Monday
Scheduled: 3-6mi easy, 2xcore
Did: 3.00 @ 10:20/mi, 2 core
Tried this "run by heart rate" thing today and kept it super easy through the hills of my parents' neighborhood. Best part: running in 58 degrees :D
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| had a few hills that pushed me into anaerobic (zone 4) still unsure about my in-watch HRM's accuracy |
Tuesday
Scheduled: 10min WU, 2x5min tempo/3min recovery, 6x30s MP, 10-15min CD, 1 core
Did: as scheduled (walked extra to get the 10KT), 1 core
This was a different kind of workout. I started with the 10KT crew, but then did my own thing beginning with the first tempo. It was nice to be behind the faster trio at the end of the warm-up; it gave me people to "chase" on the tempo. :)
Both tempos shook out brilliantly: 7:27/mi on each. I pushed hard, but could have kept it without the 3min recovery between.
I started my first strides with the "this is going to be hard"/"I don't want to try 'cause trying means you can fail" attitude, and it showed. The first one was a 6:26/mi pace. I was supposed to hit 6:00 or better.
Immediately, I made excuses. "Oh, it probably isn't accurate because it's taking me a little while to accelerate." I walked a bit of the recovery, and then jogged.
On the next one, I made a conscious effort to just run. Don't think about pace. Don't think about how much longer you have to go. Don't countdown from 30. Just run.
This was partially a good idea (I ended up with a 5:46/mi), and partially a bad idea (I'd misprogrammed my watch and it never beeped to tell me to stop... so I ended up running 35s before I realized I had no "end timer").
My watch was more jacked than I thought, and I ended up struggling with it for the rest of the workout, but it didn't affect my times (though I did end up doing 7 instead of 6 30s strides).
Paces:
1= 6:23
2= 5:46
3= 6:03
4= 5:51
5=6:03
6=6:08
7=5"43
When I just "let go", the runs felt so much easier. I need to remember that and channel more of it in everything I do. All of my past PRs have felt that way: hard, but not "OMG, I'm going to die" hard. I'm re-reading a book I read before Chicago (How Bad Do You Want It?), which discusses the idea of "perceived effort" versus "actual effort". It's an interesting concept, and I'm definitely seeing it in action on my runs. The basic idea is "go in with a positive attitude, and you'll perform better". I've been doing that well until my time trial. Just gotta get back on the horse...
Wednesday
Scheduled: rest day
Did: yoga
So excited to meet up with my sister for yoga tonight... after PSLs, of course. Happy Fall!
Bonus: our instructor had the perfect "intention" for tonight's class. We talked about action and effort turning into grace and balance through focus. I'm not usually one for the spiritual part of yoga, but this really spoke to me since that's exactly what I'm trying to do with the mile.
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Thursday
Scheduled: 10-20min WU, 10min tempo, 5-10min rest, 4x400 @ 89-90s with 90s recovery, 10-15min CD, plus 2xstrength circuit
Did: run as scheduled, skipped strength
It was so chilly this morning that I brought a long sleeve shirt to wear during my warm-up and tempo miles. I miiiiight have thought of it on my own, but Coach mentioned it in his video about this week's workout, so the idea was fresh in my mind. So glad I did!
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| Hello, Fall! |
I've been better about not
That mental approach helped a TON. I went through the tempo really consistently, had a calm rest (unlike my anxiety-ridden one during the time trial workout), and then coolly stripped my extra layer and made my way to the start for a fun speed interval.
Every time I started off the line, I felt strong. My legs moved the way I wanted them to. I had a solid push, but not hard effort.
I was soooooooo happy to see that, when I did occasionally look down for a pace check at the 200m mark, I was DEAD ON for all of them... except the first, where I was 3s fast and had to slow myself.
This was the run I needed to bring back my confidence.
Though, side note: whatever I ate yesterday was NOT the correct thing. I felt like I had to use the bathroom around the 300m mark of EVERY SINGLE REPEAT (but recovered enough during the recovery to restart the next interval just fine). :P
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| BOOM. |
Had planned on doing strength at home later in the day, but came down with a dry throat/mouth and felt really fatigued so I bailed on it.
Friday
Scheduled: 5-7mi easy
Did: 6 @ 9:33/mi
Up and out suuuuper early this morning with B. We did 6 miles of rolling hills, and then I came back, showered, realized I still didn't feel much better, and took a nap until it was time for work. Pretty sure I'm a little sick, but at least we've got a kid-free weekend to sleep/recover before next week's race.
Saturday
Scheduled: 5-7mi easy
Did: 7.09 @ 9:36/mi
Wasn't sure I would get up for this run, but I felt good enough after 10+ hours of sleep and decided to start off easy and bail if I started feeling bad. It went fine, though. B and I enjoyed a new route with a pretty highway crossing over a recently constructed bridge. Still haven't done the strength workout from Thursday. Oh well.
Slept a lot today and feel like I'm over whatever it was that took me out yesterday, though.
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| pretty progression, though totally unintentional |
Sunday
Scheduled: 15-20min WU, 6x30s hills, 10-15min CD, core
Did: 16min @ 9:33/mi WU, hills @ 7:36/mi-6:31/mi, 11min @ 9:46/mi CD, core, strength
Finally did Thursday's strength routine (plus today's core) to get going this morning. It's always hard to motivate myself to run solo after a week with friends, but I got up and got it done. I challenged myself to "the Home Depot hill", which I did last Monday with B, with the goal of "make it hurt, and don't let up".
Splits:
6:32/mi
6:31/mi
7:36/mi (not sure what happened here at all- had a lower cadence for this section too, but don't remember feeling a different)
6:50/mi
7:07/mi
6:27/mi
I'll take it. :) My legs didn't feel as free as they have in other runs. It was like I was exerting a lot of effort, but in a super high gear/high resistance. Guess that's to be expected on a hill, though? I pushed through, but it wasn't the type of push I was expecting/hoping to force myself through. I don't think that makes sense, but maybe I'll read this entry later on and remember what the feeling, even if it's poorly described.
Looking forward to a taperful week and a solid performance on Saturday! Wooo, West End Mile, here I come!
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