I spoke too soon yesterday when I said I was back on track with my sleeping schedule… Last night, I went to bed at 9:30 but laid there for 30 minutes with non-stop thoughts running through my head (about running routes and my future long runs, no less). I decided to read for 30 minutes, which usually helps settle my brain. And it did, but I only got 7 hours of sleep instead of my intended 8. And every time I rolled over, I was concerned about smudging my nail polish, since I had just painted my nails before bed. Oh bother.
My training last week wasn’t completely according to plan either. I got all my miles in but only did strength training once and no cross training – unless washing windows counts? BUT the running is the most important thing and I’m still injury-free, having fun and living the dream. And that’s all that matters, right?
Monday: 3.04 mile tempo run (31:51; 10:28/mile)
This was supposed to be a nice, easy run but I ran with Travis, which always makes me run faster than I would alone because I feel so slow next to him! Even though I saw we were running faster than I had planned, I felt good so I just went with it.
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 5 mile hill/tempo run (58:03; 11:05/mile)
I had only planned to run 3 miles of hill repeats but when that was over, I didn’t want to stop running. I felt great and the weather was perfect – cloudy, cool, slight breeze. And since I was supposed to run 5 the next day anyway, I just decided to go for it while I was feeling good. I ended up having to change my clothes in the car while driving to women’s group but it was still the right call. š
For the hill workout, I did a 1 mile out and back warmup. The hill I ran is about .65 of a mile long with a gain of 250 feet. It kills me on the bikeĀ and on my feet.
For my first time up the hill, I ran hard for 15 sec and walked for 30, repeated until the top, and ran back down. The second time up, I ran hard for increasing increments: 10 sec hard, 20 sec rest, 15 sec hard, 20 sec rest, 20 sec hard, 30 sec rest. Repeated until I got to the top and ran back down.
Splits were a little off because I was using my Poor Man’s GPS again:
Mile 1 – 10:41
Mile 1.96 – 11:35
Mile 2.56 – 8:16
Mile 3.21 – 5:54
Mile 4.23 – 10:31
Mile 5.23 – 11:06
My legs were pretty tired by the end of the 5 miles but this was an awesome run.
Thursday: 3.24 mile easy-ish run (35:25; 10:56/mile) + Self strength workout
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 9.93 mile long run (1:49:43; 11:02/mile)
Another awesome run!
Sunday:Ā 20 minute walk with pooches + 4.5 hours of cleaning (2 of which were spent washing windows)
I decided that getting my house in order before leaving town on Thursday and being able to see out my windows was more important than doing cross training. And my right arm is now way more defined than my left from all that scrubbing.
Total Running Miles: 21.44 (first time over 20 in this training cycle!)
{Side note: It may sound like I was getting all ambitious by washing our windows but the truth is: I haven’t done this since we moved in. And the majority of our windows have been replaced since then, meaning I had never washed them. It was a little overdue. Kind of like cleaning my oven. Next up: cleaning our carpet. It is DISGUSTING (and really just needs to be replaced, but we’re going to do that right before we try to sell because I know that our dogs – and maybe me – will ruin it between now and then. I just spilled my Mike’s on it the other night and created a nice big stain. Sweet.}
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I can’t help but point out the difference in how my legs feel between my training recap a couple of weeks agoĀ and this week’s. That recap, every run was accompanied by “My legs feel like crap.” This recap, every run was accompanied by “My legs feel awesome! Running is awesome! I heart marathon training!” I’m not so naive as to think I won’t encounter some discouraging twinges, cramps, and pangs in future runs, but my mindset is the same as how I’ve approaching this warm weather – I won’t make myself enjoy it less just because it might still snow. I’m going to live it up in the moment and if it snows, it snows.
Although, I would like to point out that this is the last week of March and it still hasn’t snowed. And if this weather forecast doesn’t say BOOYAH to all the warm-weather naysayers, then I don’t know what does:
Yes, I am very ready for summer.
Ā Are you ready for summer? What’s your favorite season? In Colorado, my favorite season is spring. There are no puddles or nasty snow to deal with, it’s warm but not hot, and best of all, it’s the season of tulips, Easter, and Russian Olive trees. I told Travis that I’m going to work remotely from a Russian Olive tree once they bloom. Seriously, the best smell in the world.
Life, Really Blog 