Week-beginning Thoughts:
Oh, running. Thank you for being there for me when the rest of life seemed FUBAR.
Monday
Scheduled: rest
Did: rest
Tuesday
Scheduled: 8mi
Did: 8.45mi @ 9:30/mi avg, Big 5
Well, for only getting about 4.5 hours of sleep thanks to stress/anxiety, this run went pretty well.
Wednesday
Scheduled:4mi easy
Did:4.01mi @ 9:43/mi avg
No real commentary here.
No real commentary here.
Thursday
Scheduled 1mi WU, 4-1600/400, 1mi CD
Did: as scheduled, total = 7.5mi @ 8:38/mi avg, Big 5
Heck. Yes. This run felt amazing. I wasn't sure what I could reasonably keep for the miles, but decided to try for my standard 8:00/mi pace that I've been going for on speedwork in the past few months.
7:44
7:44
7:44
7:43
Aww, yeah. Today's weather probably contributed to this (31, no wind = my new favorite speedwork weather), but I'm still insanely proud. The miles felt good- pushed in focus only, not pace. I could have totally gone faster by about 10-20s on most of them if that's what training called for, but was very happy with the current "just finish Publix feeling good" marathon training that I'm doing.
I was pleasantly surprised to find the miles didn't feel long, and even doing four repeats didn't seem arduous. Instead, I was truly able to just enjoy each and every lap on the track. This is exactly what I wanted from this round of marathon training: to capture the same feeling I had while running last fall, extend it, and foster more of the same appreciation and gratitude for being able to do this, and the calming, happy sensations that running brings me.
Heck. Yes. This run felt amazing. I wasn't sure what I could reasonably keep for the miles, but decided to try for my standard 8:00/mi pace that I've been going for on speedwork in the past few months.
7:44
7:44
7:44
7:43
Aww, yeah. Today's weather probably contributed to this (31, no wind = my new favorite speedwork weather), but I'm still insanely proud. The miles felt good- pushed in focus only, not pace. I could have totally gone faster by about 10-20s on most of them if that's what training called for, but was very happy with the current "just finish Publix feeling good" marathon training that I'm doing.
I was pleasantly surprised to find the miles didn't feel long, and even doing four repeats didn't seem arduous. Instead, I was truly able to just enjoy each and every lap on the track. This is exactly what I wanted from this round of marathon training: to capture the same feeling I had while running last fall, extend it, and foster more of the same appreciation and gratitude for being able to do this, and the calming, happy sensations that running brings me.
Friday
Scheduled: strength + yoga
Did: 20min strength + 10min yoga
I actually felt like lifting today, so I did 2/3 of a 30min YouTube dumbbell workout, and then followed that with some morning meditation yoga.
3pm update: deadlifts were probably a bad idea...
I actually felt like lifting today, so I did 2/3 of a 30min YouTube dumbbell workout, and then followed that with some morning meditation yoga.
3pm update: deadlifts were probably a bad idea...
Saturday
Scheduled: 17mi easy
Did:17.13mi @ 9:43/mi avg, Big 5
Yesterday's deadlifts were definitely a bad idea. Holy hamstrings. We had a great group this morning for our 5am start; a few friends joined in for the first eight, and then three of us continued for the full 17.
I intentionally ran us the opposite way we'd run the past few weeks to give us some nice downhills, though we still had a good bit of uphill as well. It was nice to have a small reprieve from hills. I had some of the typical "blergh, this is tough" feelings within the first couple of miles, but they went away by mile 6, and I had an enjoyable run overall. It was also really nice to run a few new patches of road that I'd never run before- who knew places like that still existed up near me? :)
The best part of the run was the last half mile or so. One of my training partners had reached the "alright, I'm ready to be done" point, which, for her, meant we were picking up the pace to bring about the end sooner. I shrugged and followed suit, and we had a good surge for the last 800, around a low-8/high-7 pace. Being able to finish with such a strong kick on a 17mi run felt good.
Yesterday's deadlifts were definitely a bad idea. Holy hamstrings. We had a great group this morning for our 5am start; a few friends joined in for the first eight, and then three of us continued for the full 17.
I intentionally ran us the opposite way we'd run the past few weeks to give us some nice downhills, though we still had a good bit of uphill as well. It was nice to have a small reprieve from hills. I had some of the typical "blergh, this is tough" feelings within the first couple of miles, but they went away by mile 6, and I had an enjoyable run overall. It was also really nice to run a few new patches of road that I'd never run before- who knew places like that still existed up near me? :)
The best part of the run was the last half mile or so. One of my training partners had reached the "alright, I'm ready to be done" point, which, for her, meant we were picking up the pace to bring about the end sooner. I shrugged and followed suit, and we had a good surge for the last 800, around a low-8/high-7 pace. Being able to finish with such a strong kick on a 17mi run felt good.
Sunday
Scheduled: 6mi easy
Did: 5mi @ 10:00/mi, Big 5
Ugh. Another crazy weather snap. We went from singlet and shorts weather yesterday to 30 degrees with 20mph winds for a "feels like" of 19. That sort of weather is too intense for little ones, so we canceled our Running Mamas morning outing. Though I had a friend volunteer to run with me if I really wanted, my aching hamstrings had me wondering: 1) if it were a good idea to run in the cold, and 2) how far I could realistically go. So, I opted for a treadmill run instead.
...it was still a struggle. I kept the pace at a flat 6.0mph and just got through it, quarter mile at a time. I could've finished the full 6, but knew I'd done enough "extra" throughout the week to still be around 42mpw if I stopped at 5... so I did.
I'm grateful to have the 'mill as an option, but today showed me how much I really need to be outside with friends to enjoy running.
Ugh. Another crazy weather snap. We went from singlet and shorts weather yesterday to 30 degrees with 20mph winds for a "feels like" of 19. That sort of weather is too intense for little ones, so we canceled our Running Mamas morning outing. Though I had a friend volunteer to run with me if I really wanted, my aching hamstrings had me wondering: 1) if it were a good idea to run in the cold, and 2) how far I could realistically go. So, I opted for a treadmill run instead.
...it was still a struggle. I kept the pace at a flat 6.0mph and just got through it, quarter mile at a time. I could've finished the full 6, but knew I'd done enough "extra" throughout the week to still be around 42mpw if I stopped at 5... so I did.
I'm grateful to have the 'mill as an option, but today showed me how much I really need to be outside with friends to enjoy running.
Total Weekly Mileage: 42.1
Week-ending Thoughts:
- I've gotten my diet back under control and am feeling tons better. Dinners the past few nights have been bowls of roasted vegetables with a little meat, and they've been awesome. Hooray, mindfulness.
- I've currently logged 120mi for the month of January. I should finish the month with around 160. This isn't too much more than what I'd been doing for the better part of last year.
- Eight more weeks! Only five more weeks of longer long runs, and then I'll start dropping back. Weeeee! I can do this. :D
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