(not my) Marathon Training: Week 9/18

Week-beginning Thoughts:

I JUST WANT TO BE HEALTHY AGAIN...

Monday

Scheduled: rest

Did: nada

Stuffy nose and balloon-feeling head, but otherwise pretty okay today.

Tuesday

Scheduled: 2mi WU,10x400m/400m hill repeats, 2mi CD

Did: 6.36mi easy @ 9:44/mi avg

Sickness all around = swapping hard workout for easy one today. Just grateful to be able to run with friends again... 

Wednesday

Scheduled: 4-6mi easy

Did: 2.23mi WU @ 10ish, 6x400m up/400m down hill repeats, 2.15mi CD = 7.56mi total @ 9:35/mi avg, Big 5

Hallelujah. I just had my first complete night of sleep in awhile. Woke up feeling refreshed and ready to go. Training partner opted to do her Tuesday workout today. I didn't want to do a full ten miles or go that hard since I'm coming off a rough patch, but wanted to support her and do something. I opted for 6 instead of 10 repeats, and lowered the intensity from 10K pace up/MP down to "comfortable push" up/"easy jog" down. 

400m splits:

1) 2:07/2:29

2) 2:09/2:24

3) 2:05/2:25

4) 2:01/2:26

5) 2:04/2:24

6) 1:57/2:30

Thursday

Scheduled: 4-6mi easy

Did: 5.01mi @ 9:53/mi avg

So. Moist. Ugh. This humidity is just repulsive... 

Friday

Scheduled: 2mi WU, 3mi @ HMP, 3min jog, 2mi @ HMP, 2min jog, 1mi @ 10K pace, 2mi CD=  10.5ishmi

Did: as scheduled

Grateful for today's good run, but sooooo disgustingly humid. 

2mi WU = 10:15/mi avg

3mi = 8:04/7:59/8:03

3min @ 12:11/mi

2mi= 8:12/8:23 (felt hard so I let myself give in a little)

2min @ 11:45

1mi @ 7:55

2mi @ 10:05/mi 

Saturday

Scheduled: 4-6mi easy

Did: 4.04mi with double stroller @ 10:36/mi avg

Littlest had a 102 degree fever and complained of ear pain last night, so all plans went out the door this morning. I was still able to fit in a run with the double stroller between a pediatrician appointment and grocery+med pick-up, though. 

It was mad humid, mad hot, and that stroller was mad heavy... but we got it done. Yay, easy miles. 

 

Sunday

Scheduled: Course Simulation: 8mi easy, 6-8mi @ MP, 2mi CD

Did: as scheduled (6mi @ MP) = 16.31mi total @ 9:33/mi avg

OMG, I finally did a full week of marathon training as scheduled... that hasn't happened since... idk... week 5?

Littlest had another rough night, and I was up/down until about 2am when I finally went back to my bed, put earplugs in, and hoped my husband would recognize I was "tagging out" for a few hours. 

It was another repulsively humid morning, where I was dripping before mile 2. I slugged through the warm-up with only two miles under a 10:00, and wondered how I was supposed to go faster for the next segment. 

Mentally, breaking these long runs into segments has helped me SO much. It's obvious, but thinking of an 8mi run, a 10K, and then 2 easy cool-down miles is so much more palatable than a "sixteen mile run". 

Marathon Pace for my training partner has been an 8:30. I didn't want to hit that this morning, and also didn't know if I could. She's in MUCH better shape than I am, not having had illness and such derail her past four weeks of training. So, I did the smart thing: I didn't try to keep up with her.

I set a reasonable goal for myself (9:00 MP miles), and let myself do 6. 

8:56, 8:56, 8:46, 8:52, 8:38, 8:27

And then two more miles at a high-9. 

I felt so proud to be done with that. After a brief stretch, I went home, showered, and then did a hike with my family, brunch, showered again, and then passed out on the couch while my husband took care of the household. 

Total Weekly Mileage: 49.7

Man. If I'd have known I was that close.... 

Week-ending Thoughts:

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY, marathon training.

...even if my watch thinks I'm overtraining. lol

MBFA: Week 1/3

Week-beginning Thoughts:

Well, I had some severe stomach cramps last night around 5pm, was fetal positioning in bed at 7pm, slept until 6am... got up to be "present" during the morning hustle, and then went back to sleep for another two hours. It's 12:30pm now, and I'm working, feeling relatively fine... but maybe not ready for the intensity of MBFA. 

..and now it's 2:30 and I'm thinking about a run. :P 

Monday

Did: nothing

Slept a lot. Worked. Ate more bread in a single day than I have in the past month... Then slept more. 

Tuesday

Did: MBFA Day 1, 6.26mi @ 8:59/mi avg

Attempted to sleep in and recoup from whatever I had Sunday, telling my 10KTuesday buddies to go ahead without me. Body woke up at 4:30 anyways to thunderstorms. I wasn't sure I was in running shape, but wanted to do something, so I started the next level of my Beachbody-on-Demand program, Muscle Burns Fat Advanced (MBFA). 

I liked that the workout followed the same predictable structure as MBF. I dislike that all the workouts are 30-40min instead of 25-35min. You wouldn't think that 5-10min could make a difference, but it does. I considered doing both Day 1 (lower body) and Day 2 (core), but only had time for Day 1 before I had to get to work. 

Day 1 went well. Honestly, the hardest part wasn't the exercises or my lower body, but rather keeping grip on my 20 to 25lb dumbbells for almost the entire workout-- those things get HEAVY. 

I thought about doing Day 2 over lunch, but my teammates messaged me to say they were running 10KT later, due to this morning's storms, so I opted to join them. Things that were weird about that run:

• having to figure out how long it would take me to get there with traffic (there's never traffic at 4:30am...)
• seeing my teammates in DAYLIGHT (I don't think I've done that in over a year with one of them)
• running with people in DAYLIGHT
• having to be aware of cars and other pedestrians
• not being able to hear each other talk due to road noise
• sunlight
• wearing a sports bra and shorts and being hot... despite wearing full tights, underarmour, gloves, and earband two days ago.... 
• trying to figure out how to eat, when to eat, what to eat for a lunch run
• shifting my work hours to accomodate a midday run (i.e. having to log back on after kids are in bed)

Still, it was a good run and I'm glad I went. I would NOT have run without them. Plus, it's always nice to see a faster pace when I run midday, after my body/legs have "woken up", rather than the high 9s I run at 4:30am... 

Wednesday

Did: MBFA Core, MBFA Upper, 5K lunch walk with husband :) 

These workouts are definitely harder than MBF, and I'm loving them. That said, I probably need to be better about cooling down and stretching post-workout. Sitting in a chair for the bulk of the day did not make my hips happy. 

Thursday

Did: 5.08mi @ 9:15/mi avg, MBFA Core

Ugggh. Last night was the worst. I went to bed around 8pm, and was woken at 10:36 by the baby asking for a change. While baby was changed and back asleep within two minutes (I kid you not), I was up with insomnia until almost 3:15am... Ugggghhh. 

Got up before my alarm, couldn't get back to sleep, so I met my teammate for a COLD and WINDY run. Felt better, but still super tired in the morning. Took a brief 30min nap between drop-off and work, and then hit up my MBFA workout at lunch. 

using kids' etch-a-sketch-y tool for my 

AMRAP (as many rounds as possible)

MomLife

Friday

Did: MBF Total Body

Got up at 4am after a MUCH better night of sleep, got my workout in, and got on with my day.

Saturday

Did: 10.17mi @ 9:24/mi avg, 1.5mi bike ride, MBFA Dynamic Stretch, 1mi walk, 30min yoga

I love double digit runs before dawn with my training partner. :) 

Kid wanted to ride bikes at sunrise, so I came home, had a 30min turnaround with oats, eggs, and a wardrobe change. Despite having way more clothes on, I was freezing... and kid was freezing... so we made it 1.5mi and then thawed out in the car. 

Sunday

Did: MBFA Power Ignite, 3.71mi on treadmill @ 9:43/mi avg (2x5min tempo at or under 8:00)

Woke up feeling super tired, and opted out of any morning workouts (partly because of that, partly because of cold rain).  Thought about a tempo run on the 'mill... wasn't sure about it, and decided to postpone until I was feeling confident that it was a good idea. 

Felt better around lunch and did my MBFA with my kiddo, then followed up with a treadmill workout. After a mile, I felt really good, and opted into tempo. Instead of a full ten minutes, though, I did 2x5min with a 5min recovery in-between. 

Solid day. 

Total Weekly Mileage: 25.22mi

Week-ending Thoughts:

• I had a great consult with a Registered Dietician who helped me figure out my actual RMR, talk through what types of foods to eat when, and review my current eating patterns to help me create a plan for what to eat when in order to lose weight or maintain it. I love how she utilized my existing foods, recipes, and habits and just made suggestions on how to modify those instead of a brand-new "here, use this meal plan" fix. 
• I feel really good about what my direction is moving forward, and hope to knock out the first stage of this plan in the first quarter of the year, and then just go into a more intuitive maintenance mode. We still don't have any idea what caused the big bump in weight last year, but at least things are moving in the right direction now? 

Miler Method #4: Week 6/6

Week-beginning Thoughts:

Meh? I don't really have any this week... 

Monday

Scheduled: 5-7mi easy

Did: 5.39mi @ 10:08/mi avg

Mmm. I do love a good pre-sunrise easy run. I opted for the hilly 5.5ish mi route from home this morning, and enjoyed taking it super slow.  

Tuesday

Scheduled: 10min WU, 2x5min tempo/3min, then 3min rest, then 6x30s @ MP, 10-15min CD

Did: 

Wednesday

Scheduled: rest

Did: rest
Rest days are the worst. I always find myself so much more stressed, irritable, hungry, grouchy, and miserable when my day doesn't start off with a workout. 

Thursday

Scheduled: 4-5mi easy + 4-6 strides (50-70m @ 80-90% speed)

Did: 5.5mi @ 9:33/mi avg, with 6 strides 

Easy morning run with my training partner, followed by parking lot strides. 

Friday

Scheduled: rest

Did: 16.61mi bike ride plus 3.28mi @ 8:54/mi avg

So, I've got a friend who was doing his first marathon (as part of his first full ironman) today, virtually. I couldn't not go out and support him, so I decided to write chalk messages along his entire run course, about every 1/4 to 1/2mi. This ended up taking a LOT longer than I'd planned...I ended up spending almost 2.5hrs on my bike (well, hopping on and off my bike) and giving my hands major cramps (even being ambidextrous didn't help much...). 

After chalking, I met up with my family and we covered some of the course on foot, trying to meet up with our Ironman-to-be. I'd planned on running a couple miles with him (swapping tomorrow's 1-2mi easy to today).

When we finally met up with him, I couldn't help myself. I ran a little over a 5K at his pace (high-8s), which felt super easy, but is a good bit faster than the normal pace I'd run that distance at... and much faster than I'd do an "easy run" at. 

Still, however what I did today impacts Sunday's mile trial, I have zero regrets. Getting to support a friend through one of their significant athletic achievements meant more to me this weekend than hitting my sub-6. I know I can do that, and if I end up having to take another pass at it next weekend, then that's what I'll do. 

Saturday

Scheduled: optional 1-2mi jog

Did: some walking with the family, and 30min bedtime yoga

Tried to stay chill today... did a Halloween thing with the fam :) 

Sunday

Scheduled: 10-20min WU, 5x70m pickup strides (faster than MP), catch breath, then hard mile, then 10min CD

Did: as scheduled, 5.54mi total @ 10:17/mi avg (with a good bit of walking in the cool-down)

Race Report: Miler Method #4

Total Weekly Mileage: 26.8

Week-ending Thoughts:

Meh? idk, bro... 

Miler Method #4: Week 5/6

Week-beginning Thoughts:

Blergh. Sick kids = sick mom. This is gonna be a rough week.

Monday

Scheduled: 15-20min WU, 3x3x30s hills (easy, med, hard) , 10-15min CD

Did: nope

I slept about 15 hours between noon yesterday and 6am today. Might try to push this workout to later in the week, might just skip it completely. 

I felt a little blergh in the morning, but back to 100% by bedtime. 

Tuesday

Scheduled: 5-7mi easy + 2-3xCore

Did: 10KTuesday @ 10:12/mi avg

Wasn't sure I was going to run today, so I told my training partners not to count on me and do their own thing. I decided to not set an alarm and just let my body wake me up when it had had enough sleep. If that was early enough to run, and I felt good, I'd run. If not, well, I'd be "listening to my body".

I woke up on my own at 4:21, felt pretty good, and decided to head out for an easy run. Before my watch hit 1.0, I was already doubting if this was a good decision. I was going much slower than usual (close to an 11min pace), but felt alright. I decided to let myself go a mile out, and then, if I was still feeling icky, to turn around. 

At the 1mi mark, I felt better, so I decided to go another half mile, and then repeated this pattern a few times, giving myself ample chances to turn around, cut the run short, etc. I ended up doing the full 10K, but, even now, I'm not sure if that was the right call. Guess we'll see how I feel this afternoon... 

Also, didn't do more core workout today. Oops.

Wednesday

Scheduled: rest

Did: 35min weight lifting + 3.23mi @ 10:25/mi avg
I'd really planned on resting today, but some life stress sent me into full-on workout mode. I did the strength/lifting-only components of two of my favorite Beachbody LIIFT4 workouts back-to-back (chest/back/triceps/biceps) and then went out for an easy run in the afternoon with my kiddos. It was really nice to be able to push the little one in the double, while the older one rode a bike. While my pace varied widely with the older one's biking, it was really empowering to be able to take both kids to the greenway solo and get a good workout in with them.

 

Thursday

Scheduled: 10-20min WU, 10min tempo, 5-10min rest, 4x300@MP (45s recovery), 4min rest, 4x200m @ 43-44s with 90s recovery, 15min CD, 1 set strength

Did: as scheduled...well, minus the strength set :P

OMG, this workout felt SOOOOOOO good. 

WU: 1.53mi @ 9:49ish/mi

Tempo: 1.43mi (per Garmin) @ 7:00/mi

This felt really good this morning. 

300s: 63.3, 65, 65.7, 67.3 (Goal: 67.5)

I felt really good and strong on each of these. The last one is a few seconds slow because I didn't quite make it back to the start line before my watch beeped (stopped to re-ponytail my hair), so there's a little extra distance. Considering the 67.5 goal is for a 6:00 flat pace, I feel like I'm in really good shape for a fast mile. 

The past few times I've done Miler Method, my Week 5 speedworkout has been 4x400m @ MP, and I've done those all with a 6:00 goal pace... and varying levels of success.

200s: 40.3, 41.5 (Goal: 42-43s)

These felt GREAT. 

CD: 1.35 @ 10:00ish/mi avg

So.... yeah. I feel pretty awesome this morning.

Friday

Scheduled: 5-7mi easy

Did: 4.01mi @ 9:40/mi avg 

I kind of felt like running an extra mile here to hit the minimum scheduled mileage... but didn't let myself fall into the trap of "making up miles". Besides, I'm already planning on going longer than I "should" for my long run this weekend. :P  

Saturday

Scheduled: 5-7mi easy

Did: 10.22mi @ 9:30/mi avg, plus a few walks with the kiddos

Training plan had 5-7mi "in preparation for this weekend's harder workouts". Considering I already did the harder workouts (I've swapped days around from the prescribed order to fit my schedule better), and my training partner and I were both kinda wanting double digits, we opted for 10. It was really nice to run in the rain, and even better to get it all done before 6:30am :D  

Sunday

Scheduled: 15-20min WU, 15min tempo, 10min CD, 1 set core

Did: 1.25mi walk, run as scheduled (5.14mi @ 8:59/mi avg), 0.5mi walk, 1 set core

With my husband sidelined from running for a bit, I opted for a later run to still spend the morning together with our munchkins. We did a nice walk around the city center to see the scarecrow displays in the drizzle, without anyone else around. It felt absolutely magical to get out and about with my family, somewhere that wasn't the greenway or riverside path. 

After we got home, I headed out for my run. The weather was perfect: low 60s, slight drizzle, and full overcast. Beautiful. Tempo was a bit slower than I wanted, but I was also going uphill for the first bit.

First bit of tempo (uphill): 8:01/mi avg :P

Second bit of tempo (flat/downhill): 7:01/mi avg

Total distance = 1.96-- not quite the 2.0mi I'm normally gunning for on these, but I'll let it slide since I had so much elevation. 

Even managed to do my core workout after a shower and some homemade Larabars. ;) (diet has been much better this week, and I feel the effects of fueling better, too) 

Total Weekly Mileage: 35.4

Week-ending Thoughts:

• I feel so much better when I put better food into my body. 
• Homemade Larabars are like crack to me. I need to instantly put them in the freezer and bury them below lots of stuff.... otherwise, I eat them... like, ALL. 
• It's crazy how easily I get derailed from my strength training/core training. 
• I've got what could be a personally/professionally stressful week coming up. That could be a good thing to have accompanying taper week... or I might go crazier without running/working out. 
• Also, just realized my Thursday workout was actually 4x200m after the 300s, not 2. Crap. I guess I had 2 in my head since they were 200s... I feel pretty bad about screwing up a workout and slacking. Ugh. Oh well. 
• Mile trial is next week, and I'm feeling pretty good about it. :D If 6:00 doesn't happen this time, I have zero doubts I'm capable of it, right now. Just gotta make it happen. What an amazing feeling to have. 
• Also, bought a fun glittery workout outfit with some birthday money... It makes me feel happy :)

Miler Method #4: Week 4/6

Week-beginning Thoughts:

How is it almost October? So many of the default events I use to mark the passage of time (USATF Nationals, Peachtree, summer vacation, etc) haven't happened, and it's really throwing my mind for a loop. 

Monday

Scheduled: 15-20min WU, 4x5min tempo/90s recovery, 10-15min CD

Did: as scheduled = 5.57mi @ 9:09/mi avg

Man, I need to stretch more. As soon as I started running this morning, I had a tightness in both upper glutes that was almost debilitating. Eek. I was able to push through, though.

Tempo was hard. I think that's probably indicative that I shouldn't have swapped prescribed days around the way I did (i.e. in such a way that I ended up having back to back tempo days). Oh well. Even if I didn't hit the paces I wanted, I definitely exerted the right amount of effort for the day. 

Tuesday

Scheduled: 5-7mi easy + 2-3xCore

Did: 2x Core, 10KTuesday @ 9:40/mi avg

Weee, did my core before the run today. Having someone else in the training FB group as a pseudo accountability partner is definitely helping with this. :)

My glutes still hurt a lot during 10KT. I think I've realized this is because I was trying to work on my forward lean during the weekend's runs (I tend to lean back when I run... a lot). However, instead of doing it properly, I was leaning forward at the waist, wreaking havoc on my upper glutes. Soooo, lesson learned. Don't do that. :P 

Wednesday

Scheduled: rest

Did: yoga

I set a stretching alarm a few times throughout the day to work on my hips/glutes, and indulged in some runners' yoga before bed. Here's to a better tomorrow!

Thursday

Scheduled: 15-20min WU, 4x70m pickup strides (faster than MP), catch breath, 2x200m @ goal 800m pace (0:40s with 2:30min recovery), 5-10min rest, then 800m (2:40=1:20/400m = 0:40/200m = 0:20/100m), 10min CD, 2-3x Strength

Did: mostly as scheduled, 4.48mi @ 9:13/mi avg (2:51.3 TT), plus 2x Strength

MM#4: 800m Time Trial

Friday

Scheduled: 5-7mi easy

Did: 5.05 @ 9:53/mi avg

Mmm. Today felt really nice. 49 degrees, light breeze, and absolutely no repeats, pace requirements, hills, or anything "extra" assigned-- just run. 

Saturday

Scheduled: 8-12mi long, 2-3xCore

Did: 6.13mi @ 9:50/mi avg, plus 3.74mi stroller walk

Swapped Sunday/Saturday because we'd planned on getting up and out early to go apple picking. The original plan was to do this as a family run, but I was wide awake at 4:30am and really itching to just get it done. That was SUCH a good plan. The kids ended up being sick and throwing all plans out the door :P I'm glad I got my run done ahead of all that chaos.

The five easy felt good. I ran a new route as a "special treat" (lol) and then finished out with the strides. I'm still certain I'm not doing these "right", despite watching videos and such... 

Also did nearly 4mi of stroller walking in the afternoon to help the the littlest calm down and sleep a bit. 

Sunday

Scheduled: 5-7mi easy + 6x100m strides (easy, med, med, med-fast, fast, med)

Did: 10.09mi @ 9:32/mi avg, 2x Core

Pretty sure I'm about to get sick with how my kiddos have been this weekend... Blergh. Glad today was an easy run day. Felt great during the entirety of our family ten miler, and even picked up the pace at the end. 

Total Weekly Mileage: 37.7

Week-ending Thoughts:

• I'm going to run a 6:00 mile. If it doesn't happen in two weeks at my trial, it will definitely happen soon. I feel so confident and so strong right now. 
• That said, my diet has sucked this and last week. Definitely need to get back on the veggie bandwagon and stop snacking on taco shells/banana bread. 
• Also, I really hope I don't get whatever my kids have. All the congestion.... :P 

21 Day Fix: Week 3/3 AND Miler Method #4: Week 1/6

Week-beginning Thoughts:

So, this week is going to be a bit interesting. I'm finishing up 21 Day Fix Extreme Real Time from Beachbody on Demand while also starting my fourth time through Miler Method. After my 6:08 PR mile earlier this summer, my training partner and I thought it would be fun to give the program another go in early fall, to take advantage of the cooler temps, and opted to actually sign up for the full program with Coaches Nick and Sierra Willis (instead of just repeating the plan I'd done with their training group back in 2016). 

Miler Method Histories: 

Roll the Tapes (a summary of #1 and #2)

6:08 (#3)

Since finishing our 10 days of 10 miles (10x10 Challenge) a couple weeks ago, I've had some knots in my lower calves, so I'm not really sure how this training cycle will go. I don't feel nearly as strong or healthy as I did going into MM#3 in June, but the weather's also better, and I've been doing a lot more strength/cross-training, so maybe it'll be good? 

Just like last time(s), I modified the Miler Method plan a bit to suit my schedule.As written, the plan was:

Monday: rest

Tuesday: hills/strides

Wed: easy

Thurs: tempo

Fri: optional easy

Sat: track workout

Sun: long run

I'm modifying it to:

Monday: easy

Tuesday: hills/strides

Wed: rest

Thurs: track

Friday: optional easy

Sat: long run

Sun: tempo (probably with the stroller?)

Monday

Scheduled: 5-7mi easy

Did: 5.35mi easy run @ 9:07/mi avg, 0.17mi cool-down walk, 21 DFX: Day 15- Upper Fix, 3mi bike ride with kid

I was a little nervous about my calves this morning, and wore my compression sleeves as a "security blanket" for the run. I'd planned on doing an easy 3 and, if I f felt great, I'd continue for another 2 to get to the lower end of my scheduled workout. I ended up feeling GREAT and did a little over 5, before cooling down with a walk. Hooray, awesome weather.

When I got home, I knocked out my 21DFX workout while my kiddo played outside with caterpillars. SO nice that it was cool enough to get a workout done outside. 

...then finished the day out with an easy 5.6mph bike ride with my potato. That was awesome. 

Tuesday

Did: 21 DFX Day 16- Plyo, Core Circuit, 6.29mi @ 9:58/mi avg (3x60s hills + 4x30s hills) 

Got up at 4am, which left me precious spare time to get through:

1) brushing my teeth and pulling my hair back

2) prepping my water bottle (shoulda done that the night before)

3) a 30min 21 DFX workout

4) the core circuit

and be out the door to meet my training buddies for a 4:50am 10KTuesday. 

...and then I forgot I hadn't input my workout into my watch.

...and then I realized I didn't know how to do that with my new (Polar) watch.

...so I wore both the Polar and my old Garmin (which got the workout programmed into it). :P

I didn't feel super confident in my calves today, so I kept the effort easy, especially since we hit the big hill in the neighborhood near the park. 

60s repeats:

1) 0.12 @ 8:34/mi

2) 0.11 @ 8:45/mi

3) 0.11 @ 8:44/mi

30s repeats:

1) 0.06 @ 8:32/mi

2) 0.05 @ 9:21/mi (thought I felt something in my calf)

3) 0.06 @ 9:05/mi (did feel something in my calf, but it moved downward as I ran, so I felt better)

4) 0.06 @ 8:06/mi (had training partner next to me as we did our last 30s one together)

Nutrition wasn't the greatest. I struggle with food every time I have to go into the office. I never bring enough :P 

Breakfast: Larabar

Post-run: Greek yogurt smoothie, protein mix + coffee

Morning: coffee w/whole milk, overnight oats (greek yogurt, strawberries, oats)

Snack: KIND protein bar

Lunch: spinach salad with roma tomato, carrots, celery, corn, and pork shoulder plus apple

Snack: roasted veggies (cauliflower, zucchini, celery, squash)

Dinner: roasted veggies with pork shoulder, chardonnay

Evening: a couple taco shells, peanut butter oat bar, deli meat, and some wheat thins  :P 

Wednesday

Scheduled: Rest

Did: 21 DFX: Dirty 30, 2mi walk

Got up and got my 30min workout in, and then enjoyed a morning walk on the phone with a friend before work. 

Thursday

Scheduled: 10-15min WU, 10min tempo, 5min rest, 200/300/400/600/2x200 (with 2min rest between), 10-15min CD

Did: as written (6.51mi @ 9:01/mi avg), 21 DFX Pilates, Strength Circuit

I love track days. I wasn't really sure how today was going to go, but was still looking forward to getting back into workouts. Today was a ladder at mile pace (6:00 goal)

Tempo: 1.38mi in 10min

200 0:39.8 (way too fast-- should've been 0:45)

300 1:05.4 (too fast- should've been 1:07.5)

400 1:29.4 (good- should've been 1:30)

600 2:30 (I took the "Do this all at mile pace (you can go slower on the 600 if you're feeling tired)" direction from my coahes a little too liberally)

200 0:46.6 heh... yeah, this was slow

200 0:43.0 stronger finish = yay

It felt nice to be back on the track, and I liked the variety in the ladder (though the 600 was definitely hard). Considering it's been a couple months since I've done any speedwork (with a focus on distance, via the 10x10 challenge, and a couple weeks off from running for my calves), I felt good about where I was at today. Plus, it's always great to go into a hard day of work already having accomplished something hard before 6am. ;)

The evening was a bit of a struggle for me. Miler Method workouts + my actual WORK mean I'm struggling to fit in the 30min workouts from 21 Day Fix. I'll be glad when this week is over and I'm "only" doing Miler Method for my workouts. I got the Pilates done after the kids went to bed, knocked out my Strength Circuit (from Miler Method) and then headed to bed.

Friday

Scheduled: 4-6mi recovery run

Did: 4.05mi @ 10:05/mi avg, 21DFX Lower

Uggggghhhh. Here's how my morning went:

2:15am start hearing baby noises

2:35am decide baby is definitely awake; get up, feed/change/put baby back to sleep

2:50am opt to go to the basement in an attempt to sleep without sleeping cat/husband noises

3:15am hear baby crying, but know my husband's on call for that

3:15-3:59am continue to hear baby crying, be unable to sleep or even relax

3:59am baby stops crying and appears to be back asleep

4:00am my alarm goes off

I'd planed on knocking out my 21 DFX workout, then heading out for a ~4mi run. That meant I'd need to get up at 4:00 if I was going to be done, showered, and ready by 6am when my family is up. 

...but SO TIRED.

I reset my alarm for 4:30 and decided I'd skip the 21DFX workout this morning (which meant I'd have to do it in the evening, UGH), and then, within 5 minutes, the baby was making more noises. 

I had two options:

1) continue attempting to sleep, which guaranteed the workout wouldn't happen, but I might function better at work... if I actually got to sleep

2) accept defeat on the sleep front and go workout, something I could control completely

I opted for #2, and enjoyed a nice recovery run, going super easy. 

Did lower fix after dinner, and was very grateful to go to bed knowing I only have two more of these workouts. 

Saturday

Scheduled: 8-10mi easy, 21 DFX: Day 20, core circuit

Did: 10mi easy @ 9:57/mi avg, 1mi walk, 21 DFX: Cardio, core circuit

I've had a pretty good track record this year of 10mi (or more) runs every weekend, but took the last two off due to calf issues. It felt nice to be back on the greenway with my husband pushing the kids in the double stroller for what's become our Saturday morning ritual. I had a few times where my calves felt a little tight, but nothing that lingered long enough for concern. 

Used the baby's second nap of the day to knock out the 20th 21DFX workout (cardio), and finished off with the MM core circuit before watching the first quarter of the Clemson football game.... and promptly falling asleep. 

Sunday

Scheduled: 15-20min WU, 10min tempo, 10min CD, 21 DFX: Day 21, 

Did: 21 DFX Yoga, workout as scheduled + 1mi walk with stroller 

Baby woke up at a normal hour today (4:30), which meant I had an easy feed/change cycle before having about an hour to myself (before everyone woke up for the actual start to the day). While I enjoyed finishing off 21 DFX with yoga, I'll also be grateful for the extra time next week to do other things, like knock my run out early, sleep, enjoy some coffee and a book in my reading nook, or, more likely, pack my lunch for work. :P 

I wasn't sure what to expect out of my tempo run. I'm normally around a 7:30 pace, but had two "other" factors today:

1) I was pushing a stroller, albeit "just" the single with the baby

and

2) after a sneak peak of fall, the humidity is back in full swing. I hadn't even left my driveway before the weight of it felt heavy all over my body. Ugh. 

I ended up doing slightly more than 10min of tempo due to a missed lap button press on my watch, but was around a 7:47. Not bad. I probably should have run faster, though, since I definitely felt like I could've kept going at that pace for awhile... Oh well. Lesson learned for next week! 

gorgeous morning at the river

Total Weekly Mileage: 36.6

Week-ending Thoughts:

• I'm proud of myself for sticking it out for all 21 days of 21 Day Fix Extreme. It's a nice program, and I think I'll come back and repeat it again when I'm not also in the middle of a running training cycle. 
• It's nice to have an online training community again. 
• I think the Atlanta humidity is worse now than it ever was earlier this summer. :P
• I'm not excited about having to go back into the office full-time this coming week, and worry a bit about how the extra stress and time spent showering/doing my hair/getting dressed/packing ALL THE FOOD (no, seriously, my biggest concern to going back in-office is just figuring out how to prep/pack all the food I need to get through a day and how many reusable containers I'm going to have to wash each night) will impact life and training... but "I've had worse".