Hey friends! Time to catch up …
The last time we chatted, I mentioned running a 5k in a couple weeks. I wrote that I felt like my fitness was in a place where a state record should be reachable, but also noted that nothing is ever a given. I didn’t expect is for both statements to be true simultaneously!
I ran the Spanish Fort Fire Rescue “Fire Prevention 5k” on September 28. My husband is a volunteer firefighter for this department, so I have run this race multiple times over the years. I always really look forward to this event as it seems to be the one time per year where our “hobbies” somewhat overlap! Richard was out on the course driving the lead vehicle this year, which was extra fun. To make a long story short, there was some construction going on where the course typically runs, so we had to run an alternate route this year. I was told that the course was “still certified,” but knowing that it doesn’t exactly work that way unless someone remeasured it, I had my doubts. The bad news is that the course was only 2.97 miles, but the good news is that I averaged 5:54 pace, which means that the state record is definitely doable if I can maintain my fitness. The other good news is that there are so many opportunities to race a 5k! You can pretty much find one every weekend if you are really looking, so I guess it is time to start looking!
In the meantime, I’ve got a couple of other races coming up this month. Next weekend I am doing a 15k in Huntsville and then two weekends later, I am doing 20 mile race in Alabaster. I’m calling it a 20 mile race, but it is really a 6 hour event where you run as far as you can. The course is a one mile loop that is record eligible for a variety of distances.
Here is what the last couple weeks have looked like training wise:
Week 37 (09/09 – 09/15)
- Mileage: 77 miles
- Strength: 85 minutes
- Cross Training: 45 minutes
- Quality Runs: 2
- 3 mile warm up, 7.5 miles at threshold (6:07), 3 mile cool down
- 2 mile warm up, 16 X 400 (87, 87, 87, 88, 86, 85, 85, 85, 85, 84, 83, 83, 83, 83, 83, 82), 3 mile cool down
Week 38 (09/16 – 09/22)
- Mileage: 59 miles
- Strength: 45 minutes
- Cross Training: 230 minutes
- Quality Runs: 1
- 2 mile warm up, 10 X 1k (3:54, 3:51, 3:50, 3:52, 3:52, 3:49, 3:51, 3:49, 3:48, 3:49), 2 mile cool down
Week 39 (09/23 – 09/29)
- Mileage: 55 miles
- Strength: 45 minutes
- Cross Training: 180 minutes
- Quality Runs: 2
- 2 mile warm up, 2 X 3:00, 6 X 1:00, 2 mile cool down
- Spanish Fort Fire Rescue 5k!
Week 40 (09/30 – 10/06)
- Mileage: 75 miles
- Strength: 105 minutes
- Cross Training: 90 minutes
- Quality Runs: 2
- 2 mile warm up, 3 X 2.5 miles at threshold (15:23, 15:14, 15:10), 2 mile cool down
- 3 mile warm up, 6 X 1 mile at marathon w/ 1 mile easy recovery (6:36, 6:42, 6:38, 6:35, 6:27, 6:24), 3 mile cool down
I had somewhat of a planned down week the week of the 5k (as tends to happen on race weeks), but ended up with a bit of an unplanned down week starting the week before. I rolled my ankle during the warm up of what would’ve been a Saturday workout. I ended up with a decent sprain and took several days from running to let that sort itself out. It’s funny to me that life tends to give you down weeks every so often when they are needed. Whether it is a stomach bug, an infected tick bite, a sprain ankle, etc., things just tend to pop up here and there. I’ve always preferred to not specifically plan off days or down weeks in general and instead just roll with the ankles punches ankles and take them as they come.
I hope everyone has a great week! Talk to you guys soon!