Pre-Pig

Monday
Scheduled: strength + 2mi + strides 
Did: 3.00mi @ 8:46/mi avg with four strides, bootcamp, Big 5
Definitely got my confidence back this morning with a set of four really good strides. If anything, I felt my hamstrings activating way more than my calf. Feeling good about Flying Pig. :)

Following up a running workout with a strength workout is tough. I'm most proud of myself for taking five minutes to do my Big 5 stretches after the run, but before the workout. We're going on a seven day stretch on stretching. Weeeeee. 

I found the jump squats and quick feet made my calf feel a little wonky, so I didn't do them as fast as I otherwise would have. We also skipped the runs since we'd done enough of that beforehand. Still, a good bodyweight circuit with some solid core elements. 

Tuesday
Scheduled: 10KTuesday @ 5am
Did: 10KTuesday at 5:30pm, 8:54/mi avg, Big 5
I needed to get into the office early today, so I missed out on our group 10KTuesday run. B offered to run earlier with me, but we would have had to start at 4am... and I just wasn't willing to do that, or ask her to do that, when I could "easily" run from work later in the day. We have showers now at the office, so that makes things like this easier. 

I'd planned on running solo around 11am, but one of our 10KTuesday-ers, who also works in-town, asked if I'd brought my stuff to work and wanted to meet up this evening to run together. 

Um, yes. I would LOVE to meet up with a good friend for my run after a long day at work, which started before 6:30am. <3 <3 <3

Oh, and I didn't know it at the time, but he'd ALREADY RUN HIS 10K WITH THE GROUP THIS MORNING. This guy is seriously the nicest! He was one of my pacers for Braves last year, and is the most willing ATC runner when it comes to helping out friends. He'll pace anyone to anything and, clearly, tack on any extra miles if it means keeping a friend from running alone. 

We met up at 5:30pm, and I was really pleased by the weather during my dynamic warm-up. While it was in the mid-70s, humidity was only 30%, and there was a good breeze. It was beautiful. 

I was really excited about the run. First, I love running in cities, and I had a tentative plan for a route, one that would lead us through ATL's version of Central Park, and then down the Beltline. giving us a nice view of the Atlanta skyline, with a little bit of shade and a lot of flatness.

Before we hit the 2mi mark, I was ready to be done. My throat, which has been a little dry all week, was absolutely on fire. It was as if I'd eaten sandpaper. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to talk. I guzzled through two water bottles, with limited improvement. 

Basically, this was the worst run I've had in a long time. Without Brad, I certainly would have cut out early and walked the rest of my 10KTuesday. We finished, though, and at an awesome pace. Good riddance, daylight running.

Wednesday
Scheduled: 2mi + 3 strides, bootcamp
Did: bootcamp, Big 5
Good workout, but my quads are so sore from Monday that I took it easy in the workout.

Not easy enough, though, because that evening, I felt the slightest sore spot in my OTHER calf. What the nugget.

Oh, also, my throat is officially on fire, and it's no longer limited to when I'm outside, so it's not allergies. I'm just sick.
Thursday
Scheduled: 1mi easy, coffee date
Did: 1mi at 9:05
Can't breathe. Can't swallow. Can't anything. Might have been a good idea to sleep in, but I couldn't sleep, and I wanted to test my newly sore calf to see if this running weekend could even happen...

Run went fine enough. I noticed the calf, but it wasn't painful, just sore. I hate not knowing if this is a strain or just a "you did strength training, so you're going to be sore" feeling....




Rest of the week forthcoming in the form of race reports from Flying Pig