Training recap: 2/22-2/28

Week 12:

Monday--AM: Met Jess at her place for 6 easy miles.  Neither of us really were feeling this run... that's what running 16-18 miles on Sunday will do for you on a Monday morning at 4:50 AM!  Overall pace was 9:35 and we probably couldn't have gone much faster if we had to.

PM: Spent 30 minutes on glute work (yes, they are getting stronger!) and then 25 minutes on a variety of strength exercises including planks, sit-ups, push-ups and squats.

Tuesday--skipped my normal 4:30 AM interval ride on the trainer today because a) I had speed work planned for Wednesday AM, and b) I was sleepy!  I made it to my Yoga for Runners class in the evening, though, and had a great class.  The focus was hips and glutes, and I definitely needed the stretches!

Wednesday--AM: Allison L., Tamara and I had planned on doing today's 9 mile run with tempo intervals at 4:30 AM starting in my 'hood, but Mother Nature decided to unleash a cold, steady rain starting at around 1 AM.  None of us thought that sounded like fun, so our back-up plan went into effect.  Allison met me at my gym and use a free guest pass so that we could get our miles in on the treadmills.  We were only able to fit in 7 miles, as the gym doesn't open until 5 AM and we both needed to get home to get ready for work.  I kept the treadmill at 6.4 mph (9:22 pace) for all of the miles except the 4 x 4 minute repeats at 7.7 mph (7:47 pace).  1 mile recovery between each repeat.  We were hot and sweaty and annoyed with having to do this run inside, but we got it done!  Overall pace: 8:51.  First tempo run for me in 7 weeks!  I will call it a success, although sometimes I feel like tempo runs on the treadmill are cheating, because you just have to set the 'mill at that pace and hold on (not literally--no holding onto treadmill handles while running!).

PM: Thought about a swim... nah.  Thought about a ride... nah.  Thought about strength training... nah.  Wasn't feeling any of it.  I did manage to do 20 minutes of PT stuff for my glutes, and then had fun with my foam roller for 10 minutes ;)

Thursday--The weather forecast said less than an inch of snow, so Tamara and I figured we'd be fine on our 5 mile easy run this morning.  What I didn't plan on was the pelting freezing rain/sleet that we encountered as we ran west!  Straight in our faces and poking my eyes out repeatedly.  Ugh, I was not happy!  We ran a loop, though, so after a couple of miles we turned and then headed back east.  Of course, miles 4 and 5 were a bit faster due to the ability to see without pain again. Overall pace: 9:16.

Friday--I love Friday rest days more and more each week.  I am so tired after 6 days of working out.... and knowing that I will get a day of nothing before my Saturday long run really helps me physically as well as mentally!

Saturday--I wasn't feeling this run when I woke up.  Not sure why.  Just wasn't feeling like 18 miles at 6 AM... we had to get this run in early as Joey had a 9 AM basketball game.  My running partners agreed to meet me at the rec center to do three 6-mile loops.  I was able to design 3 different loops to keep things interesting; we stopped at the cars every six miles to fuel and drink water.  I loved not having to carry anything on this run!  For the first loop, it was Amy, Allison, Jess, Carol, Megan M., Megan S., Lori, and Jennifer S. Jennifer & Megan M. left and Beth joined us for loop #2, and for the final loop it was just me, Allison, Jess, Amy and Carol.  Poor Amy was really, really sick, and the final loop was miserable for her.  I had trouble keeping everyone back for a few of the miles!  Here were the splits:
Loop #1: 9:26, 9:14 (insert me yelling at everyone to slow down!), 9:25, 9:22, 9:22, 9:33
Loop #2: 9:15, 9:13, 9:15, 9:15, 9:15, 9:13 (pretty damn perfect pacing by yours truly!)
Loop #3: 9:02, 9:11, 9:21, 9:11, 9:12, 9:16 (okay, I kind of sucked on that one)
Like everyone, I was feeling done on the last loop and wasn't able to keep my pace as slow as I'd have liked.  Overall pace was 9:17.

Sunday--Wasn't sure what this day would bring.  A bike ride?  Strength training?  A swim?  Ended up getting in an hour on the trainer.  Nice steady ride (80-84 rpm) while I watched the 2015 Ironman World Championships.  I do need to get a swim in sometime, as it's been a couple of weeks.