Sizzler Training: Week 8/8

Week-beginning Thoughts:

"We start with stars in our eyes // We start believing that we belong // But every sun doesn't rise // And no one tells you where you went wrong" -Dear Evan Hansen

TGFRunning. Life has been kicking me a lot lately, and I'm grateful for the endorphins hit, camaraderie, and feelings of accomplishment and progress that my training affords me each and every day. 

Monday

Scheduled: rest

Did: rest

Today sucked.

Tuesday

Scheduled: 10mi easy, strength x 2

Did: 10.07mi @ 9:39/mi avg, Big 5

Monday sucked so much rhombus that I was actually eager to run double-digits this early, early morning. Couldn't sleep last night and was up at 3:50am ready to go. Despite it being 10KTuesday, I actually ended up running a lot of the miles "alone" today, hanging back from the group. I felt like taking my easy run easy, and that's just what I did. It was kind of nice to just run without talking, focusing on my breath, the same way I would if I ever made the time for yoga. 

I thought about trying to do the strength stuff when I finished, but, who am I kidding, if I plan on doing it after I come in from my run, it will not happen. I get too excited to see my family and too anxious about getting on with my shower/get-ready routine to be able to get out the door to work within 30min. 

Wednesday

Scheduled: rest

Did: rest

Today also sucked. I got a sports massage for my calves. That made it suck a little less. 

Thursday

Scheduled: 15min WU, drills, strides, 10x200m/60s (5@goal pace, 5 faster), 15min CD, circuit x 1

Did: as scheduled = 5.15mi @ 9:26/mi avg, Big 5, yoga

Couldn't sleep for stress last night again. Grateful for my teammates this morning. Had a bit of an adventure when we arrived at the track and found it was partially under construction. Did some creative 200m repeats, all of them felt SO easy at my goal pace, so I ended up quite a bit under.

Had some time to myself this evening so I took the opportunity to breathe, and spent five minutes on a very mindful yoga practice. Not much, but it's a start.

Friday

Scheduled: 4mi easy

Did: 4mi @ 9:50/mi avg, 3xcircuits, Big 5
Opted out of a group run this morning in favor of catching up on all the sleep I've missed due to stress this week. That was the right call. Still got my miles in solo on the treadmill, and treated myself to watching some trashy Netflix while doing it. Followed up with those strength and core circuits I've neglected to do during the first part of this week. 

Saturday

Scheduled: rest

Did: yoga

This was a great morning: no-alarm wake-up followed by 30min of yoga. 

Sunday

Scheduled: 2mi + strides 

Did: as scheduled = 2.46mi @ 9:33/mi avg, Big 5

Today I woke up nervous about running two miles because I "hadn't run in forever". Y'all, it had been about only 50 hours since my last run. lol. It's amazing how a single Saturday off can feel like a week without running.

Two miles felt easy, though I did have a small tight spot in my right calf that started off as a bit of a nuisance but let up a half mile in. Strides felt good and easy. 

..and that's a wrap for this training cycle

Total Weekly Mileage: 21.98

Week-ending Thoughts:

22mi/week? No wonder I feel like I haven't been running much. That's just a little over half of what I normally run. It's weird to be tapering for a 10K, but totally logical. 

I don't feel particularly confident about tomorrow, but I also don't feel particularly stressed. In so many ways, I still don't think about tomorrow as a goal race... which, considering my past performance when I do, is probably a good thing. I have no race plan. I have no goal splits. I'm just gonna start off the line, see what my pace shakes out to be, and hope I can hold it. 

8 Week of Training = Complete