Hey-o!
I believe that summer is officially upon us (well not officially official until June 21st … but you know what I mean). It was very hot and humid this week. I know that will likely the broken record running report from now until approximately mid-November, but maybe in between now and then we will all get a bit more acclimated to the heat and humidity than we are right now.
Here is what my training looked like the week of 05.14.18 – 05.20.18:
Monday AM – Easy: 6.2 miles (8:38 pace) + PM – Easy: 5 miles (8:31 pace)
We started off the week off with an easy run around campus in Auburn. It was fun to run on the streets where I first starting running. At the time, I could barely keep up with my friend, Carol, who ran with me on her recovery days. She was one of those “crazy” runners who ran 10 miles every Saturday and had run lots of marathons (including Boston!). No offense to Carol (if you are reading this), but I truly thought you were off of your rocker!
Who’s crazy now? Likely both of us!
We got back home Monday afternoon and did an easy loop with D Holley that evening. He was nice enough to stay at our house while we were gone to keep Brooks company. He sent us “(p)updates” throughout the weekend, which we loved!
Tuesday – Easy: 5 miles (8:59 pace)
I was in major procrastination mode on Tuesday (with regards to running). I pushed my workout back a day and was |thisclose| to not running at all. I needed to do some thinking about my work schedule and so I decided to run alone and without any music or a podcast. Isn’t that bananas? I got some great thinking done! I forgot how nice a run without any distractions can be sometimes.
Wednesday – Quality: 9.65 miles (7:23 pace)
My workout Wednesday was a two mile warm up, 15 X 90 seconds hard (5:56 goal pace) with 60 seconds easy in between each set and a two mile cool down. I did this workout on the treadmill. I didn’t want to run at the track because that basically would’ve been 15 X 400 and when I thought about it that way, it just seemed ridiculous. Doing the workout on the treadmill allowed me to pace my intervals evenly and to give an honest effort. Once I start a workout on the treadmill, there is rarely (knock on wood) any backing down, whereas when I run outside, I tend to be easier on myself for some reason. Anyway … inside or outside, this workout was going to be tough!
It’s crazy how long 90 seconds can feel when you are running hard. It doesn’t sound that bad, but those 90 seconds start to feel like 90 minutes (engaging in hyperbole from dramatic effect) once you get to the end of that workout. Oddly enough, the 60 seconds easy FLY BY. Why is that?! I ran at 10.1 mph on the treadmill for each of my hard intervals and I definitely got a solid effort in!
Thursday AM – Easy: 5 miles (8:25 pace) + PM – Easy: 8 miles (8:46 pace)
I overslept a little bit Thursday morning (actually Daniel turned my alarm off by accident and his wasn’t set until later), so I only had time for five miles. Truthfully, I didn’t really have time for five, but going to work with wet hair and no makeup can do wonders to give you extra time in the morning. I planned to do eight miles in the morning and five in the evening, so basically those runs just got flip-flopped. I was able to met Rebecca after work Thursday for part of my run, so that worked out really well. We haven’t run together much at all recently and were overdue for some catch-up time.
Friday – Easy: 7 miles (8:59 pace)
I got in an easy 7 miles Friday morning before work. I had to get out and run over to my parents’ house to take out their garbage. That really was my main motivation. Whatever works I guess! Ha. I listened to the Rambling Runner Podcast with Becky Snelson, who placed fourteenth at the Boston Marathon (based on overall time). She didn’t start with the elite women, so the BAA technically didn’t have to award her any prize money, but they ultimately decided to this year. Apparently men that don’t start with the elite men are still eligible for prize money, but women who don’t start with the elite women are not … things that make you go “hmm.”
Saturday – Easy: 5 miles (8:27 pace)
I slept in Saturday morning and ran with Daniel once he got home from work. We went around noon and it was quite toasty.
Sunday – Quality Easy: 15 miles (8:24 pace)
I was supposed to do a workout as part of my long run Sunday, but I scrapped that as my legs felt really fatigued even during the first few miles of the run. I’m still not entirely sure why the fatigue was there, as I hadn’t done any quality work since Wednesday, but either way, it is what it is and I decided to just chill and not try to push it when I wasn’t feeling it. Sometimes it’s good to push yourself and sometimes it’s better to listen to your body and take it easy. I pushed myself Wednesday and took it easy Sunday.
Total – 65.9 miles
That’s it for now! Have a great week!