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."

Race Report: Miler Method #4

Previous PR: 6:08 (7/25/2020)

90% Goal: 6:25
50% Goal: 6:15
10% Goal: 6:05
Result: 6:06 (PR)

Training:

I opted into a new round of Miler Method, with Coaches Sierra and Nick Willis, and got a different plan this time around:

• 6 runs a week (1 hill or strides, 1 tempo + track intervals, 1 tempo, and 3 "easy" days)
• intermittent core/strength workouts (that I actually did most of this time around)
• ~35-40mpw

Before:
Unlike past miles, I've had zero taper madness. Work has been pretty stressful the past few weeks (constant deadline shifts, where I'm urgently trying to wrap up work and put it in deliverable format only to find out 1-2 days before that "Oh, we're not issuing this week. We'll issue next week". Uggggh), and it's thrown me off my run game for sure. On top of that, a friend of mine was doing his first full Ironman (which was also going to be his first full marathon) this past Friday. I put a lot of effort into prepping for that (chalking up his course, making fun posters, verifying tracking software, etc), and worry a little that I might've used up all of my enthusiasm and energy on that effort... and dressing the family up for a Boo at the Zoo event (Halloween is my favorite). 

My husband asked me how I was feeling about my mile Friday night, and I honestly replied, "Not good. I think I may have inadvertently checked out of this cycle pre-maturely."

It wasn't intentional. I just feel like the past week I haven't been able to focus on running at all. I haven't kept up with this blog every day (like I usually do), and that, plus all the work/IM/Halloween/family stuff, has really made the mile "out of sight, out of mind" for me. I don't really feel confident going into tomorrow, but I'm also really at peace with that.

I'll go out tomorrow and do whatever my body can do. I'm expecting to hit somewhere around 6:15-6:25, and then probably take this coming week to get my head back in the game and make another go at it next weekend or the weekend after. 

Night Before:

I definitely had a "whatever" attitude about this mile, and that carried into everything I did tonight. I tried to take 30min for some mindful yoga as a "reset" after the kids went to bed, but it didn't really help. The evening was dominated by stress, bourbon, and munching on taco shells and poptarts. 

Pre-Mile: 

I woke up at 3:45am, sans alarm, after a night of bad dreams about running the mile. I Brushed my teeth, took my Halloween make-up off, shoved some shredded wheat in my mouth, and headed to the track. Even driving there, I was kind of 50/50 on whether I wanted to even bother with the mile or just go as support for my teammate. 

When I arrived, I took a moment to watch our coaches' pep talk for the mile trial. It was just what I needed to hear: reminders of not going out too fast, and also reminding us that wind/weather and how your body feels impact your time... a lot. "Don't feel like 'it's Sunday, I've gotta do my mile'" was my biggest takeaway. 

It was windy when my teammate and I got out of our cars, and I was grateful I had a jacket (I never run with or bring jackets-- that kind of shows how "whatever" I felt about this mile). We talked a lot on our way to the track and through the warm-up about our coaches' words and what each of us wanted. Knowing she was better equipped than me, I deferred to her for execution. We decided I'd run mine first, with her giving me 400m splits, and then I'd do the same for her. 

Mile:

Lap 1 88s

I took off with an "eh, let's see how this goes" attitude, and tried to push a little harder to make sure this didn't turn into a tempo run. I decided to take this opportunity as a "trial" and see how close I could get to the 90s even splits each time... without actually looking at my watch to check myself throughout the laps. I took one little peek at the 100m mark (20s-- too fast already, :P), and then tried to settle in. It was only four laps, right? 

Lap 2 92s

Well, I did a good job settling in here. I had some struggles around both curves (where the wind was the hardest), but accepted it. I found my breathing, and "embraced the suck". 

Lap 3 90s

Just gotta get through this one and then it's one more lap to the finish... My legs felt surprisingly good here, though I know my breathing was becoming a bit ragged. I've done enough miles now (especially the one recently) to start developing a sense of how each lap feels, and where my mind goes on them. It's been nice. 

When my teammate called out the 90s split, my mind got excited. OMG. I've done it. I just have to keep this pace, and I've got my 6:00 mile. I can do this.

Lap 4 ???

Knowing I just had to keep the pace (and feeling like I could still kick), I set off on my last lap. The wind was hard between 0-100m and 200-300m, but I still felt like I was maintaining the effort I needed. I didn't kick at the 200m mark, wanting to save some for after I got through the wind. In my head, I had the 6:00 in the bag, and every second I could shave off on the last straight-away was beautiful bonus... but I kicked anyways.

...and didn't get it. 

Post-Mile Reflections:

I didn't know what my time was when I finished. It wasn't until later that my teammate said that, by her watch, it was a 6:06 that I learned I hadn't even come close to the 6:00 mark.

How did I lose SIX WHOLE SECONDS on my last lap? Neither of these graphs seem accurate enough to explain. Oh well. 

pace via Polar

pace via Garmin

Maybe instead of "saving my kick", I slowed down too much in the last turn. Maybe the wind was just too strong (it was only reported as 6mph, but maybe that's enough)? I don't know, and I'll never know. I'm kind of okay with it, though. 

When I woke up this morning, I wasn't even sure I'd bother running a hard mile today. If I did, I wasn't sure I'd even come close to a 6:20. 

I ended up with a new PR... and I'm not even excited/proud about it, but neither am I disappointed. I'm just kind of apathetic? It's kind of like, "Oh, cool, that mile happened", but nothing more. Maybe that's a testament to my emotional/mental state right now, or maybe it's because I didn't view today as any sort of culmination of the past six weeks of training, just as "another run". Either way, I'm looking forward to trying again next weekend, if the weather's right, because I know I can break 6. 

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 3/6

Week-beginning Thoughts:

• I need to plan better this week. I'm going to identify all my target paces the night before my runs and determine when/how/where I'll get my core/strength circuits in. 

Monday

Scheduled:  5mi easy

Did: 5.04mi @ 9:30/mi avg
Oooh, I got over seven hours of sleep and woke up to beautifully crisp, fall air. It felt a little strange to put on a shirt to run (not even a singlet, like, a real short-sleeved tech shirt), but the wind was howling. Felt good, and was even showered before the rest of the family got up. Win.

..of course, I also started feeling sick again halfway through my work day. Blergh. 

Tuesday

Scheduled: 2 sets of Core pre-run, 5-7mi easy, 6x100m strides,

Did: 5.59mi @ 9:31/mi avg, , 6x100m-ish strides, 2x Core
Had a 2am-3am wakeup with baby, but was able to get back to sleep afterwards (hooray, that's a rarity)... though my 4:10am alarm wasn't welcome. I'm used to sleeping in my running clothes, because it's one less barricade to getting out the door in the morning, but didn't do that last night since it was chilly. 

That was the wrong call. I struggled for another ten minutes to get out of my nice, warm bed, and probably would have delayed too long had I not been meeting my 10KTuesday crew at 4:50am. Lesson learned: always wear your running clothes to bed, and just throw sweats over them if it's too cold to sleep in shorts and a singlet. 

Pacing was consistent for most of the early miles. I planned on doing 5mi easy and then using the rest of the 10KTuesday route for strides, but we got to talking and I ended up delaying my start a bit. Still got in the strides, of varying lengths and paces, since I didn't have a track, but they felt good. Oddly enough, my recoveries were about as long as the strides, and not very slow (relatively). 

I wasn't really feeling like doing my core workout when I got back in, but, with my family still asleep, it was hard to justify NOT doing it... so I did. 

Wednesday

Scheduled: rest

Did: 3.12mi easy @ 9:36/mi avg

Couldn't pass up 62 degrees and no wind... While I didn't have time for a full 5mi (my shortest prescribed "optional/easy run"), I figured something was better than nothing. 

Thursday

Scheduled: 15-20min WU, 10min tempo, 5min rest, 800m (2:56 = 1:28/lap = 44s/200m), 2x300m @ 67.5s, then 600m all-out.... then 10-15min CD, 

Did: as scheduled = 5.83mi @ 8:52/mi avg, 2x strength circuit

Today was a good day. I knew today was going to be a really hard workout, especially when I did the math on Sunday (weee, planning ahead) for what my splits needed to be. It was also going to be a really awesome day, though, because days are always great when you do something hard first thing in the morning. 

I cut the warm-up a little bit shorter than prescribed (because it lined up well with where I happened to be on the track/where I wanted to start intervals), and was about to set out for my 800 when my training partner said, "Don't you have tempo today?"

Oooh, yeah, I do.... Whoops. 

Tempo felt sluggish today. Normally, I feel pretty free on these, but today, I just didn't. Still, Garmin had me at 1.38mi (Garmin overestimates distance, but, for consistency, I'm comparing this value week-to-week), and I was only about 20-30m short of my usual distance. I chalked it up to poor eating and a stressful yesterday (two deadlines and a webinar presentation for 130 people during my 10+ hours at work), and mentally moved on. 

Previously, I've been taking the 5min "rest" as actual rest, jogging over to the start/finish line and just hanging out until my workout began. After reading a FB Q&A post with our coaches, though, I opted to turn it into an easy jog today. 

Soon, it was time for the 800. I knew my goal splits, and was ready to go. I was a little nervous about today. I mean, I haven't run a fast 800 since my last miler camp, and that was for a Time Trial. Today, I was supposed to run an 800m four seconds faster than what my mile pace would be... and it wasn't even Time Trial week (that's next week, btw). 

I took off, repeating the splits I had to hit in my head (44, 1:28, 2:12, 2:56) like a mantra. Oddly enough, I never actually checked these splits during the entire 800m. I felt like I was definitely working. My breathing changed to my race breath about 400m in, and I felt it. God, I have a "whole 'nother lap" to go... 

Having a goal time in my head, though, helped motivate me to push on. I did a 3:00 in my last time trial. Today, I was going for faster than that. 

800m:  2:53.9

HELL. YES. I didn't know it at the time, but, after looking over old race records, I'm pretty sure that's an 800m PR. Weeeeeee. Now I've gotta break that next week. 

I forgot to ask Nick and Sierra what my rest between intervals was supposed to be (it wasn't specified), so I opted to take between 90 and 120s, in line with other workouts. 

I was not feeling pumped for the 300s. These were at mile pace, which was fast... and I'd just run a really fast 800m. Oh well, gotta get 'em done... 

I didn't know what my splits were until I reviewed my watch output a few hours later, but was thrilled to see:

300m #1:  65

300 #2:  64.7

After the second 300, I was beyond glad to not have a "goal time" for my 600. It was just an "All You Got". I wasn't sure what I had to give after the first leg(s) of the workout, but I'd give what I had.

600m: 2:20.7 

This was so hard. I could tell my training partner knew I was struggling by the words she chose to cheer me on with. I felt slow. I felt tired, but I had a small kick on the last 100m... and was SO glad to be done. I'll be honest, though, this was not all I had physically. I could have gone faster, but I let the mental fatigue win by using the "eh, there's no time goal, it's just whatever you have... and maybe this is all you have, and that's okay". 

I could've gone faster. 

While my teammate finished up her workout, I did my strength circuits (check it out-- that makes two days this week where I've done the non-run components of my plan!). 

What a great start to the day. :D

Friday

Scheduled: 5-7mi optional

Did: some light lifting and yoga, but nothing significant

I didn't plan on running this morning. Instead, I used my morning time to tackle a deadline at work. Hopefully the 3mi I did on Wednesday makes up for not running today. It does in my mind, at least :) 

Saturday

Scheduled: 8-12mi long, Core x 2

Did: 12mi @ 9:23/mi avg

I had so many various feelings and thoughts during this run. At 0.6mi in, I remember thinking, "How can we not even be at ONE mile yet?". As we approached the halfway point for our normal ten miler, my husband told the kids, "Mommy's got 12 on the schedule, so we're going past the tunnel today."

Oh, I guess we are doing 12 then....

Around 8mi, I started feeling pretty good. That was about the time my husband slowed down due to some heel pain, leaving me solo for the last four. I remembered my training plan had said something about picking up the pace if we felt good... so I did.

...and then walked another 1.5mi with the fam :) 

Sunday

Scheduled: 15-20min WU, 15min tempo, 10min CD

Did: Core x2, 15min WU, 15min tempo, 15min CD... and then more CD = 6.58mi total @ 9:09:/mi avg

Well, core didn't happen yesterday, but I did a couple rounds today before hitting the pavement for tempo. 

WU: 1.47mi @ 10ish/mi avg

Tempo: 2.04mi @ 7:21/mi avg

CD: whatever's left over... I keep trying to write this blog, but get through, like, half a sentence before the baby starts crying "mamá, mamá"... 

I ended up running a bit further on the cooldown than I'd planned. I wanted to close out with a mile walk post-run, but it started raining, so we had to get the kiddos back to the car. 

Total Weekly Mileage: 39.1

Week-ending Thoughts:

• I ate better this week, and felt better
• Sleep was also a bit better (yay, lower stress and more baby sleeping through the night)
• Still feeling like a near-40mpw is NBD
• I can't believe we're already halfway through this training cycle! I'm loving the workouts and feeling both intimidated and excited by the upcoming time trial. According to my plan, I'm supposed to go thirteen seconds FASTER than this week's 800m PR... Eek. 

Miler Method #4: Week 2/6

 Week-beginning Thoughts:

Um ,well, it's Thursday, so.... ? 

Monday

Scheduled: 10-15min WU, 3x3x30s hills (E, M, H), 10-15min CD

Did: as scheduled, 4.36mi @ 9:43/mi avg

Oh, what a morning. Up at 2am with the baby, and just kind of stayed up... Ooof. 

It was my first time varying the intensity of hill repeats, and I appreciated having something to make nine of them in a row more interesting. I did an easy jog up to one of the larger hills on a typical route, and was happy to find it long enough to do even 30s of hard effort up (in past training cycles, I've struggled to find hills long enough for my time period). 

Paces:

7:33

8:02

7:19

8:07

7:37

6:54

8:17

7:09

6:45

...and now it's off to work!

4:20am vs 6:20am 

Tuesday

Scheduled: 5-7mi easy, Core x2

Did: 10KTuesday @ 10:15/mi avg, Core x 1

Today was a struggle of a run, and I was grateful to not have a workout on the schedule-- just a nice, easy 10KTuesday. 

Finished up with one round of core in my driveway... I really need to make better plans for executing these core/strength circuits. :P

Wednesday

Scheduled: rest

Did: 6.0mi easy @ 9:16/mi avg

With 65 degree weather this morning and a hurricane forecast for tomorrow, I couldn't pass up the chance to get out for some recovery miles this morning. I'll be honest and say I was really disappointed throughout most of the run to see how slow my pace was. I kind of thought that, since all my friends are running a ton faster "with no extra effort" thanks to the cooler weather, that the same would be true for me. Instead, I kept seeing 9:45/mi on my watch when I thought "surely, I'm going fast NOW". My last mile ended up being the only one in the 8s, and that was because I needed to get done and get to work. :P 

found a new pond to run around

Thursday

Scheduled: 15-20min WU, 10min tempo, 5min rest, 3x600 (@5K pace)/200 (@800m pace)/3min jog, 10-15min CD, Circuits x2

Did: 30min yoga/stretching

Hello, Hurricane Sally. Training partner and I opted to push track work to tomorrow and stay indoors with the 15mph winds and and torrential downpour happening at 4am...

Got in some yoga and stretching instead. Man, my hamstrings are not flexible....

Friday

Scheduled: 4-6mi optional

Did: yesterday's track workout

My legs and body were tired this morning, and I really wanted to stay in bed. Thank goodness for training partners! 

Warm-up was sloooooow (10:31/mi avg), but probably warranted. 

Tempo: 1.44mi by Garmin (always overestimates my track distance, but I'm trying to at least record consistently if not accurately) 

Based on my splits, I think I was going around a 7:00 mile, which felt really felt good this morning. It was another day of cool weather, which always helps. Finally, we're getting the sort of fall temps that I was hoping to capitalize on for a fast mile this camp!

So, yet again, I failed to properly prepare for this workout: I didn't know what my splits should be before I set foot on the track. In fact, I didn't even have an IDEA. I knew the 600s should be "at 5K pace" and the 200s were "at 800m pace". I attempted to figure this out on the tempo part of the run, which went something like this:

What's my 5K pace these days? Um... I PRed in February with 22-something, right? OK, so 7:30ish maybe? A 7:30/mi 800 is 3:30+ 1/2(30) = 3:45, so a 7:30/mi 400 would be half that.... 1:30 + 22.5 = 1:52.5 + 1/2 of that same time = 1:52.5 + 1/2 (60+52) = 1:52.5 + 1/2 (112) = 1:52 + 56 = 2:00 + 48 = 2:48. OK, 2:48 for my 600. 

How about the 200? Um, I don't know what my 800m should be, but let's say a little faster than a 6min pace. A 6min pace 200 is ~45s (I know these by heart after training for a 6min mile SO many times), sooo maybe I try for 40s?. 

Set 1

600: 2:19.3

Oh, s--t. That's way too fast. I could kind of tell when the first 200m of this guy felt hard that I might have been running fast... but my mind didn't really process what the goal of this workout was. Out of habit, I thought, "track = fast". This workout was different, though, and it was about building stamina on the 600s, but exhausting myself just a bit before digging down for the 200s... which needed to be faster than MP (mile pace). 

200: 0:45.5

Well, this isn't going well... but what did I expect after blowing it on the first 600?

Set 2

600: 2:35

This felt SO slow. I struggled a lot with keeping my pace "easy", and it was still faster than prescribed. 

200: 0:42.6

Well, nailed this one. OK, so this is what this workout is supposed to feel like.

Set 3

600: 2:39

I'm starting to get the hang of this now...

200: 0:47.6

...but then didn't shift my mindset for the 200s and realized I was NOT pushing at all on the last 100m and probably needed to, 'cause, y'know, this was the LAST push of the workout. 

I liked this workout a lot. I always struggle with mental stamina on long runs, so the 600s were a good challenge. It was something I've never done before (tempo + moderate interval/hard interval) and feels like something I need more of in my life. 

Saturday

Scheduled: 9-11mi easy

Did:10mi @ 9:28/mi avg, 2x Core

SO MUCH LIFE STRESS, OMG. I've only gotten like six hours of sleep most nights this week and just been emotionally exhausted. Of course, that meant there was nothing I needed more than a good long run with my training partner. I'm normally in charge of our courses, but met her this morning to tagalong on her typical route due to scheduling. It was so nice to just run, talk, and not even pay attention to when/where we were turning. Such a perfect start to a weekend. 

Got in a mile walk with the family, and some core work during the Clemson game, too, but felt kind of "blergh" in the evening and went to bed at 7:30. 

Sunday

Scheduled: 15-20min WU, 15min tempo, 10min CD

Did: 15min WU, 15min tempo, 28min CD = 6.46mi @9:02/mi avg

I woke up after almost twelve hours of sleep feeling better, but not quite 100%. I wasn't really sure if I should do tempo this morning, but figured I'd get out and just see how it went. I didn't have a pace goal in mind, and if I ended up doing a 9:00 during my "push" phase, so be it. 

It was 55 degrees this morning- our first morning in the 50s this season, which was nice.. but also made me second-guess my wardrobe. I ended up in shorts, calf sleeves, a singlet, earband, and a long-sleeve boatneck on top (that I planned on shedding into the stroller, which my husband was pushing). In hindsight, I shouldn't've bothered with the extra shirt and just used my arm sleeves. 

The warm-up felt nice: 15:00 at a little under a 10:00/mi pace. Then tempo began. I always have a loose idea in my head that  "good" 15min tempo for me will cover 2mi of distance (7:30/mi). Today, though, I didn't bothered looking at pace during the tempo, just ran "by feel". About five minutes in, I passed another runner who called out, "Great pace!", which was so encouraging. Thanks, random stranger! 

I ended up covering 2.02mi (7:37, 7:12 splits) and felt really good with that. 

Might go out later and get some extra miles of a walk/jog in while my kiddo bikes, but also wanted to get this entry up and posted and off my "to-do list". 

Total Weekly Mileage: 39.9 

Week-ending Thoughts:

• Nutrition has sucked this week. I've been SO carb heavy due to period-related hormones and emotional stress. Sigh. 
• It's a good week when you can run 40mi and not even feel like it was that much.
• Pretty sure I missed a few strength/core workouts this week. Obviously those aren't a priority for me... Might revisit that next week, but I think it's more important for me to get my nutrition back on track since that affects how I feel throughout the day more. 
• Running continues to be such a great coping mechanism for so much in life. I'm always grateful for the ability to keep doing what I love.