Braves Training: Week 1/3

Next Race: Atlanta Braves Country... though I'm still unsure whether I'll be running the 5K or the mile. :P That's something for my coach to figure out once we see the course maps. Either way, it's three weeks out, so it's time to make something happen.



Monday
Scheduled: 2mi + 5 strides, strength
Did: 2mi @ 9:34/mi avg, bootcamp with 4x240m @ 6:20ish plus 2x320m @ 7:28/mi
Did NOT want to get up this morning. Thank goodness for training partners. If bailing on my workout didn't necessitate standing up a friend, I totally would have bailed this morning.

Took the 2mi very easy (like, approaching an 11min/mi to start) and decided I wasn't feeling strides, so we didn't do them. This turned out to be an excellent decision, because bootcamp had short runs mixed into today's workout that I ended up using as pseudo-strides. 

It took me until halfway through the workout before I was awake. This is why I pay for bootcamp. Because I literally don't have to think at all. Our instructor makes the workouts, shows us the workouts, times the workouts, and we have at least another half dozen people all going through the workouts at the same time. SO NICE.

Today's circuit was 4x45s work/10s rest on
1) leg raise with hip lift/cross sit-ups (alt each round)
loved the cross sit-ups; I've gotten so much stronger at sit-ups in general since starting bootcamp last December
2) jump forward, squat back/high knees (half time on each)
3) tiger push-ups/rotational push-ups (alt each round)
no knees on the push-ups! boom!
4) Russian twists/knee-to-chest-grab-foot thing (half time on each)
5) touchdowns/lateral out-out-in-in run (half time on each)
6) prisoner squat/mountain climbers (half time on each)
mountain climbers no longer suck :)
7) loop run (~240m)
Focused on my posture, stride, and arms... and consistently found myself encouraged to go a little faster by another athlete. That's one of the many great things about these classes: team motivation. I was glad we hadn't done the strides on our pre-workout run, because these ended up being kind of like those might've been (6:20 pace).

...and then we went right into 2x through:
1) fence run (~340m)
2) 15 deadman burpees
ooooooooooof

And, later that night, I took three one-hour dance classes.




Tuesday
Scheduled: 10K
Did: 6.34 @ 9:34/mi avg, 1.5mi walk for client meetings during work
Hamstrings, lower back, and obliques are SO SORE from dance class. Today's run started off really slowly (10:40/mi), and gradually fell into a low-to-mid 9 pace. Yet another run that wouldn't have happened without training partners and the hashtag. 


Wednesday
Scheduled: rest
Did: rest
Back is still sore from dance. Had a somewhat stressful day of work. All in all, good day for a rest day.


Thursday
Scheduled: 1mi WU, 4x800/2min, 1mi CD
Did: 4.58 @ 9:30/mi avg
I had the best intentions of doing speedwork this morning, but B's work schedule changed last-minute and she needed to be done with whatever workout we were doing and back at her place by 5:15am. We opted for a 4:30am meet-up at her house, and just had a nice, easy run/therapy session. So much for getting back on the training wagon... 



Friday
Scheduled: bootcamp
Did: bootcamp
Kind of bummed we didn't run this morning, because the weather was glorious. Had the option of doing yesterday's strength workout, but, since it's untimed and we'd have to do our own counting (I know, sooooo hard :P), B and I opted to just do the scheduled workout with the rest of the class.

Workout

Commentary: was able to finally do the suspended/high rows for the specified duration (with much modification, but this is still a huge improvement); rope snaps are still a big challenge for me

Commentary: This gem brought my humility back. I was good for the first 20 wipers... and then it got hard. I was good for the first 5 burpees... and then they got hard. The fence run was a nice break, but still harder than usual with burpees on either side of it. Round 2 of burpees was easier than the first, but I still broke it in to two sets of ten with a 20s rest. 

Saturday
Scheduled: 10mi easy
Did: 10.16 @ 9:19/mi avg
No ATC training meant that Jer could take the baby, giving Brandi and I a rare opportunity to do our Saturday long run somewhere other than the shaded, flat, and car-less greenway (since I won't run roads with a stroller). We opted for a "Tour de Roswell", starting at 6:15 (just before sunrise-- another perk of not running with a stroller), and hit some of the places I've driven by and thought, "Man, that looks like a nice place to run". 

NOT on the Greenway today!

I haven't run double digits for awhile (maybe since Publix?), but it felt so good and easy. I love that I never worry about making it through my runs or dread the mileage these days. This morning was just a guaranteed 1.5+ hour scenic chat with a friend, with the promise of brunch afterwards. 

We enjoyed running through historic downtown, along some new gravel trails (though we opted against the narrow ones that actually went through the woods... since we didn't know them well enough not to get lost), and up along an old route of mine I used to run a couple years back before chorus rehearsals. 

Throughout the run, there was NO talk of pace, and neither of us even looked at our watches at all (except to make sure they were re-started again after the few road crossings). Surprise, surprise: we had THREE sub-9:00 miles to close out. #winning

m4 involved a pretty cool climb out of the valley
very happy with this run

Sunday
Scheduled: 4mi stroller run
Did: 3mi stroller run @ 9:36/mi avg
Severe weather almost forced a cancellation this morning, but S and I persevered and found a good time to go out safely with the kiddos. We kept the run easy, but ended up still hitting a really good pace. So glad to be back doing some regular stroller running. 

#MotherRunners