On Track

Hey guys!

It’s been a stormy couple of days here on the Gulf Coast. The goods news is that it seems to have brought us a little mini-reprieve from the heat (meaning that it has been in the upper 70s at 5 a.m., instead of mid 80s). The last few weeks were pretty intense, so this week has actually been quite wonderful. We’ll take anything we can get at this point.

We are headed to the beach for a couple of days [insert happy dance], so I want to go ahead and get a quick recap in before we leave. Here is what the week has looked like so far:

Monday: Easy 8 + Easy 5
Tuesday: Track + RW group run
Wednesday: Easy 8
Thursday: Easy 8 

It’s pretty much just been easy running, except for Tuesday. Tuesday morning we hit the track for #TrackTuesday. My workout was 12 X 400 with a goal range of 82 – 84 seconds per lap (i.e., 5:28 – 5:36 per mile). I made the mistake of mentioned to my coach that there was a 2 mile race coming up in August that I wanted to “race,” and in return this fast repeat workout showed up on my schedule. Lovely.

I’ve done 400 meter repeat workouts plenty of times in the past, but I don’t ever remember having a goal pace quicker than 6:00 per mile (90 seconds per 400). I was pretty intimidated by the goal pace range that he gave me this time. I didn’t know if I would be able to hit those times or not, but I knew I had to try.

Daniel and Jessica did the 400 workout with me and Rebecca came to the track with us, but she had a different workout to do (a workout for a 50 mile race looks quite a bit different than a workout for a 2 mile race). Even though we weren’t all running the exact same times or doing the same workout, having them out there with me was really nice because 1) you have more accountability to finish your workout when others are there with you and 2) it’s nice to have a few kind words of encouragement while you are out there working your tush off.

The workout went better than I was expecting! It took me a few repeats to find and settle into the goal range, but once I did, I was fairly consistent with the remainder of the workout. Here is what it actually looked like:

2 mi. WU, 12 X 400 (86, 86, 85, 85, 84, 83, 84, 84, 84, 85, 84, 84), 2 mi. CD

As you can see, the first four were slower than my goal range (granted not by much, but still …). I’m glad that I didn’t give up and stayed with it long enough to actually give myself a chance. Track workouts are tough mental workouts and this one was definitely a test of mental and physical strength.

I finally downloaded the FitSnap app, so that I can make pretty little pictures from my workouts. Check it out …

Fancy, right? Haha.

I was in a weird mood Tuesday evening and I thought about not going to the group run at the store. I usually enjoy group runs, but every now and then after work I just really don’t feel like talking or being social. Tuesday was a weird day at work because we lost power for several hours and weren’t able to get much done. I’m sure that probably contributed to my weird mood.

Since Daniel was going, I decided to go ahead and go as well. I am really glad that I did because I had a great run. Isn’t that crazy? Going into it, I was not feeling it at all, but once I started running, I felt really good and I settled into a strong rhythm. I ran with Daniel and the guys, which was great because I was working kind of hard to keep up and I didn’t really have to make small talk (mostly because I couldn’t). There was a pack of about 6 or 7 of us and I kind of got lost in my own thoughts, just listening to the sound of our footsteps.

We did 6 miles at a 7:30 average, which is definitely faster than my normal “easy” pace (which ranges from 8:00 to 9:00 minutes per mile, at least in the summer). I probably shouldn’t have pushed the pace that evening after doing a workout that morning, but I felt good so I just went with it.

Luckily I had some flexibility with my schedule this week and so I gave myself two easy days to properly recover before my next workout, which will be a brisk pace run. I was supposed to do that today, but we are going to do it tomorrow instead. Hopefully it will be followed with some beach running or walking! I can’t wait.

I think Brooks must’ve known that we were going to be leaving, because he got sick Wednesday. I got a text from the lady that checks on him mid-day while I was at work yesterday and she told me that he had gotten sick and that she thought he might have gotten overheated. I decided to take him to the vet yesterday afternoon, just to make sure that he was okay. I would’ve hated to leave for a few days if he was really sick.

She said that she didn’t think we needed to take him to the vet, but I just wanted some reassurance. Yes … I am an overprotective doggie mom. Thankfully we got the A-OK from the vet. This doesn’t look like a sick puppy, does it? He loves a good car ride.

I know he will be in good hands while we are gone and I am so glad to know that he is healthy.

Alright kids, it’s time for me to finish packing and head out. You can follow along on Instagram for vacation updates!