Mile Training: Week 4/6

Week 4/6 of http://www.milermethod.com training

Beginning of the Week Thoughts: 

Monday
Scheduled: 3-6mi easy
Did: 3.12mi @ 9:26/mi
Weather was A-MAZING: 68 degrees, moderate humidity, and a breeze! Come on, September! 

Tuesday
Scheduled: 10-15min WU, 4x45s hill, 4x60s hill, 10-15min CD, 2xcore, ham PT
Did: 2.46mi WU @ 9:50/mi, 40-50' elevation gain @ 8:47 to 7:32/mi, 2.15mi CD @ 9:30/mi
Feeling good and feeling strong. :) We did the "Home Depot hill" today, which was a nice change. Instead of wandering around to get mileage before/after the repeats, we had a solid ~2mi "out", repeats, and then a pretty straightforward "back". I had a bit of a watch snaffoo (only programmed in 2x45,4x60s) so we ended up doing 2x45, 4x60, then 2x45.

I really liked feeling the burn after the 15s and forcing myself to push up the last bit. This is most challenging hill we've done this training cycle, and I'm actually excited about doing the same thing next week. Hill repeats are kind of becoming a favorite... Whaaaaaaat? :) 

Wednesday
Scheduled: rest
Did: rest


Thursday
Scheduled: 15-20min WU, 4x70m strides, 2x200m (40s) with 2min recovery, 5-10min rest, 800m time trial (2:40), 10min CD, 2x strength circuit, 4-6mi easy
Did: 4mi @ 9:30ish/mi, 2x strength circuit
Take 1


Friday
Scheduled: 5-7mi easy 15-20min WU, 4x70m strides, 2x200m (40s) with 2min recovery, 5-10min rest, 800m time trial (2:40), 10min CD
Did: time trial: 3:02 
Take 2


Saturday
Scheduled: 15-20min WU, 10min tempo, 10min CD, 2x core
Did: as scheduled
I wasn't sure what to expect for today's tempo after doing a time trial 25.5 hours earlier, but I know what I got: Redemption. 7:30/mi pace with the stroller, and I felt like I could have pushed through another five minutes if I needed to. Today was a win. 

Also a win: grabbing the munchkin's book from the bottom part of the stroller for him mid-tempo miles. #motherrunner 





Sunday
Scheduled: 7-12mi easy, 2xcore
Did: 12.01 @ 9:48/mi avg WITH THE STROLLER, 2xcore
I'm really proud of this one. After a bit of a wild week of training, it was nice to just go out super easy and literally have one job: get the miles in. Coach's guidance for this workout was: "Time on your feet, not pace, is most important for the long run (for a miler)." 

The potato did GREAT for the ~two hours it took to complete this run, and I could not be prouder of him. Before today, our longest run with him was 10.5, and that included a few breaks and ended with an hour at the playground with friends. Today was all business. We had a few 30s stops to get graham crackers or change out books, but, other than that, ran straight through. 

I had a moment towards the end where I wanted to run an extra mile to hit a stroller half marathon, but talked myself out of it. Part of getting the most out of having a coach is actually doing what he says. It's taper time, and I've just got to trust that I've done enough in the past four weeks to get me where I want to be on the 16th. 

Week-ending Thoughts: 

• I'm training for a mile, yet I've run 130 miles this month. Hahaha. So much for "easing up on running"
• While the TT went poorly, I feel good about EVERY SINGLE OTHER RUN I've had this cycle. That has to count for something. 
• Also, really glad tomorrow is a 3-6mi recovery run day :)