I went out last Saturday to get my last run of my "recovery week" in my own neighborhood. According to my training plan it was supposed to be a race. I couldn't race because I had to work in the morning, so I went ahead and raced myself in my own neighborhood. I beat my PR, probably. My last PR was based on gun timing and not a chip start so it was less than reliable. This time it was just based on my good old RunKeeper on my Apple Watch - 30:23. Still chasing that sub-30 5k... I don't think speed is my thing.
This week called for two 4.5 mile runs. I got both in, although not on my normal days. Monday I was off work so I was able to slip my run in a bit later than usual - IN THE SUNLIGHT! It was AH-MAZING (except for the potty emergency about 1.5 miles in, thank GOD I was less than a mile from home. I don't know WHAT I would do if that happened on race day. This now has become my biggest fear. I'll have nightmares about it until after the race.) My pace was closer to 11 min/mi cumulatively (still running 2:30/30 run/walk) but I was so freaking HAPPY! It was one of those runs where everything just freaking rocked. The sun was out. I said hi to the paper guy like four times as I criss-crossed him through the neighborhood. I also said hi to the garbage guys, who I usually curse on a normal day because I always end up getting stuck in my alley behind them on my way to work. My day was just brilliant. Wednesday morning it was raining - WHOMP! Thankfully even though initially it was supposed to rain Thursday morning, it didn't, so I ran. It was murky ridiculously foggy day, but it was in the high 40s, so it was OK with me. I passed my neighbor, who is training the the relay at the Pittsburgh Marathon a couple of times during our runs. At this point my shins and knees were hurting more than usual and I was kind of worried about how the rest of the week would pan out. I was unable to get to spin class Thursday night once again, so count this as one more week where I don't get my hard core cross training pegged. Saturday Joe and I headed out to break my distance record once again for a 7 mile run. I was on the struggle bus from moment one. I had a cramp just below my sternum right out of the gate. Thankfully that abated and the middle of the run was pretty normal. I got my ass kicked by the hill up from Bridgewater to River Road and then again on the multiple rolling hills on River Road. I started popping life savers mints around mile three and kept one going at all times. This was my first attempt at "fueling". By the time we turned for home I was feeling more myself and the rest of the run was pretty unremarkable except for a weird ass cramp on the lateral side of my knee that really slowed me down in the last mile. My time was not so great - 1:17 for 7 miles. Considering was riding the struggle bus the whole time, I'll just call it a victory that I finished. Another HUGE victory here is that despite putting a record number of miles on my legs this week, I am experiencing only minor pain. It looks like I've still got the shin splints at bay - for now.
I'm scheduled for another 4.5 tomorrow but Mother Nature is supposed to bless us with more snow tonight, 1-3 inches, despite the fact that the calendar says it's clearly spring and the temps were in the 50s today and will be in the 60s Tuesday. Of course, the 60 degree temps on Tuesday are combined with rain and thunderstorms. This puts my training into a bit of a limbo. Another complicating factor right now is that my daughter starts soccer practices this week on Thursday night at the same time as my beloved hour long spin class :( I really need to buckle down and get back at the PT exercises as well, on which I've been slacking.
No matter - there's five weeks until race day. I've conquered my funk but I haven't gone all in yet. It's time to step on the gas. Firmly. Convincingly. I just hope that the engine has the oomph to keep up!!
In other news: Christ is Risen, Happy Easter :)
No comments:
Post a Comment