Race Report: Peachtree Road Race

Previous PR: 47:53 (5/6/17)
90% Goal: 1:00
50% Goal: 57:00
10% Goal: 55:00
Result: 52:02

I had zero ambition to race or put any effort or pressure into Peachtree 2018. It's always hot, and the course isn't ideal at all for a PR. Beyond that, I knew I was going to have the mile test within five days of July 4. 

 

Bucket List Item: Run Peachtree in a Sports Bra
CHECK.

Pre-race, we had the normal awesome meet-ups with friends, as usual. There is always a huge group of ATC folks who volunteer with Corral C, so that's where the party ends up being. This works out well since I've always been within 1 corral of them. 

pre-race Corral C fun

Because 5:30am is our favorite time for a "date"

We camped out near the port-a-potties for awhile post-photo, and then one of my teammates and I went off for a short warm-up, just to get the lead out of our legs. Ugh, that felt slooooooooooooooow. Saw a few friends as we made our way to Corral B, where we met up with another teammate. B, B, and I had zero plans or ambition for the run, so we all figured we'd just start together and see what happened. 

The first time I looked at my watch was around the 0.7mi mark. I was hoping to see more distance on it. We were definitely going faster than I'd wanted to, but I was holding it, and didn't feel like it was so fast that I wanted to back off from my friends. We clocked the first mile in 8:35. 

Miles 2 and 3 are also primarily downhill. We kept the pace, and even got a bit faster, clocking 8:15 and 8:03. I remember joking "we're slowing down on Cardiac, riiiiight?" to the other girls, thinking that I wanted to get off this progression run train NOW. 

Weeeee, elevation madness

One of my teammates walked a bit as we hit the hill. The other and I continued up, and then circled back (yes, we ran extra distance during a race-- literally we ran over to the left sidewalk, ran down it for a bit, opposite the course, until we found our friend, and then rejoined her and continued running). This happened twice before she, ultimately, said she wasn't feeling it and that we should go ahead.

couple walk breaks.. and some crazy high cadence instances

And then there were two. 

I actually think all three of us may have been together for this picture, but the photog only got two... 

We stayed together for another mile or so, until she told me to go ahead and that she was going to slow up a bit. I was feeling GREAT by this point, and really wanted to keep going and finish strong... even if "finish strong" meant "run another two miles strong". So, I did. 

It was fun to push a bit. I wasn't pushing anywhere close to a race pace, was definitely at or around a tempo effort for where I was. I kept up the pace for the rest of the race, keeping effort steady. I had a few moments where I felt like slowing up, but those passed quickly (as soon as I reached the top of those little hills). 

When I finally turned on 10th, I reminded myself I still had a looooooong way to go. I saw another runner friend ahead of me and wondered if I could catch him without too much effort. Nope. I gave a solid push, but so did he. Could I have caught him? Eh, maybe... but it would have required more effort than I was willing to give. 

whoa, my HR monitor graph looks feasible for once!!!

zoomy zoom

I finished in 52:00 chip time, which is pretty awesome. That's my 2nd fastest 10K ever, and a huge Peachtree PR, so I'm quite pleased. Plus, I love how this race FELT. There was no pressure, and I performed really well, especially the back 5K, because of it. I'm also super grateful to my teammates for the fast start, because I wouldn't have ever gone out that fast on my own.  

check out that last LONG kick

After I crossed the finish, I waited for my teammates, which was my favorite. I loved getting to go through the chute with them, collecting t-shirts, taking pictures, etc. So much love for these women. 

#team

Post-Race Reflections:

• I am SO ready to turn this mile training into something more. Today fueled my fire for another race. I can't wait to see what I can do in a 5K or 10K this fall.
• I had EXACTLY even 5K splits this race. How crazy is that? 

• The Top 500 Female cutoff this year was 50:02. I'm a little bummed that I took it SO easy because that was completely in-range for me today, but, had I "gone for it", my race day would have been a lot more stressful and not nearly as fun. Plus, the mental pressure might've slowed me down so much that I wouldn't have gotten it at all. Who knows? 
• Yay, Peachtree.

Mile Training: Week 6/6

Week-Beginning Thoughts:
Whelp, it's mile week, and I feel totally untrained and unprepared... despite the fact that I've been doing these workouts as prescribed 95% of the time for the past five weeks. lol. 


Monday
Scheduled: 4-6mi recovery, core
Planned: rest
Did: rest, 2mi walk
Definitely needed a rest day after the activity-intense weekend of running and riding. Got out for a brief 2mi walk in the afternoon, just to move a bit, which felt nice. Really should have made time for stretching or yoga, though... 


Tuesday
Scheduled: 10min WU, 5min tempo, 3min rest, 3x30s mile pace
Planned 4-6mi recovery, core
Did: 6.36mi @ 9:30/mi avg, Big 5
Today's easy run felt much harder than it should have to start. I still haven't figured out if I'm eating enough, eating right, sick or not, getting enough sleep, etc. Just kind of drifting in a lot of areas of life right now... 


Wednesday
Scheduled: rest
Did: 2mi hike, 15min WU @ 9:30/mi, 5min tempo @ 7:21/mi, 3min rest, 3x30s (5:54/mi, 5:47/mi, 5:18/mi), 10min CD @ 9:12/mi, Big 5
Impromptu family vacation = morning hike through the mountains (with a 35lb backpack). 

we were literally the only people on the trail this morning- so perfect

...but I still had to fit in a training run. There are literally NO sidewalks anywhere around, and the mountain roads are "two"-lane death traps for cars, much less pedestrians, with "DANGEROUS INTERSECTION" signs everywhere, sharp bends, and steep inclines (both on the actual road profile and off the sides). I'm not a trail runner, so i was relegated to the only place with any sort of pedestrian facilities: the lone local park, which is actually more fairgrounds and soccer fields.

This isn't sketchy at all, right? 

Not feeling safe to solo it, I brought my family along and they were able to find a playground to entertain themselves while I ran. That part of the park looked a lot better. The path was, as most "walking trails" like to be, meandering and not ideal for high speed running. Considering my alternates were running through saturated grass or across a parking lot, though, I took it. The run felt hot and hard. I haven't felt really "good" about a workout in over a week. Not sure if it's weather, diet, or something else. Good thing the goal for this training cycle isn't a time, but just to recapture the "in-training" mentality. 

Thursday
Scheduled: rest
Did: rest
Walking, napping, generally chill-laxing.

Friday
Scheduled: 1-2mi recovery
Did: 2mi @ 9:06/mi, Big 5
Fit this guys in over the kiddo's naptime after returning from vacation. It was hot. Blergh.



Saturday
Planned: 10-20min WU, 5x70m strides, breathe/recover, 1mi test, 10min CD
Did: 15min WU @ , 5x strides, 5min rest, 1mi @ 6:31, 10min CD @ ... and then a bonus 3.11mi cool-down later with the stroller @ 10:07/mi avg, Big 5 




Sunday
Planned: 
Did:


Total Weekly Mileage:


Week-Ending Thoughts:

"Race" Report: Mile Trial

I never intended for this mile training cycle to get back back to my 6:00 mile goal that I had last year, pre-PF tear. My only goal was to use these six weeks to re-train my mind to handle workouts, and go from logging 35-40mpw of "running" to 30+ mpw of training. 

Cross-that-s***-off

But, everybody likes numbers, right? So, here's how today shook out:

Previous PR: 6:14 (1/1/17)
90% Goal: 6:40
50% Goal: 6:35
10% Goal: 6:27
Result: 6:31

Pre-Mile:
As soon as we (I had two awesome teammates who woke up at 4:XX on a Saturday and came out solely to cheer me on) started running this morning, my mind told me it was not going to be a good run day. My legs didn't feel loose. I felt sluggish. Oh well. Just run whatever you can. This was never intended to be a super fast mile. 

We ran a few easy laps on the track, but I never felt like I really warmed up. Blergh. 

"Hey," said one of my teammates, "don't you have some strides or something to do too?"

"Uh... yeah. Guess I should do those..."

I'd been kind of on the fence about doing them at all. I didn't want to tire myself out. At least that's what I told myself. But when you're point-blank called out on something by a teammate, you kind of have to do it. 



Strides:
The program called for 5x70m strides. The three of us combed the track for markers, but could only find the 100m start and finish, so one stood at the 100m and I "eyeballed" the 70m mark. Surprisingly, these felt good... though they turned out to be only around 50m. 


Mile:
I had my teammates set themselves up at the 200m and lap marks, and took a little solace in the fact that, whatever my pace ended up being, they'd be proud of me... and I was the only one actually DOING the mile test, so there was also that. After a five minute rest/wait, I took a deep breath, and off I went.

Lap 1: This lap was a mix of "run", "take it easy and don't burn out", and reminding myself that "it's only four laps". My breathing was already at a steady 2:2 at the 200m mark, and I tried to mentally "settle in" for the long haul. I hit my lap button as I crossed the line, hoping for some idea of how I was pacing, but, with the way I'd programmed the workout into my watch, I wasn't able to see my lap split. Oh well. Just keep running.

Lap 2: "Hey, this isn't too bad. I haven't felt like crapping myself yet, so I guess that's a good thing... Not eating vegetables yesterday might have been a good call." Also, hearing my teammate at the 200m mark say "you only have to see me two more times!" was a great reminder that I was almost halfway through. 

Lap 3: "You're over halfway there," my teammate called as I crossed the line to start my third lap. Yes. Yes, I am. I smiled a little (in my head, my face was NOT a smile for sure) as I passed the 200m mark, hearing shouts of "use your arms", "good form", and remembering the next time I saw her, I'd be 200m away from the end of this.

Lap 4: I didn't feel nearly as dead as I thought I would. I didn't feel good, but I also didn't feel awful (and, more importantly (?), I didn't feel any GI distress). My legs felt powerful. My arms felt strong. I felt capable. Fatigue set in a little around the last curve, but I pulled out another gear (definitely not my usual last kick, though-- I certainly had more in me than what I gave) going into the final 100m. 

And then it was over.

Cool-down:
Due to my watch's workout programming and screen settings, I had no idea what I'd run the mile in. That was fine with me. I walked for about 50-100m, catching my breath as my teammates jogged over to me, lifting me up with comments like, "you weren't twisting!", "you looked so strong", "that was so impressive", and "yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay". My legs didn't feel like jello. My cardio was in good shape. I think my mind was 100% the limiting factor on the run. Still, I didn't care what my time was, I felt good that I'd pushed through something I didn't really want to do, finished strong, and, most importantly, that I'd made it through my post-injury/comeback training cycle uninjured and happy.

#team <3 

Reflections:
If I'd had to guess, I would have said that I finished around a 6:42. When I was able to look at my splits, I was SUPER happy find the mental math yielded a 6:31 instead. 

Pre-injury, a 6:33 was my "default" mile time. I seemed that no matter what, if I were to go out and just run a mile, I'd be somewhere in the 6:33-35 range. 

It feels good to finally be back at my "baseline", especially after the struggle of a last nine months. 

The best part of today's run is how much better of a job I did at pacing myself. In ALL of my past mile attempts, I've started off too fast, and died after the 800m mark. 

Today, here's what my pace looked like:

whole workout
0-15:00 WU: lots of stops/starts due to track debris
strides
rest
mile
recovery
cooldown

Mile: SUPER consistent

Laps 12, 13, 14, 15 = Mile

Last week at the track, I was finished after a single 90s 400 and needed the recovery. This week, I finished the first one without too much stress, and then went on to clock three additional, back-to-back, near-identical splits. I am SO proud of this. 

Good Things:

• This training gave me something to hold onto when other areas of my life were crumbling. I am forever grateful to running for getting me through the rough times.
• I missed a handful of workouts, due to illness, but was incredibly consistent otherwise
• My final test was unpaced (by person or watch) and still incredibly consistent
• I'm proud of myself
• My mind is back in "in training" mode
• I have my confidence back (at least when it comes to running)

Room for Improvement:

• Strength/core training fell off the map. Short workout circuits felt like a "why bother" so I skipped them most of the time. 
• This cycle wasn't about pushing my pace as much as it was my mind, but there's definitely room to push harder during the workouts
• My diet has been full of 100 kinds of cheats. It's not awful, or nearly as bad as it was pre-2018, but I've definitely struggled to eat clean. 

What's Next?

• I want to try another mile, sometime in the next 1-2 weeks. I feel like I can go faster than I did today.
• Last year's "Year of the 5K" really turned into more of a "year of the mile" (I raced a single 5K in 2017), so I'm looking to target a fall 5K and see how fast I can go. The ultimate goal would be an "A Wave" bib for Peachtree 2019, but a 45:47 10K seems incredibly ambitious (PR = 47:53). There aren't any published standards for the equivalent 5K time, so I figure I'll shoot for dropping 30s off of my PR (PR=22:48, so goal maybe 22:18?). Planning on exploring Hansons training methodology with a couple teammates... Goal race still TBD

Mile Training: Week 5/6

Week-Beginning Thoughts:
I can't believe I'm already in the penultimate week of mile training. This program seemed so much longer last time? 


Monday
Scheduled: 3-6mi recovery
Did: 4.01mi @ 9:24/mi avg, Big 5, 1mi walking carrying 35lb kid
Easy miles in the morning, half with a training partner and half solo. Then a jaunt downtown with the kiddo, involving carrying 35lb in a most awkward fashion for about a mile.


Tuesday
Scheduled: 10min WU, 2x5min tempo/3min rest, 6x30s mile pace, 10-15min CD, core x2
Did: 25min WU @ 10min/mi avg, 4x45s +4x60s hills, 15min CD @ 9:15/mi, Big 5, core x2, 10min yoga
Opted for last week's hill workout instead. Probably could have done these faster, since my CD was a bit on the quick side. Oops. Still struggling to figure out exactly how to pace myself through these sorts of workouts... 

	Lap	Pace
45s	1	7:13
	2	6:56
	3	6:35
	4	6:44
60s	1	6:33
	2	6:31
	3	6:27
	4	6:34

Finally got my two core sessions in, as well as some yoga. 


Wednesday
Scheduled: rest
Did: 30min DIY bootcamp, 20min yoga
I need a little workout to jumpstart my day, so I did a quick DIY bootcamp.

Replaced the 2mi run with yoga for focus (and, y'know, to respect "rest day").



Thursday
Scheduled: 10-20min WU, 10min tempo/5-10min rest, 4x400m/90s, 10-15min CD
Did: as scheduled (see below), 4.67 @ 9:11/mi avg, Big 5
After a teammate calling my attention to the fact that I wasn't really doing workouts at the level I was capable of on Thursday, I decided to remedy that today. I pushed on my tempo, keeping a 2:2 breathing pattern almost right from the start. Garmin told me I'd hit a 6:46/mi pace on that... but I corrected it for the actual distance I covered during the 10min, and found it much closer to a 7:42. Still, not bad. 

I took ALL of the 10min rest I was offered, and then set off on the 400s, with the mantra "it's just one lap" in my head on repeat the whole time. Usually, I try to start off conservative, negative split my repeats, and have a final kick on my last repeat of the day. Today, I wanted to go out hard to remind myself what that felt like. Go hard. Find your limit. Only then can you know where it is.

Lap 1: At the 150m mark, I felt that terrible urge to poop that usually creeps up when I hit these speeds. WTF. Held on, and managed to finish with a super strong time.  And then walked the recovery.

Lap 2: Same GI trouble hit around the 200m mark this time, and I let myself slow up a liiiitle rounding the final corner. Quads were already dead.

Lap 3: Hit a wall around the 150m mark and couldn't propel myself any faster. This was the only one my teammate passed me on. 

Lap 4: Teammate and I pulled each other through this one. 

This workout FELT so much different than the other ones I've done recently. I'm learning how to "make it hurt" again, and that's exciting. It feels good. 



Friday
Scheduled: 5-7mi recovery
Did: 7.17mi @ 9:07/mi avg, Big 5
Slept in, ran at the river with friends, and kept a pretty healthy pace, which felt conscious, but easy. 



Saturday
Scheduled: 15-20min WU, 6x30s hills, 10-15min CD, core
Did: 20min WU @ 9:59/mi avg, 6x30 hills (25' elev gain, 6:58-7:27/mi), 20min CD @ 9:29/mi = 4.67mi @ 9:37/mi avg, Big 5, core
I loved the mental side of this workout. After weeks of 45-60s hill repeats (and eight of them, at that), the prescribed 6x30 felt like nothing at all. Easy warm-up, easy cool-down, and home, showered, and in-bed blogging with some chocolate milk all before 6:30am. I love being a morning runner. 



Sunday
Scheduled: 5-7mi long run
Did: 10.05mi stroller run @ 9:49/mi avg, Big 5, ~18mi bike ride around 11.3mph with trailer
One of the original reasons I started running a decade or so ago was to combat some situational depression. When life is tough, I still find the endorphins help me deal more than anything else. I had a series of three runs (well, it was one long run, just segmented by the company I had for the first 6.5, middle 3, and last 0.5 miles) in the morning to start things off, followed by a great running mamas date at the playground. 

Happy Global Sports Bra Running Day

After a nice 2.5 hour nap, we enjoyed a family bike ride along the greenway, up and back to our favorite local brewery. I had the trailer for most of it and kept the pace easy and effort minimal. When I was trailer-free, though, I let myself go out ahead, zooming along the wooded path, and felt a kind of happy I haven't felt in the past five weeks. It was really nice. 

Total Weekly Mileage: 36.75mi run, ~18mi bike


Week-Ending Thoughts:
I'm grateful for my health. Being able to run and bike with friends and family during one of the roughest periods of my life has been so helpful. 

Mile Training: Week 4/6

Week-Beginning Thoughts:
Well, my body's finally given up after an incredibly stress-filled two weeks. I'm definitely sick with something, though my only symptom is a sore throat and no voice. Goody, goody. 


Monday
Scheduled: 3-6mi recovery
Did: rest
Came home sick-ish and just needed to take the day. 


Tuesday
Scheduled: 10-20min WU, 4x45s hills, 4x60s hills, 10-15min CD, core x2
Did: rest
Basically laid in bed half the day, incredibly frustrated that I can't speak. 


Wednesday
Scheduled: rest
Did: 3mi @ 9:12/mi
Still feeling blergh, and have no voice. This is Day 3, and it's literally the worst. I would much rather be sniffly or throwing up and have a voice than have laryngitis be my only symptom right now. Went for a short, easy run, just to feel human, get a little stress out, and hopefully clear my head. 

It worked for about 20min... and then the stress came back. 


Thursday
Scheduled: 15-20min WU, 4x70m strides (+MP), breathe, 2x200m at goal 800m pace (half mile -20s), 5-10min rest, 800m time trial, 10min CD
Did: 10min WU @ 9:30/mi, 10min tempo @ 7:40ish/mi, some sort of rest, 8x200/200, 5min CD, Big 5
Still sick-ish and definitely voiceless, but I wanted to go to the track and run anyways. Figured I would just run easy the whole way, but then found myself wanting to join in on the track fun. C decided she wanted to do 10min tempo + 8x200/200. I decided I'd do the same, but just exert less effort, make it a "push" instead of a hard effort. 

Tempo: Garmin claims a 7:20/mi pace, but always gives me more credit than it should for distance. I lapped my watch at the mile and clocked myself at a 7:40, so we're going with that instead. Still, a lot faster than my tempo attempt at Clemson last week when I wasn't sick (or, wait, maybe I was... that would explain things). 

1st (4)- 200s: 0:47, 0:49, 0:51, 0:48 (didn't really care, wasn't trying at all, just taking it easy)
...and then I saw my teammate struggling a bit. She's normally hella faster than me, but I wasn't even exerting much effort and was coming in only a few seconds after her. I decided to stick on her heels and do what I could to silently (since I'm still voiceless) encourage her.

2nd (4)-200s: 0:45, 0:43, 0:44, 0:38
It felt sooo good to be able to push her. Helping someone else have a better workout when you can't have the workout you want (or even when you can) makes your heart sing. That's what teamwork is all about. :) 



Friday
Scheduled: 5-7mi recovery
Did: 4.06 @ 9:25/mi avg, Big 5, 3.2mi walk
Voiceless, Day 5. I hate this, but at least I can still run. Joined the Friday morning crew at the river for an easy 4, and followed it up with a 5Kish walk with some #10KTuesday teammates over lunch. 

Saturday
Scheduled: 15-20min WU, 10min tempo, 10min CD, strength x2-3
Did: 11.01mi @ 9:31/mi avg with the stroller, Big 5, core x2
SO. MOIST. Omigosh, this run was literally the worst. I was soaked to the core by mile 3 and felt like my sports bra had been completely submerged and saturated before I'd put it on. Ewwwww. Pace was a bit too fast to start off, and we paid for it on the back half. Every little bridge on the suuuuuper flat greenway felt like a mountain with the stroller. 

H found the fan I was going to give to a friend in the car and insisted we use it for him. lol

Also did 2x core in the evening. Really need to get back to giving these small add-ons their full due... 
Sunday
Scheduled: 7-12mi long run, core x2
Did: 15min WU @ 10:23/mi, 15min tempo @ 8:32/mi, 15min CD @ 9:55/mi, 2x strength, delayed Big 5
Got a nice family run in for Fathers Day. Jer pushed the little one in the stroller and accompanied me on my tempo run along the greenway. My warm-up was super slow; I could tell that yesterday's distance, the humidity, and the fact that I've been eating more carb-y foods than usual (when I'm sick, I crave tortilla chips... and I may have consumed a bag and a half over the past week) all caught up to me. 

Tempo felt good, though I was certain I was going faster than the 8:30/mi my watch showed. Jerry's Garmin confirmed, though, that we were NOT going any faster than that. Ugh. Oh well. It's been a rough week for me, and a mentally stressful last two. To be fair, I did know during the run that it wasn't a true tempo. I could have easily carried on a conversation, though I felt like I was exerting considerable effort. 

Forced myself to do the strength workout during the munchkin's nap, and called it a week. 



Total Weekly Mileage: 27.85mi run, 5.26mi walk


Week-Ending Thoughts:

• It's amazing how much of an effect just a few days of eating crappy food has on how I feel. Definitely looking forward to a return to a natural food-based diet now that my voice is back and I don't feel sick... just bloated and gross. :P
• For being sick, I'm pretty impressed that I only missed one real workout day (hill repeats on Tuesday), and that I was able to do what I did on Thursday. 
• Not sure how I'm going to alter the plan to get a time trial 800m in though... might drag the mile out one more week? 

Mile Training: Week 3/6

Week-Beginning Thoughts:
I'm loving this being in-training thing. 

Monday
Scheduled: 3-6mi recovery
Did: 3.14 @ 9:22/mi avg, Big 5, 2xstrength
Had a nice, easy solo run at the river this morning. Loved the post-run stretch along the water. Kept distance short since I've been way over with my long runs. 

Tuesday
Scheduled: 10-20min WU, 8x45s hills, 10-15min CD, core x2
Did: core x2, 6.5ish @ 9:55/mi avg, Big 5
This workout wasn't planned very well. We had a 25min warm-up, and then switched our planned hill out for a different one on a whim. That hill ended up being way too short for a 45s climb (it flattened out about 23s into the split). So we ran another 10min down to the base of a different hill, which was definitely longer. 

Climb paces varied from 6:20/mi to 7:34/mi, though the accuracy of those values is pretty suspect using fishy GPS on such short intervals. Still, the workout felt good and hard (but manageable.... which probably means I should have pushed harder). 


Wednesday
Scheduled: rest
Did: 5mi @ 9:44/mi avg, Big 5
With travel on the schedule for Fri, I opted to swap rest days. Met B for an easy 2 before her bootcamp, and then continued on for another three solo. Felt a small twinge in my right calf during a hill climb, which kind of scared me, but it was "just the one", and then felt fine the rest of the run and day. 


Thursday
Scheduled: 10-20min WU, 10min tempo, 5min rest, 8x300m/90s, 10-15min CD
Did: as scheduled
Thursdays are SO hard. I'm so glad to have other runner friends who join me at the track for these workouts. We had a fuller crew today, including two runners who are faster than me. I enjoyed getting to run just behind them for the workout; they kept me pushing the whole time. 

Tempo Pace: 7:12/mi

Splits: 64, 67, 68, 69. 67, 66, 68, 68  (average pace still ~6min/mi)

I performed a lot better on the 300s than I thought I would. I'm not keeping track of my pace within the interval (or even looking at the split until later in the day), which is a change from how I did this last time. Last time, I had specific 100m splits I wanted to hit regardless of interval length/duration. 


Friday
Scheduled: 5-7mi recovery
Did: 15min elliptical, 20min weights, 1mi treadmill run @ 9:30ish, 2mi walk
Thought about making this a rest day, but I just love working out too much. Especially with a lot of life stress these days, getting my endorphin fix is essential. 

free hotel breakfast :)

Saturday
Scheduled: 15-20min WU, 15min tempo, 10min CD, strength x2-3
Did: 15min WU @ 10:09/mi avg (traffic lights), 15min tempo @ 8:31/mi, 20min CD @ 9:20/mi avg, Big 5
I woke up exhausted this morning-- it's the first time in awhile that I've actually been woken up by my alarm, instead of waking on my own before it. Blergh. I didn't have a route planned for this morning (still traveling), so I ended up just wandering around (which contributed to the slow pace of the WU... and probably the tempo). I started my tempo on a decent uphill, and then had a few other slow-downs for figuring out where to go, climbing/descending stairs, etc. 

I know for a fact that I wasn't pushing a true tempo pace, but I'm still a little ashamed by how slow my "tempo" was. Still better than nothing, though, right? 

Bailed on my strength training, but got in about four miles of walking around campus instead.

Hooray, Clemson!

Sunday
Scheduled: 8-12mi long, core x2
Did: 11.03mi @ 9:25/mi avg, Big 5
My travels took me near another running friend's neck of the woods, so I convinced her to join me on my double-digit run this morning (and by "convinced" I mean ask her if she'd pleeeeeease run with me... and plan the route... and provide shower facilities.... and give me coffee afterwards). 

The route was much hillier than I was used to, but we eased into things. I found that I both really liked not having any idea where we were going/what lay ahead and also really hated not having an idea of what hills might be coming or how much further we had to go. Fortunately, the hills abated after the first half and we got to run on the Swamp Rabbit Trail for a bit (similar to our local greenway, only with cool shops and stuff to look at), and then take a little tour of Furman University's campus. 

Had some other things on my mind and never made it to the core exercises. I've been terrible at these "extras" this week. Maybe I'll try to "make them up" tomorrow.... 

Total Weekly Mileage: 38.5mi (run), 8.3mi (walk)

Week-Ending Thoughts:

idk... literally too much other stuff going on in life to really think straight about any one thing right now :P 

Mile Training: Week 2/6

Week-Beginning Thoughts:
Uh... idk.


Monday
Scheduled: 3-6mi recovery
Did: 19min WU @ 9:40/mi, 4x30s hills + 4x45s hills (7:04-8:30/mi), 15min CD @ 9:51/mi = 4.84mi @ 9:46/mi avg, Big 5
Wanted an easy conversational run with my 10KT buddies, so I opted to take advantage of the Memorial Day holiday to sleep in and do hill repeats with B at 6am instead of our normal 5am or earlier. 

Hill repeats are HARD. Man, we haven't done these in like 8-9mo, and both of us were feeling it. Oof.

the "Home Depot" hill

Tuesday
Scheduled: 10-20min WU, 4x30s hills, 4x45s hills, 10-15min CD, core x2
Did: 6.3mi @ 9:37/mi avg, Big 5
Really glad today was a recovery run. Felt slow and heavy to start, but got into the groove by mile 5. Looking forward to not running tomorrow, but feeling strong. I've been consistently running 6 days a week for the past few months, strength training, eating right, and I love being able to draw on these accomplishments for strength when life chucks lemons. 


Wednesday
Scheduled: rest
Did: bootcamp
Kettlebellz FTW. 

 

Thursday
Scheduled: 10-20min WU, 10min tempo/5min rest, 4x200m/2min, 4x300m/2min, 10-15min CD
Did: 11min WU @ 9:46/mi, 10min tempo @ 7:18/mi, 4x200 (44,46,45,46), 4x300 (68,71,69,68),  10min CD @ 10:11/mi, Big 5
Thursdays are the HARDEST on this plan, but I love them so much... when they're done. :P

Tempo felt good, though I did hate remembering 3/4 of the way through that there was more to today's workout than "just the tempo minutes". 

200s felt GOOD. I focused on imagining myself as a strong runner, with kickass form, and found that my stride length got longer (cadence went down a bit), and I felt stronger. I didn't need to stop at the end of any of them. 

300s felt good, but harder. 300m seemed a LOT longer than the 200s. Probably because they're 50% longer. I found myself doing well for the first 100, then suffering from form on the second 100, and gritting through the last 100. That said, I wasn't absolutely dead on any of them and certainly could have forced more speed out of myself if I needed to.

My 200s were in-line with a 6min mile, but my 300s were more like a 6:10. Still, better than any of my mile times to date. It'll be interesting to see how this training cycle shakes out. 

blue = pace, grey - HR

Friday
Scheduled: 3-5min easy
Did: 3.06mi @ 9:18/mi, Big 5
Great stormy, rainy run with my husband. 


Saturday
Scheduled: 15-20min WU, 15min tempo, 10min CD, 2-3s strength
Did: 20min WU @ 9:30ish, 1.12mi with stroller @ 7:30/mi, 10min CD @ 9:30ish, Big 5... forgot strength
Today was the Braves 5K/1Mi race. SInce ATC was allowing strollers in the 1M this year, I opted to do that to show my support/gratitude. It wasn't quite the 15min tempo prescribed, but I ran for around half the duration at somewhere near tempo pace, pushing a stroller, up some sizeable hills.... so I"ll call it a workout, even if it wasn't what I was supposed to do. 

Race itself felt easy. Definitely not like tempo miles. To be fair, though, there was a significant downhill at the start of the race, which helped my speed. I didn't feel the hill nearly as much as I had last year, despite having a stroller this time. Finished strong, but not out of breath at all. 

Highlight of the day, though, was watching my little one in the 50m-- actually knew what to do, insisted on running "by self", listened to instructions, and ran the whole time! SO proud.

Finished the afternoon with a stretch session, focusing on glutes and calves, which both really needed the attention. 


Sunday
Scheduled: 7-11mi long run, 2xcore
Did: 13.1mi Peachtree Half Marathon @ 9:09/mi avg, Big 5, 2x strength, 2x core
I'd heard about a Peachtree course run meet-up through some friends and decided to join in. It'd be a nice change of scenery from my regular greenway/riverside runs, and a nice way to get double digit miles by doing an ONB on the one-way course. Definitely felt like an easy run throughout (I didn't even realize we'd climbed Cardiac until well after the summit). Pushed the pace at the very end to get a 2-hr half. 

Came home, recovered for a bit, and then did my 2x strength and 2x core sessions.

Total Weekly Mileage: 37.8

Week-ending Thoughts:

Everything I can control turns out great. I'm an incredibly effective planner and even better executor. Everything I can't control is absolutely sucking right now, and it's pretty rough. Grateful to be able to run through it all.