Highs and Lows- Week 1

I'm being extremely annoying with all of these posts this week!  I might even wait a day or two to post this one so people aren't irked by them.

 

I debated if I wanted to post my training for this season. Honestly, I don't think people care about the exact workouts I ran. People might be more interested in the program as a whole but not a week that has already come and gone. So, rather than listing my training log for the week, I decided I would share my highs and lows. You know...that good, bad, and ugly thing I promised with this blog. Within my highs and lows, I'm sure you can all figure out my training if you care!

 

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Week one of marathon training started with 41.43 miles! I've been hovering in the 30s since Flying Pig. No reason to run anymore than that when all I was focusing on was rest and training for a half and a 10k. I planned 40 for this week but life dealt me that extra 1.43.

 

LOWS:

• My first actual workout for the season. Stupid weather and lack of sleep started my attitude down the wrong path. I woke up at 5 am to tackle my half mile hill repeats in my hood. Anytime I plan to run solo in my hood, I end up making an excuse and falling back asleep for an hour. Nothing was different about this day. I slept longer, got ready for work, and realized "I can't run this afternoon because it's going to rain like crazy!" Ugh. I was so annoyed. I made myself change back into my running clothes and get to Morse Road for that dang workout.
• The weather in general. It controls when I run. It predicted 60%+ precipitation for my race pace run and I just didn't want to take any chances. So, I switched that run with my 2nd rest day. Flexibility!
• My race pace run was tough! It wasn't a complete low but it did make me thankful that I have several more weeks to improve. I did 8 miles with the overall average in the range I'm looking to run. Now I need to train my body to do 18 more at that pace! EEK! (see highs for more on this run)
  
  

  

  The best Amanda I know. This fast friend of mine challenges me like no other. When you tell her you need a certain pace, she makes it happen and then some.

  
  
• I'm hella tight lately. I've crossed over to the dark side known as the foam roll. I wish I could say it  hurts so good but I hate it. I'd be lying if I said it didn't help.

Is that my fart face or are my calves tight?

 

 

HIGHS:

 

• I decided to start off with a bang and make my first day of training a rest day. ;) Why not, right?!
• Wednesdays might become one of my favorite days to run (minus the fact that I have to get up at 4am). It's my easy day! You are guaranteed to enjoy yourself on an easy day. It's a regular date with my Marion and we're lucky enough to be joined by Dani this week.



Easy running!

• Race pace run. Even though I decided to switch it because of the storms that never happened, it was totally worth it! I had an awesome workout, thanks to Amanda!!! I get so scared when I do these workouts. I had some awesome splits that increased my confidence in my ability. It didn't go exactly as planned and I got a little out of control with my "cool down," but I was happy with the result nonetheless.
• Long Run. I made my first long run 13 miles. Some people might think that's too many but there's no sense in me going backwards when I've already been doing 12ish miles for my long runs. On our last mile, Theresa challenged us to try an 8:10 pace. Many words came to mind when she said that and "Yay" wasn't one of them! We ended with a 7:45 mile! Ha! It was fun trying to make myself barf.

One bagel for every mile, right?

• Highbanks. This was my second visit to this park and I fell even more in love with it. This place is so gorgeous. It's perfect for my Sunday hilly runs. I loved it so much I went home and looked up trail races! I guess I need to break it to the hubs that I want to add that to my run list for the year.

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It looks like my highs outnumbered my lows which is always a good thing. I'm super thankful that I still have 3+ months to improve! Happy running everyone!