Mile Training: Week 2/6

Week-beginning Thoughts:
I'm home alone with the kids all week. Let's see how this goes.

Monday
Did: Lift4 W7 legs, 4.3mi @ 8:59/mi avg
Good start to the week- leg workout in the morning with my kiddo and a surprisingly fast run while he was at a karate class.

Tuesday

Scheduled: 10KTuesday + 4x30s hill repeats
Did: as scheduled = 6.83mi @ 9:47/mi avg
10KT buddy watched the kids so I could run with the rest of the group-- <3 <3 <3

Also, legs = SO SORE

Wednesday

Scheduled: rest
Did: 2mi hike

Whelp, today's the day things went south. I took my oldest for a hike and the 27th time he slipped and fell, I went down with him... and injured my back, shoulders, and wrist. It was a not so fun trip to urgent care....

It's not broken, though, so that's a relief

Thursday

Scheduled: a real workout
Did: 3.1mi on treadmill @ 6.2mph avg (Friday's workout)
Made something happen, but didn't feel great about it.

Friday

Scheduled: 3-5mi easy
Did: nada

Nope.

Saturday

Scheduled: 10-12mi flat run 

Did: nothing

Could've made something happen, but just didn't feel like forcing it. Made French toast instead.

Sunday

Scheduled: 2mi WU, 2mi @ 5k pace, 5min jog, 4x30s HARD/90s recovery, 2mi CD

Did: as scheduled...kinda = 7.11mi @ 9:51/mi avg (lots of walking in CD)

Eating eggs for breakfast less than an hour before a hard workout was a REALLY bad decision. I felt good for the warm-up, and even alright for the first half mile of the 5K pace work... but then things got ROUGH. My second 5K pace mile was disgustingly slow that I wouldn't even call it "tempo" work, and I had to literally stop instead of the jog to determine whether or not I was going to puke. 

After a few minutes of sitting on a park bench debating, I continued the workout, with really slow jogging/recovery blocks and modest effort on the 30s bursts. The cooldown was a mix of walking and jogging ,but it got done.

And, on the bright side, my wrist injury doesn't prevent me from running. 

2mi: 7:58, 8:25

30s: 6:25/mi, 7:19/mi, 7:18/mi, 7:28/mi 

Total Weekly Mileage: 21.3

Week-ending Thoughts:
What's it like to go through multiple weeks in a row without injuries or stress? Ugh.

C Mile Plan: Week 7/6

Week-beginning Thoughts:

I'm repeating the last two weeks of the plan before another mile attempt. Struggling to keep focus (on lots of stuff)... 

Monday

Scheduled: 3-5mi easy or rest

Did: 4.07mi @ 9:09/mi avg

Rough night with baby (up almost every hour) = no morning run, much less time for showering/making lunch. Ended up working through lunch and having just enough time to run after work before kid pick-up... in 80 degrees and sun. Ooof.

Tuesday

Scheduled: 10KT, 6x15s striders

Did: 7.16mi @ 9:32/mi avg

Run felt good. Strides felt good. I could tell when I was pushing hard versus letting myself slack just a bit. Guess that's good to be aware? 

Wednesday

Scheduled: rest

Did: 3mi walk, Beachbody Autumn Exclusive HIIT

Rough night/morning with kid. Walked before work to try to set myself up for a good day... ended up having a pretty awful one between personal and professional stuff, and stress ate a lot... which ended up impacting me both mentally and physically. Ugh. 

Thursday

Scheduled: 2mi WU, 2x800/(800-400 recovery), 2x400/(200-400m), 2x200(100-200) (all at MP), 2mi CD

Did: as scheduled = 7.81mi @ 8:56/mi avg, 1mi stroller walk

This workout started out with two miles where I regaled my training partner with a variety of reasons why today's workout was not going to be a success. I ended up having a pretty decent workout, all things considered, and a bit of success, too.

800 #1: This was a disaster from the first 200m (0:19), didn't get much better by the 400m (0:41), and clocked in with a 1:30 first 400 and a 3:03 overall.

800 #2: I really tried to lock in on this one, but not hard enough.. another slightly too fast first 200, and a 3:04 overall

400 #1: I pressed the mental "reset" button for this one, and it worked. 44/45 = 89

400 #2: I was getting tired here and hit 46/45 = 91

Last time I did this workout, I was a bit slow on the 800s, on the 400s, and fast on the 200s. At the time, I remember thinking "this is great, I have extra strength/speed at the end". After some reflection, I now think it's an indication that I struggle to keep myself on pace on that first 200m. I go out too hot and, even if I hit the first lap in close to 90, it's a manufacturered 90. 

So, this time, I told myself I was going ot hit 45s. This workout is supposed to help me lock in on my pace, not show how fast I can go at the end. It says "@ Mile Pace" not "All You Got Left" on my plan, after all. 

It wasn't too hard to hit the 100 at 22.5, but I found myself mentally screaming "you're going too slow" the entire second hundred meters along the back straightaway, preparing myself to see a 48 or 50s split.

Nope.

45. Exactly. Each time.

Alright, so now I know how that feels... just gotta replicate. 

 

Friday

Scheduled: 3-5mi easy or rest

Did: MBF Upper Burn, 5.25mi @ 9:11/mi avg

Another struggle of a day. Got up at 4am to get stuff done... and didn't knock the first thing off my list until 3 1/2 hours later thanks to things outside my control. The WORST. The day was stressful due to work and other stuff. I took a reset break at lunch for a short "Muscle Burns Fat" workout (love those 30min workouts that are nonstop-- probably going to keep that up for the next 3-6 weeks). It helped... temporarily. 

Finished the day with an escape to the greenway for an early evening solo run, which was actually just what I needed. 

Saturday

Scheduled: 8mi long run

Did: 8.24mi @ 9:10/mi avg, 1-2mi stroller walk, 

Easy fun run that ended up so much faster than our easy 10KTuesday runs.... how does that happen each week? lol

Sunday

Scheduled: 15min WU, 8x 45s @ MP/75s recovery, 15min CD

Did: as scheduled = 5.32mi @ 8:58/mi avg

After Thursday, I knew I wanted to focus on my pace with this workout... which meant I was headed to the track. It sucked to skip the one morning I can sleep in during the week, but I'm hoping the dedication today will pay off on Thursday. When I woke up, I didn't want to go, but I also had just enough of a "I might join you" from my training partner to get myself out of bed and to the track. I was planning on a solo workout, but was super grateful when I saw her car pull in. 

Today's goal was to not go too fast. I wanted to hit 45 even on every split, but, if that couldn't happen, my top priority was not going faster. My first one felt SO slow... and it was dead-on. The next one felt dead-on, but it was slow. 

Eventually, though, I think I settled in:

Total Weekly Mileage: 37.9

Week-ending Thoughts:

I'm feeling good about Thursday. I've decided that I'm not going into it with the "this is a time trial" mindset, because that hasn't worked for me in the past. I'm not even going for a 6:00 mile. Instead, I'm treating it like an "execution" trial. I want to hit 90-91s for three consecutive laps, and then let it fly on lap 4. Mentally, it's SO hard for me to not want to "bank time" and know that I've gotta keep my foot on the gas the whole time, but I think that's what I need to do. 

I ran a 2:47 800m just a few weeks ago, but was well over double that for my mile. That tells me I have the strength and I have the speed, but I need to learn the right way to "pace myself". If nothing else, I want to try this "other way" on Thursday, just to see how it feels. What is it like to run a 3:00 800m, followed by a 90s 400m, and then what do I have left?

One of my biggest strengths has always been my kick, yet that's a hard strength for me to capitalize on in the mile... since I tend to use too much energy too early. This time through, I want to see how it feels to go "slow" for the first 1200m and be able to squeeze every little bit out at the end. 

Maybe I won't hit 6:00, and that's actually 100% OK with me. This time, it's about what this new approach feels like, and executing it right is the only way to know. 

Race Report: C Mile Test

Previous PR: 6:06 (10/18/20, 10/25/20)

90% Goal: 6:15
50% Goal: 6:10
10% Goal: 5:59
Result: 6:06 (PR-reaffirmation)

Training:

I opted into something different this time. A friend/teammate of mine with a ton of knowledge/experience in the field offered to write a plan for me (and my training partner) based on our specific desires and schedules. We ended up with a flexible plan that offered:

• 5-6 runs a week (1 day w/hills or strides, 1 beastly track workout, 1 fartlek/tempo, 1 long run day, and 1-2 easy, short run days)
• ~30-40mpw

I generally ran 5 days a week, struggled a bit with stroller fartleks (and switched halfway to doing these solo), and did LIIFT4 (lifting + HIIT) workouts on 3-4 days each week. I also struggled with nutrition this time around. For the past couple weeks, I haven't been planning out meals/snacks, and that's meant a lot of not-so-great choices have been made since I'm feeling hungry all the time and over-eating. 

Before:

I had a rough week of the trial, dealing with some form of illness/allergies Saturday through Tuesday. Work was a bit stressful. Food choices weren't the greatest (example: entire box of crackers on Monday). I really wasn't sure I'd even run the mile on Thursday. 

I did zero mental prep for this race. Even the goals on the top of this page were all written after-the-fact, based on what I think I thought I could do. I literally showed up to the track this morning still unsure if I'd run a full mile. My body felt fine enough, but what was "fine enough" when I was trying to run faster than I've ever run before less than 48 hours after feeling so crappy I laid in bed for two hours during the morning napping? 

My legs did not feel ready during the warm-up, but, having two miles did help. I felt better and more ready by the end of it, at least. I'd planned on giving it a whirl and seeing how I was at the two lap mark. If I was close to 3:00, I'd keep going. If I was already dead, I'd cut and plan on making a second attempt this weekend. I think in a lot of ways, I was already planning on a second attempt, and today was just a "see where you're at" trial. 

Mile:

Lap 1 87s

Even with the bonus 9m at the start of this lap (to make it a true mile and not just 1600m), I hit the 100m (109m) line in 20s. Too fast. This lap felt comfortable enough as I settled in, though. I didn't look at my watch again, trusting my teammate for my split. Just gotta get through one more lap and then see how you feel... 

Lap 2 ?

It was on this lap that I felt like "oh, hey, maybe I can do this today". Pace seemed reasonable, though it certainly required effort to maintain. I remember hearing 2:52, 2:53 from my teammate as I crossed the line (whether that's actually what she said or not, I'm not sure, because she told me she'd started accidentally counting aloud in her native language at one point- maybe I mis-heard). I remember thinking "ooh, just hang on" and "nice job banking so much time". 

Lap 3 93s?

Banking time is a terrible, terrible thought to have during a mile. It's too short. There is no "banking time", only "wasting effort". I definitely felt like the first half of this lap was hard. The third lap is always the worst. You're more than halfway,  but you've gotta run a whole lap before you can say "just one more".  My quads started burning on this one, and I started noticing the wind on the back stretch of the track. 

Lap 4 ???

In my head, I could still make it, but I also knew it was going to take a lot to get there. My legs hurt. I wanted to slow down, to recover enough to kick more at the end, but I also knew that wasn't an option. Well, my head did at least. Per my pace graph, it looks like I might've slowed down in anticipation of a final kick for the last 100m. 

Garmin on top, Polar on bottom

I wasn't thinking about time for the last few laps, though. I was just thinking "give this a good, solid effort, and you can be done with it". . 

Post-Mile Reflections:

I'm not excited about my 6:06 finish time, but I'm also not disappointed with today's performance either. The fact that I'm now regularly defaulting to a 6:06 mile is pretty freaking awesome. 

I went into today without focus, without a real goal, and without any sort of pacing plan... and still half-a__ed my way to hitting my PR. That's kind of a win, right? 

Yet again, I feel like my inability to commit to 90s laps for the first 800m is my biggest problem. In my head, I'm so worried of not giving myself any wiggle room on Lap 4, that I tend to go out too fast... which bites me in the end. I learned this lesson several times before, but never commit to executing a 3:00 800m when I go for the mile because I'm worried about being too slow. 

Clearly, I need to re-think that approach, because stubbornly running "whatever comes out" in the first 800m for these past few trials hasn't yielded the results I want to see. :P 

Post-Training Cycle Reflections

(1) workout I found most helpful:

• the confidence I gained from my 2:47 800m TT was incredible, but my body probably got more out of the extended fartlek workout I did on the treadmill:  

2 x [2 min hard (2 min easy), 3 min hard (3 min easy), 4 min hard (4 min easy)] at 5K pace

It felt like I had to keep digging deeper and deeper to execute the next hard interval, and that was really good for me. 

(2) things I learned:

• I can't get the most out of a pace-changing workout if I'm pushing a stroller, especially one with the baby in it.  The only times I had success with stroller workouts were doing longer intervals with my older one. 
• Thinking about fartleks or time-based workouts as track workouts helps me execute them better. Thinking about doing "8x45s @ MP" leads me to underperform, but thinking about 8x200m makes me focus more on pace, imagine visual distance markers, and execute the workout much better... even though they're exactly the same workout for me.

(3) things I'm proud of: 

• becoming a consistent 6:06-on-a-not-so-great-day miler
• making the 7-8mi long workouts happen (at pace!) on Thursdays before work, even if it means a 3:45am alarm
• being able to run a ~95s 400m for my training partner's lap lap of her mile (though this also means that I didn't beat my legs up enough since I did that < 5min after finishing my own mile) 

So, yet again, here we are, six months later, and I'm closing out another mile time trial entry with the same line: 

"My body's capable of a 6min mile. I just need to figure out how to execute it."

C Mile Plan: Week 5/6

 Week-beginning Thoughts:

Week 4 of 6? Already? 

Monday

Scheduled: 3-5mi easy or rest

Did: LIIFT4 Week 7 Chest/Back & Arms, 2.13mi run @  8:43/mi avg, 2.1mi run @ 9:15/mi avg

Lifted in the morning, and then ran to/from my first COVID-19 vaccine appointment. :)     

Tuesday

Scheduled: 10KT, 6x15s striders

Did: 7.29mi @ 9:35/mi avg

Skipped the striders today since I wasn't feeling 100%. I could've done them, but today was a workout that didn't really need to be done. I'd rather save myself for Thursday. 

Wednesday

Scheduled: rest

Did: LIIFT4 Week 7 Total Body HIIT

Morning workout, then loooong, tough day at the office. 

Thursday

Scheduled: 2mi WU, 2x800/(800-400 recovery), 2x400/(200-400m), 2x200(100-200) (all at MP), 2mi CD

Did: as scheduled = 7.81mi @ 9:15/mi avg, 10min yoga, LIIFT4 legs

Last week, I was wearing a sports bra and shorts at the track. This week, it was 40 with a feels like of 30, thanks to 19mph winds, and I was in long socks, fleece-lined tights, underarmour base layer, jacket, earband, and gloves. Oh, seasonal changes... 

This workout has been talked up a bit in our circle and seemed like it was going to be tough. Honestly, though, I didn't find it as hard as I thought it might've been. I took the longer recovery options each time, but the struggle for me was less about hitting the splits, and more about conquering the wind and feeling like I could keep going at MP (mile pace). 

Goal times:

800 3:00 (22.5, 45, 1:07.5, 1:30 = 200m splits around the track)

400 1:30

200 0:45

800 #1: Hit the first 100m in 18s and knew I needed to slow it doooooown. No problem, since the wind was heavy between the 100 and 300m marks. Hit the first 400m right on 90s, and then finished the second lap in 1:32 for a total of 3:02. I could've hit 3:00 if I'd been paying a bit more attention to my watch, but let this go and chalked it up to the powerhouse winds that felt like they were literally pushing me backwards. This felt relatively easy, and I knew I had a loooong way to go through the rest of the workout.

800 #2: Opted into the longer recovery (800m instead of 400m) here, and that was the right call. Again, I had a perfect first lap, but slowed a little on the second. 3:02 finish. Still, I'll chalk it up to wind. 

400 #1: This lap felt beautifully short, especially after 800m of recovery. I hit splits of 20, 44, and 1:11 (uuugh that back half of hte track was windy), but crossed in 1:29. 

400 #2: Similar to the first, I had splits of 20, 44, and 1:11, but crossed in 1:31. Might've been getting a little tired here?

200 #1: These were easy for me. I know I can blast through a 200m kick, and that confidence helped a ton. 21s 100m split, and a 0:43 finish.

200 #2: Same execution here, and it felt good. 

I wasn't sure how I felt post-workout about this one. On one hand, I think I executed really well (esp for conditions). I locked into mile pace really well, which was the point of the workout. On the other hand, I don't feel like I could've kept up the pace for too much longer and am pretty worried about the seemingly razor-thin margins of +/- 1s on these laps. That's the stuff that gets you a 6:06 mile instead of a 6:00 mile... Guess we'll see what next week brings!

Friday

Scheduled: rest or 3-5mi easy 

Did: Stroller Strides Class

My legs were so sore after all the squat jumps and lunges from yesterday's LIIFT4, but I couldn't miss the chance for a free Stroller Strides class on a day off from work. The class was outside, with lots of space between each participant, so I felt safe enough, though it was definitely uncomfortable at times (because I haven't been around that many people for over a year). 

Unfortunately for my legs, an Easter-themed class involved lots of "bunny hops" (i.e. squat jumps). Oooof. Still so much fun to get out and get active, and my little one loved counting my reps for me. 

Saturday

Scheduled: 8mi long run

Did: 8.16mi @ 9:12/mi

This run felt so short, but nice. I was surprised by how fast the last few miles were (sub-9). My right hip felt a bit sore after, so it's probably time for some stretching/yoga.

Didn't stretch/yoga. Felt like my throat might be itchy/sick mid-morning and ended up oscillating between feeling like I was tired/sick and just stressed out. Decided it was probably allergies from being outside, which was confirmed later in the evening. 

Sunday

Scheduled: 15min WU, 8x 45min @ 5MP/75s recovery, 15min CD

Did: as scheduled = 5.02mi @ 9:29/mi avg, yoga, ~4mi double stroller walk

I was on the fence about how to execute this workout for most of the week. Do it solo before the kids get up and avoid the stroller? Go to the track solo or stay on the roads? If roads, where could I find a good stretch for repeats? Do I try to find a stretch to run the 45s on or just speed up for 45s and do a standard route? Do I use the 45s mark or have my watch use GPS-measured distance for the intervals? 

Eventually, I settled on running solo along roads near my house and relying on Garmin to tell me when I'd gone 200m. Considering my GPS isn't the best for short intervals, I knew it wouldn't be accurate ,but thinking about the workout as 8x200m repeats instead of 8x45s was helpful for me, mentally. "The faster you run, the faster you're done", instead of "just push whatever pace you can for 45s". 

I hated doing intervals on a road. I hated not having clear distance marks to gauge my progress. I hated having to be aware of sidewalk jogs, sticks, and cars. I hated not having a "controlled environment". 

...but I got it done. 

weeeee

The first two seemed a bit fast to me when I ran them (though I didn't know how long they took me because of how my watch display works), and I slowed down a LOT for the remainder. It might not have been the best execution of a workout, since my pace wasn't consistent, but I do think it was better than I would have done with a stroller (though worse than I would have done on the track). So... win-ish?

Splits:

43, 41, 45, 48, 48, 46, 49, 47 

So, not good execution on consistency or pacing, but good execution on pushing hard? 

My right hip was still a bit sore afterwards. Legs felt okay. I'm still in a weird place physically where I think I've got some sort of sickness/allergies going on. Sometimes, I feel 100% fine. Other times, I feel like I've got a puffy head, runny eyes. Blergh, spring in Georgia. 

Did some concentrated leg/hip yoga, and a stretch-out walk to the ice cream shop with the family luego. 

Also, I'm definitely having allergy-ish symptoms, because I feel a lot worse when I'm outside for awhile. Blergh. 

Total Weekly Mileage: 32.5

Week-ending Thoughts:

• Blergh, allergies. Grateful I'm not as affected as many people are, though... 
• Trying to keep an appropriate mix of focus and IDC attitude for Thursday's mile trial, knowing what's worked well for me in the past

C Mile Plan: Week 4/6

Week-beginning Thoughts:

Week 4 of 6? Already? 

Monday

Scheduled: 3-5mi easy or rest

Did: 1mi walk, 5mi run @ 9:34/mi avg), 2mi walk-- all with stroller

Sick day for baby = afternoon at the river for us. It was nice to get some easy stroller miles in today, and spend time outside with my little one.

and we spent SO much time afterwards hanging with the geese :)

Tuesday

Scheduled: 10KT, 6x15s striders

Did: 7.07mi @ 9:40/mi avg

I loved this workout so much more than last Tuesday's. I got a nice easy 10K to talk with my friends, and then pushed the pace for a few short bursts towards the end. Garmin must not be loving the short intervals, though, because I know I was faster than the paces it reported... 

9:00/mi? That's some BS. I was hauling on all of these.

definitely faster than a 7min pace for those striders... 

Continued the "hard days hard/easy days easy" philosophy by doing some back-to-back chest/biceps/back/triceps lifting with a HIIT component at lunch. 

Wednesday

Scheduled: rest

Did: LIIFT4 W6 shoulders, 3.6mi walk

Today was not a great day. I didn't do a good job planning food, and ended up eating a TON of carb-y things this morning, without any real satisfaction. Blergh. Walked at lunch with my husband, and fit in a quick shoulder-focused weight lifting/HIIT session before getting the kids. Definitely did NOT set myself up for success on tomorrow's time trial... oh well. 

Thursday

Scheduled: 2mi WU, 800m Time Trial, 2mi CD

Did: as scheduled 5.0mi total @ 9:31/mi avg (2:47 800m TT), LIIFT4 Leg Day

Today's warm-up flew by. One minute, I was talking with my teammate, and the next, we felt our watches notify us that we'd finished our second mile. Guess it's time to knock this out, eh?

I did zero mental prep for this run. I didn't even know what my last time trial was/ought to be. I read through Coach's instruction to my teammate (who'd had the foresight to actually ask about pacing/goals). For a goal mile of 15s slower than mine, she'd be instructed to run 3:00. I figured I'd probably want to be in the 2:50ish range. I think I was around 2:50 last time I did an 800m TT. Maybe?

When I started off, I remember having a loose goal in my head of being around 1:25 for each 400m split. I hit the 100 in 18s, the 200 in 39, and decided I should probably cool it a bit... but tried to balance that with the idea that this was my race, and I needed to leave it all out there.

I crossed the first 400 in 1:23 and felt pretty solid, continued that to the 600m and then tried to let it fly. I did, but I also realized that, when I crossed the line, I had so much more left in my tank. For a moment, I was tempted to keep running, just to see how much faster/further I could go, but I opted against it. Today was an 800m trial, not any more. Trust the plan. 

I wound up with a 2:47, and was pretty pleased. I didn't recall it at the time, but that's a PR by 4s over what I ran for Miler Method last year... and I felt like I could've run it faster. 

During our cooldown, my teammate pointed out that I should be really proud of what I did do, especially since I hadn't really set myself up for success yesterday. I joked back, "Actually, not setting myself up for success is how I set myself up for success." 

When I "try" and put any sort of pressure on myself to perform, it rarely goes well. When I don't stress and just "show up and run", I get days like today- one of the easiest PRs I've ever run. Maybe I'm actually a lot fitter than I think? 

My first 800m trial, when I was attempting to hit 6 for the first time (very unrealistically, I might add, though I didn't know it at the time), was 3:02. (end result: 6:19 mile)

My next was 3:00 (end result: 6:08 mile)

And then I tried again and got 2:51 (end result: 6:06 mile)

I feel oddly optimistic about where I'm at right now... 

Also did a leg/HIIT workout in the evening. How am I feeling this good after a PR 800m? 

Friday

Scheduled: rest or 3-5mi easy 

Did: 4.07mi @ 9:07/mi avg, 2.9mi walk

I felt great this morning and took advantage of some beautiful running weather. 

Saturday

Scheduled: 10-12mi long run

Did: 12.23mi @ 9:20/mi avg

Mid-60s at 4:30am? Sure! Today's run was nice. I'm always amazed how much faster our average pace is on long run days from some other "easy run" days, especially since today's route wasn't exactly greenway-flat. We planned on 10, with an optional +2. My legs were pretty tired, but I was enjoying myself too much to cut off at 10. 

Sunday

Scheduled: 15min WU, 8x 2min @ 5K or 10K pace/1min recovery, 15min CD

Did: as scheduled with stroller = 6.1mi @ 9:07/mi avg

Heeey, I think I might've figured out this Sunday workout thing. :D Today's weather was absolute perfection, and I couldn't wait to get started. I took only the older kiddo today, and that was the right call. I was able to focus on my workout, but still really enjoy being with my baby. I had a few big gusts of wind, which were hard with the stroller, and it took me a few intervals to really hone in on what my recovery pace ought to be to keep pace on all the intervals, but this workout felt really satisfying and successful. 

Gorgeous Morning :) SO grateful for these moments with my littles.

Total Weekly Mileage: 39.4

Week-ending Thoughts:

• SUCH a change from last week. I feel really confident in where I'm at after some really successful workouts, and great other runs. I seem to have found a schedule that works well for my body, and am looking forward to the last two weeks of this training.