Comeback Training Log – 05/08/22 (Week 6)

Hey friends!

Here is what the sixth week of my “comeback” training looked like. We were out of town for the beginning part of the week, so things were a bit different from the status quo. AND! I have fun pictures to share, which is definitely not the norm!

Monday –
Plan: 7.0 mile run w/ 6 X 30 second strides
Actual: 7.25 mile run (8:45 pace)

Monday’s run was pretty much an exact replica of the previous Monday’s run, except for the fact that it happened earlier in the day. We were planning to get on the road around 7 a.m., so I had to get up earlier than I have been recently to get this one in. In actuality, we didn’t leave until 9 a.m., as planning any sort of departure time is very difficult with a baby. It all depends on when we wakes up and wants to eat! I did two out and back stretches from the house, with one extra mile on the paved portion of the road for the pickups. The strides were a teensy bit faster than last week. My paces were 5:15, 5:17, 5:07, 5:13, 5:13 and 5:10. More progress!

Tuesday –
Plan: 7.5 mile run w/ 5 X 2:00 hard and 2:00 easy
Actual: 8.0 mile run (9:10 pace)

I was supposed to do a workout Tuesday morning, but instead opted for an easy run. It was late and basically dark by the time we got to our cabin Monday evening, which didn’t leave me any time to scope out a good place for a workout. I thought about moving the workout to another day, but the more I thought about it, the more it seemed silly to even try to get this one in period. I don’t have any races on the calendar yet, so there aren’t really any reasons to stress about a workout. I mainly just wanted to get out there and explore the area around where we were staying. I took off towards the downtown area and ended up running into (pun intended!) the Gatlinburg Trail. I ran four miles on the trail before making my way back to our cabin. Running in the woods was good for my soul!

Later that day we did a 2.6 mile hike on the Laurel Falls Trail to get to, you guessed it, Laurel Falls. The falls are named after the mountain laurel, an evergreen shrub which blooms along the trail and near the falls in May. The waterfall had an upper and a lower section and there was a walkway across the stream at the base of the upper falls. It was really pretty!

We also went to the Gatlinburg SkyLift Park on Tuesday afternoon. The SkyLift is an open-air chairlift ride to the top of an 1,800 foot overlook with views of the Smoky Mountains. When you get up to the top, you can walk across the Gatlinburg SkyBridge, which is the longest pedestrian cable bridge in North America! This was definitely the most “touristy” activity that we did on our trip and it was totally worth it. The views were incredible!

Wednesday –
Plan: 7.0 mile run 
Actual: 5.0 miles (9:10 pace)

Since I enjoyed running in the woods so much on Tuesday, I decided to do it again on Wednesday! This time we drove in to the national park and found a spot where I could run and Richard could fish. Our hobbies are not the same, but apparently they can be done at the same places. Win, win! I ran 5 miles on the Little River Trail with views of Little River the entire way.

We also hiked to the top of Clingmans Dome on Wednesday afternoon. The hike was one mile round trip to the highest point both in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The dome is at an elevation of over 6,600 feet! The views were phenomenal.

Thursday –
Plan: 6.0 – 7.0 mile run
Actual: 5.0 miles (10:50 pace)

I got one last trail run in on Thursday morning before we headed back home. The Abrams Fall Trail trail was the most technical of the trails that I ran on, but I was rewarded at the end with a beautiful waterfall. I climbed 700 feet in 5 miles! We got an early start (mainly because we had a 9 hour drive ahead of us) and the other people that were there when we got there were hiking instead of running, so I was actually the only person at the waterfall when I got there. It was so peaceful!

Friday –
Plan: 45 – 60 minute elliptical or go for a walk
Actual: 60 minutes (5.5 miles)

I did an hour on my home elliptical Friday morning. I hadn’t been on my home elliptical in several weeks, so this was a change of pace and a change of scenery for me (I typically go to the gym to do the elliptical). It was just nice to be home and to not have to go anywhere. A little vacation is nice sometimes, but home is always best.

Saturday –
Plan: 10.0 mile run w/ 6 X 400
Actual: 10.0 miles (7:30 pace)

Saturday’s run was a two mile warm up, six “quick” quarters at the start of miles 3 through 8 (so essentially quarter mile repeats with three quarters in between) and a two mile cool down. This wasn’t a typical 400 repeat workout by any means, as we are still easing back in to the speed side of things. I ended up with paces of 6:10, 5:55, 5:46, 5:47, 5:38 and 5:51 for the quarters and I kept the recoveries in the 7:30 range, which is definitely faster than a true recovery. I was definitely working to hit those paces, but I didn’t feel at all spent by the end of the run. It’s so nice to be able to do a “casual” double digit run again! I missed those guys.

Sunday –
Plan: 45 – 60 minute elliptical
Actual: 45 minutes elliptical (4 miles)

My mom and I got in a wonderful four mile walk on Mother’s Day! It was so special for the two of us to have that time together. I finished off the week with forty five minutes on the elliptical at home later in the day.

Totals –
Running: 35.3 miles
Elliptical: 9.5 miles (85 minutes)
Walking: 12.2 miles

This was a fun week for sure! Things will be back to normal next week. Thanks for following along!