt goooood, if a bit easy at times. B and I enjoyed the running part. Aggregate = 0.62mi @ 7:19/mi avg  



Thursday
Scheduled: 2mi WU, 8x300(@mile goal)/100, 2miCD
Did: 1.67mi WU, 8x300 (~6min/mi)/100, 2.2mi CD
I've been looking forward to this workout since last Thursday. <3 Even only getting 4.5 hours of sleep on Tuesday night, my body woke up at 2:30am today, pumped for this workout. WHAT. THE CANNOLI.

We spent the warm-up mileage trying to do mental math to figure out what a 300m split would be for a 6min/mi pace (1:08), and then had fun trying to figure out where to start/stop the 300m work interval on the track. Courtney showed us how to "read the track" enough to do any workout that's divisible by 200m, but this one wasn't. Pretty sure I stopped my first 300 a bit short. >_<

I loved this workout. I always felt strong to start off, then had a little trouble around the 200m mark, knowing I didn't have much more than a 100m at that speed left in me, but always made it to the finish within a few seconds of my target. I absolutely love knowing that I'm capable of running so fast. For the first few laps, I wasn't checking my pace until the 200m mark, and was pleased to find myself "on". It's like I've got just the right split goals for where my body is at. :)

I took a quick water break halfway through, and allowed myself to walk the first half of each 100m "recovery" on repeats 5-8, but felt really good about what I put out there.

Splits (goal = 1:08)
1:03, 1:08, 1:11, 1:10, 1:08., 1:13, 1:09, 1:07


Friday
Scheduled: 4 easy
Did: 8.13 @ 10:12/mi avg
Decided to switch Fri and Sat due to weather + scheduling conflicts with family events. It was hard to get up this morning for 8mi when:
1) last night was the ATC social and we didn't get home until 10:30pm --> three nights in a row of only 4-6 hours of sleep
2) my legs were sore from speedwork + dancing for a couple hours
3) our route included the hills of Haynes Bridge
4) it was supposed to rain
5) I had a 7am meeting at work that I had to rush through the run to get downtown for, so we had to start at 4:30am... which mean a 4:10am alarm (which is early to me, but probably not as "omg, you're crazy" early as it is to most of my readers)

Random commentary about this run

• longest run I've done since Thanksgiving
• longest pre-work morning run since pre-Chicago
• felt soooo proud of myself for getting up, getting it done, and getting on with my day afterwards

hilly route :)

Saturday
Scheduled: 8 easy 
Did: bootcamp plus 4 @ 9:28/mi
This was a bear of a workout to fit in. The original plan was to join the training groups at one of the ATC 8K/15K races (an hour+ away from my house) and just run a little extra after the 8K. Then we realized the race didn't start until 8:30 (and I had to be home by 11). Then one of my running mama friends pointed out (on Wednesday) that there were severe thunderstorms forecast for the weekend. I looked at the weather and saw that it was supposed to be storming ALL weekend, which meant I couldn't even reasonably switch my long run to Sunday.

So, B and I ran long on Friday, which meant we would hit up the 7:30am bootcamp class on Saturday, and then meet up with friends for our 4mi easy run afterwards. 

Bootcamp was tough today. My neck and shoulders are still super sore/tight from Wednesday, and we had a little bit of upper back work... but mostly ab work. LOTS of ab work. This is a good thing, but, man did I struggle through a lot of these. 

The run was not as hard as I had expected it to be after so much ab work. We met up with Birgit and did a fun four miles in the rain on the greenway. The only bad part was talking about omelets for breakfast and then coming home to realize I'm out of eggs... :P


Sunday
Scheduled: 3 easy
Did: 2.25 @ 10:08/mi avg with stroller... along flooded greenway
I wasn't totally feeling running today, but 2/3 other running mamas were going to mee for miles before brunch, and I didn't want to miss out, so I joined. I had 3 on the schedule, but there was only 2.25mi of available greenway that wasn't super flooded, and we had to keep turning around to avoid puddles. Could we have done 3? Sure. Did it matter enough? Nope. 

#legit... and sick... yeah, mostly sick... (and not in a cool/good/anything-other-than-literal sense of that word)

2017 Goal Check:
Run a Mile Under 6:33: Accomplished 1/1/17
(2) - 30min strength sessions per week: 2/2 sessions for this week and 2/2 complete weeks for the year
Break 23:00 in a 5K
Run a race in just a sports bra and shorts

YOU GUYS, I HAVE A COACH!!! :D I'M A REAL ATHLETE!!! THIS IS SOOOOOO COOL!!!
I've been given an opportunity to beta test an online training platform for ATC. In exchange for feedback about the system, I get a personal training plan and coaching from the Begleys. Google them. They're legit. 

this is me being way too excited about seeing my training schedule for the first time

I've never had a coach before, in anything. I did a LOT of activities as a kid, but none of them were sports/athletics, so this is really exciting for me. I've felt like an athlete for a long time now, but this is just one more bit of proof that I'm not the fat girl I used to be anymore. :) 


Monday
Did: bootcamp
Oof. I think this was the hardest bootcamp session I've been to. Our instructor did an amazing job sculpting a workout that alternated some serious challenges (for me, at least) with some solid exercises that worked muscles well without being too demoralizing. 

since you probably can't read the board:
4 Rounds of 48s on/13s rest (alt exercise each time through)
1- Suspended Speed Rows/BOSU ball burpees
2- Punch/Hammer/Hook Sit-ups/Wall Balls (10#)
3- Ropes with reverse lunges/Quick Box Hops
4- Touchdowns/Suspended Kneeling Tricep Extensions
5- Stability Ball Plank Rollouts/Box Step-downs
6- Jump rope/Bear crawls

Finisher
3x 150 high knees, 12 Hindu push-ups, 15 leg lifts w/hip raise

The 48s of work felt like forever on some of these exercises, and I had to do about half of them at the base level. In particular, the wall balls, ropes, and suspended speed rows took a lot of out me. Keeping the ropes moving while doing the lunges was too hard for me, so I used the "just alternate hands and move the ropes" modification. It was still hard. I've never done ropes and always thought of them as a cool novelty. Now I know they're a HARD, cool novelty. :P 

By the end of the second time through the finisher, I was struggling. I broke it down into sets of 6 Hindu push-ups with a quick breather and sets of 5 raises in order to complete things (and keep form), and was really proud to see my face in the mirror during the last set. It was a bit red, covered in sweat, and screamed "determination". I feel the most confident and attractive when I'm pushing my body like this and getting it done when I don't want to. 

Tuesday

Plan: Recovery Run 10KTuesday

Did: 6.3 @ 9:19/mi avg

After staying up past midnight to watch my alma mater win the National College Football Championship (GO TIGERS!!!), a 4:30am alarm came way. too. early. Yet again, the hashtag, and my friends, saved this training run. We talked a lot on the run about how 10KTuesday embodies so much that's wonderful about running communities. We get out and run with our friends because they make us better and stronger. You get out of bed not because you want to run, but because you don't want to miss out, because you want the same rewards that others are going to get from the run, even if it means you're a little tired the rest of the day.

I'm really proud of this little community that I created. It's not unique, and I don't do anything more than anyone else to keep it going, but I did start it, and I'm continuing it. It's been really cool, too, to see a few other "10KTuesday" groups starting up in other areas of metro ATL, and hearing people talk about it at ATC events. When the club magazine comes out next month, it'll be even more of a "thing". 

Oh, and as far as the run goes:

I looked down at my watch in m1 and saw a "10:30/mi" instant pace. That was a bit depressing, but I reminded myself that this was JUST a recovery run, and that I had a lot of reasons why this was not going to be a good run. I hadn't set myself up for success, so, instead of worrying about pace, just enjoy getting to run at all.

We ended up a bit faster than expected too:

orange and purple disco vests for CLEMSON! 

Wednesday

Plan: rest

I'm glad this is a rest day. After limited sleep Monday, and limited sleep last night (sick kid + husband), I'm pretty sure I'm getting sick too. Oh, Mom Life... 

Thursday

Plan: 2mi warm-up, 4x800 @ 5K Pace/400, 1.5mi CD

Did: 1.5 warm-up @ , 4x800 (3:30, 3:31, 3:27, 3:22) /400m, 1.5 CD

Yep, I'm definitely sick. I woke up with an awful sore throat, and debated speedwork for about ten minutes. I ended up deciding to go because: 1) my only symptom was my throat, 2) FOMO, 3) I figured I was probably going to be sicker tomorrow and unable to run, 4) I could always bail early or take it down a notch if I wasn't feeling it. 

This workout was amazing. My 800m goal in 2016 was 3:36 (same pace as a 22:24 5K). I decided to just run and see what I could do, with 3:30 being my tentative goal. When my first split was exactly 3:30, I felt pretty awesome. It was a push, but a good, solid speedwork day push. I focused on engaging my arms more as we went on, and was super proud to see my last two splits be so much faster. 

yeah, so that pace equates to a 21:46 5K (!!!)

Of course, around 11am, after I got baby boy home from the pediatrician, I started feeling really bad myself. By late afternoon, I had a fever and was pretty much dead to the world. I certainly didn't do my body any favors with this morning's workout, but, mentally, I'm really glad I got it in, since it doesn't seem like I'll be running for a few days... 

Friday

Plan: 4 easy + strength

Did: laid in bed feeling like death

The only thing running today was my nose... and I had a sore throat, watery eyes, and slight fever accompanying it. I hated missing a workout on my training calendar, but I hated feeling sick too. 

yep... 

Saturday

Plan: 7mi easy, 4 mi easy

Did: 5mi easy @ 9:12/mi with the stroller?!?!

I woke up feeling somewhat better, so I decided to go out and do a really easy run with the stroller, solo, so that I could truly do whatever my body felt, even if it meant run-walking a bit. 

I suppose forgetting my GPS watch at home should have clued me into the fact that I wasn't quite up for a run, but it didn't. Instead of turning around, I figured I'd just run the routes I knew and use the stopwatch feature on my phone to keep time. I cannot remember the last time I ran without a watch. It was both freeing and incredibly uncomfortable. 

The first few miles were fine, though I felt oddly chilly in just a singlet and shorts despite the 52 degree temperature (clue #2 that I wasn't as well as I thought). Fortunately, stroller running means I have a suitcase with me at all times, so I donned the extra long-sleeve shirt I keep in the basket for moments like this. (Sidenote: this particular hoodie lives in the stroller because it's the shirt from the race I was supposed to run the day I had baby boy. It always makes me happy to think about that)

Around m3, I passed a guy who noted that I was running faster than him AND pushing a baby. That made me feel good, especially since, looking at my stopwatch, I had myself pegged around a 10:30/mi. 

Mile 4 sucked (probably because it was mile 5). I felt completely beat down and let my pace slow, figuring I would stop at 45:00 on my watch, because, surely, I would be at 4mi then, assuming an 11:00/mi pace. When my watch clicked 45:00, though, I wasn't at a good location marker and, since I needed to know my end location so that I could map it later and get distance, I continued a bit more, to the next landmark... which actually put me at 4.98mi, not 4.00. >_<

I don't think I've felt so bad after a run in quite awhile. I was cold, achy, and definitely should not have gone running today. While I was able to feel better enough to do a quick run to Target and be conscious and functional for about two hours post-run, I crashed HARD after noon and ended up feeling even worse for the rest of the day. :( Guess there's a counterpoint to the case that running makes you mentally strong enough to push through anything: sometimes, it's not a good idea to do that.

"You really shouldn't have done this, Mom" - Baby Boy

Sunday

Plan: 4mi easy

Did: 30min strength

I really, really, really wanted to get up and go meet the girls for SundayRunday at the river this morning, but, after how I felt post-run yesterday, I knew I shouldn't push myself... Even if I didn't feel like I was pushing myself during the activity, it would probably just keep me sick longer. Plus, on the off-chance that one of them came down with whatever this crud is, I'd feel awful. So, I took it easy this morning, slept in, had a great family breakfast with the boys, and then spent the next six hours working to catch up on everything I missed being out two days last week. 

Since I felt well enough, and because I have this whole weekly goal of 2+ strength sessions, I did 30min of weight lifting after baby boy went to bed. I could've done an at-home workout from bootcamp, but didn't want anything too intense. 

3x10x10# db: overhead press, bicep curls, row, 

3x10x5# db: arm raise front, arm raise side, tricep kickbacks ea side

3x10x10# db: chest press, fly, wipers

3x10x10#db tricep extension

3x10 hindu push-ups, elbow-to-knee sit-ups, those k-something sit-ups we do at bootcamp where you grab your opposite wrist, leg raises, side plank hip dips, real push-up, knee push-ups, bicycle crunches

1:30 each of the following plank rotations: forearm, straight arm, left side forearm, right side forearm, forearms with hip touches

#goals

2017: Off to a FAST Start

Goal Check:
Run a Mile Under 6:33: Accomplished 1/1/17
(2) - 30min strength sessions per week: 1 out of 1 weeks in 52 week/year
Break 23:00 in a 5K
Run a race in just a sports bra and shorts

Monday
Did: 3mi @ 9:31/mi avg, bootcamp
Nice easy run, that was actually a bit faster than expected. Felt good and necessary.
Bootcamp was full of bodyweight exercises (3 times through a set of 20 exercises, done for 25s each, plus two "fence runs"). Class was crazy full (thanks to new years + gym only offering one session today), but enjoyable. I'm definitely going to be sad when this groupon pricing runs out :( 

Tuesday
Did: 10K @ 9:24/mi
Been up on and off since 1:50am with the kid. Blergh.

at least the weather is nice?

Had some hamstring soreness (both sides, likely from all the work at bootcamp + mile in the past two days), so I kept my pace way easy. So excited that I'm finally getting back to a faster "easy pace". 

Had a bit of weird achilles soreness (felt like tendonitis) that came up during the post-run stretches, but was otherwise unnoticeable. 

Wednesday

Did: rest, barely got 2000 steps
Man, rest day is my fave. Achilles was fine-ish today. I only notice it when I try to make it hurt. Kind of worried about tomorrow's run, but we'll see what happens... 

Thursday

Did: 3.12 @ 9:16/mi avg + kettlebell workout at bootcamp
Singlet and shorts on Tuesday. Today: tights, socks, gloves, earband, underarmour and a t-shirt. Crazy weather. Run felt good, and was surprisingly fast (9:39/9:09/8:58 splits). I enjoyed the cold. 

Thursdays at bootcamp are weight days. When I came in and saw the workout, it didn't look very hard or long, but appearances were deceiving. I had our instructor help me a lot today, from picking out appropriate weights for each exercise to fixing my form on the modified pull-ups (think TRX system) and kettlebell dead swings. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure I did enough wrong on the swings before he got to me to strain my back a little. I iced it this morning and expect to be sore in the morning... 

I was able to do 12lb weights on the push press, 33lb on the dead swings, and 22lb on the squat pulses. Definitely feeling good about the progress I've made so far. 

Friday

Did: 4.16 @ 9:30/mi avg
Another brisk, chilly morning, brightened up with a great run. I felt like I was running comfortably, but faster than the pace we ended up with. Felt a little hamstring tightness, but attributed it all to just being cold/stiff. 

Saturday

Did: 6 in the SNOW  nothing  easy 5K on the 'mill @ 9:48/mi
Planned on meeting the crew for six miles of snow run on the greenway, but I felt unsafe even walking on my driveway due to the ice. I could have run on the treadmill, but decided to enjoy my off day instead. After all, I'm not training for anything right now and we have no obligations today. Why not enjoy one of the few days I get like this? :) 

hahaha... vibram footprints :) 

...but then one of my friends casually mentioned she was doing her run on the 'mill today. She has a goal half next weekend, so she really couldn't skip her run. And then I heard about how, after she finished, her husband went downstairs to do his run on their treadmill while she took over babycare. 

Positive peer pressure/FOMO won out and I ended up doing an easy 5K on our treadmill too. Kept it way easy at a 10:00 for the first bit, then gradually sped up the last mile. 

getting it done

Sunday

Did: 2-3 w/stroller 6.44 @ 8:57/mi

15 degrees was too cold for a Running Mamas stroller run, so we opted for brunch with the kiddos instead. That left me on my own to do a run... if I wanted to. I had two options with the Rside crew for group runs: 10am and 1pm. The 10am conflicted with brunch, so I opted into the 1pm (it had warmed up to 28 degrees by then)

Note to self: 1pm runs are HARD to fuel for. Brunch consisted of eggs, half an english muffin, a few slices of delicious bacon, a latte, and two mimosas. It certainly enough food to fuel a long run, but awkwardly timed at 10am-ish. That was the only thing I ate/drank before my run, and it was not ideal. 

Fortunately, I'm not on a training plan right now. I had zero ambitions for pace or distance. The group message spoke of 6-8, with a few responding they needed 10. I figured I'd run with the group and bug out whenever I felt like it. Ah, the beauty of not being "in-training". 

We ended up doing the hills of Martins Landing, which was great, because I haven't done many hilly runs since... um... fall training. 

I hate Garmin's absurdly large y-scale. It does NOT do these hills justice.

While we had a sizeable group, a few sub-groups formed almost right off the bat when we started running. I hadn't planned on running "fast", but found myself paired up with Jody, in the front of the group. When we were still together after two miles, I decided that, while it felt "comfortable", I was probably running "fast". 

It caught up to me around m3, as we turned into a sidestreet for, yep, MORE hills. "Just make it to the top of the hill," I told myself. I was breathing harder, but, with the end in sight, there was no reason to stop. I was definitely grateful for the company and chatter, especially around m4, where I was mentally crapping out and wanting to just stop and walk. We made it back to the cars, and, while the others continued on for a total of 8-10, I happily stopped at 6.5ish, proud to see a sub-9 average pace on my watch. 

28-30 degrees is awesome running weather