Carmel Week 14: A Month Away From Joy and Pain

A Month Away From Joy and Pain

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February miles.

This week's agenda brought me decreased mileage (to recover from my 22 miler) and more focus on marathon pace during my long run. I had two cross training days, and turned my walk day into a rest day due to moving into a new home. My weekly running mileage was only 34 miles!

Ily was born late Sunday/early Monday...the walk DID work!!

• 2/26: 10.4 cycling miles, 45:07; PNF/Shoulder/Stability workout, 1 hour. Rather than my normal 1 hour run with hill surges, coach asked me to do an additional cross training day. Although I'm usually not thrilled to hit up the indoor bike, I was actually excited about it today.
• 2/27: 6.31 miles, 9:11/mile; Chest/Back workout, 45 minutes. Even my usual speed day was toned down this week. Coach had me run 45 easy minutes followed by 5x30 second hill surges and 5x30 second flat strides. I ended up doing this early and solo because it just didn't fit in with anyone else's workout. I almost skipped out on a morning run for extra sleep. I had to force my ass out of bed.
• 2/28: 7.54 miles, 8:59/mile; Bis/Tris, 45 minutes. Today's assignment was all easy miles, 60-70 minutes. I met up with my usual Wednesday crew for another Tour de Academy.
  

  

  Wednesday crew. [ME, Elizabeth, Sarah, Britt]

• 3/1: 9.6 cycling miles, 45:05. I took it super easy today for my weekly cross training. No lifting since I was short on time. Work was freaking insane today. I also sort of felt like poo because I didn't sleep well. Ok, I'm finished whining.
• 3/2: 16 miles, 8:35/mile. This was the focus of my training this week. Goal: 7 easy miles, 8 miles at marathon pace, 1 mile easy. I met up with Sarah and Britt for the first 11 miles. All was good, and I took them on a tour of my new neighborhood. After dropping Sarah off, Britt decided to get her long run out of the way. At this point, I was halfway through my MP miles. I was with Britt for the next mile when my stomach started cramping. Unfortunately, I didn't get my pre-run bathroom visit. It hit me like a rock. I told Britt to keep going, and I stopped for a moment. It only took about 10 seconds for the cramps to go away before I started running again. I felt so much better...it was the oddest thing. After that, I had no issues getting the rest of my miles. It was a nice muddy and windy run!
  

  

  Mud.

  
  

  

  Warm up miles.

  
  

  

  MP (goal 8-8:12) and cool down.

• 3/3: REST. Well, sort of. It was moving day for the Davis Family. I was completely exhausted from being up until 1 am the night before. I also only slept about 2 hours because I had a million things on my mind. We worked hard all day Saturday, and I was ready to pass out by the time bed rolled around. I decided to do my run the next day and skip my walk this week.
  

  

  When you are packing and drinking wine.

• 3/4: 4.05 miles, 10:05/mile. I FINALLY got to see my friend, Lisa. It was perfect for my schedule. I got to sleep in a bit after an insanely long day of moving and unpacking. It was a great way to end a stressful and emotional week.
  

  

  Sunday sun run. [Lisa B, ME]

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I mentioned last week that I was contemplating going watchless for my marathon. I spoke with my coach, and he fully supports the idea. I think I'm going to step out of my comfort zone. I actually plan to wear my watch so that I can see my stats, but I think I'll put a piece of duct tape over it so that I can't see it. 

Family pic at Harrison Pond.