Monday--AM: Day off work today for President's Day, so I met Jess at the late hour of 5:45 AM for our run. The freezing rain was just starting when our run began, but we didn't really realize it! The roads still had a good coating of snow so footing wasn't an issue. We did 6 together and then I did one more by running up and down her street for 7 miles total. Overall pace: 9:23 (all miles were 9:15-9:30 except for one, which was 9:14). Great recovery run!
Tuesday--a snow day from school was welcomed! I had a bad stomach ache on Monday night and decided to skip my usual strength training. It was great to sleep in today, and get in both my strength training AND my bike ride during the day! I did 35 minutes of PT exercises for my glutes and calves, and then 30 minutes of work on the core, arms and legs. Then I hopped on the trainer and cranked out 35 minutes: 5 minutes warm-up, 5 x (3 minutes at 96-100 rpm + 2 min at 80-84 rpm), 5 minutes cool down. The 3 minute intervals were HARD... I felt like I was going to die after the 4th and almost decided to call it quits. Learning how to work through the burn though!
Wednesday--Headed out to New Albany to run with Allison and Meggie this morning. It was slick out there! We had some slow miles mixed in with some faster miles (when the roads were clear). Only one mile was faster than 9:15; overall pace for the 7 miles was 9:31. I got stuck in Allison's driveway after we finished and she had to shovel/push my car out!!!
Thursday--AM: Met up with Tamara, Megan M. and Lori at Tamara's house for an easy 5 miles. I forgot my watch, but they were perfect pacers and kept all miles slower than 9:15 but faster than 9:30 :) Overall pace: 9:21.
PM: Didn't feel like swimming tonight as I'd planned, so I stayed at home and did 30 minutes of strength work (PT stuff for my glutes and calves). Love that I'm feeling stronger!
Friday--Rest day... 'nuff said.
Saturday--Typically my long run day, but Joe had a fishing conference at 7 AM. I did my 30 minutes of strength work (glutes & calves), and then rode for an easy 45 minutes on the trainer (84-86 rpm). Didn't want to ride for too long, with my long run in the morning.
Sunday--The plan called for 14-16 miles total (of course, I chose 16 LOL). This was such a wonderful run! I loved every aspect of it: running with several great friends, running in the sunlight for the entire run (we started at 7 AM), and running in "warm" weather (real-feel was 39 degrees!). Megan M. joined Allison, Amy, Jess and me for the first 3. Becky came and we all did 6 together, and then Becky did 5 more with us after Megan left. 2 more for me, 4 more for Amy, Jess and Allison. Did you catch all that LOL?
 |
| After 14 miles for us--11 for Becky. Just missing Megan! |
Lots of out-and-backs, which I really do prefer. I did carry my small hand-held bottle, mostly because I GU'ed out on the trail and I hate not having water to wash it down with. Paige wrote that miles 9, 11 and 13 were to be ran at an 8:20-8:30 pace, which is *almost* marathon pace. I was excited to finally get to RUN again! I told my friends that I felt like a puppy who was let off of her leash at last. The miles were a bit faster than anticipated--8:22, 8:17, 8:15--but I was amazed to feel absolutely wonderful the entire time. I had to hold myself back quite a bit! I can actually say that I can see myself at least attempting to run at that pace for 26.2 miles in 9 weeks. Overall pace for the run was 9:05.
Other miscellaneous notes:
I felt good again this week, especially after my long run. I'm still working on what I need to eat to most effectively fuel myself for my runs, as well as keep my stomach happy. It is defintely a work in progress!!! I am going to try a new GU next week, Honey Stingers. Most of my friends swear by them--they are supposed to be more "natural", so hopefully easier on my sensitive tummy! I took two Immodium before my long run today, and they worked like a charm. I'd rather not take them if I don't have to, though!
This coming week brings my first tempo run in 7 weeks. I'm excited to push my legs a bit!
No comments:
Post a Comment