Weekly Training Update: 6/2-6/8

The sun was just starting to break the horizon. The air was cooler than it had been in a week. And it was silent save for the chatter between Tami and me.

I'm not sure how the conversation had turned as we winded along the path, from kids to husbands to my post last week. The post, recapping weekly training as I am now, where I whined that my paces weren't improving the way I had hoped. 

But, "you aren't getting any slower," Tami reminded me.

Perspective. Delivered on a beautiful early morning run, the way only a friend could. I nodded and agreed, vowing to stop the fussiness and focus on what's important. Relentless forward motion.

Funny thing, though. When I pushed it all aside and just tried to do what I could do and not what I wanted to do, I surprised myself.   

The week, in training:

Monday, June 2
REST

Tuesday, June 3
RUN | 6 miles   

Time: 54:49     Pace: 9:08
I am so thankful to have a running buddy who keeps me to my word. I realized a couple weeks ago that Tami and I had time to do 6 miles in the morning, rather than 5. I told her and this week, she had me follow through. I am so glad to be busting out of the weekday 4-milers. The run felt good and thought it was hot, I was not really stifled.

Wednesday, June 4
RUN | 6 miles, intervals (2 x 1 mile tempo + 1 mile RP w/400 recovery between each)  

Time: 54:10     Pace: 9:02

My goal for this workout was to keep the warm-up and recoveries slow so I could put the effort in the intervals. I think the pressure of this kind of workout settles in the legs, and the warm-ups are always slow going and frustrating. It felt tough to keep even a 9:30 pace. But I told myself to try one mile. As it turns out, it wasn't so bad. Splits: 8:22, 8:18, 7:59. To quote Daily Mile, BOOM SHAKA A LAKA.

CROSS TRAINING | Outdoor boot camp
Stations with weights. If you had to wait for someone to finish, you did jumping jacks. I love jumping jacks. Still.

Thursday, June 5

RUN | 4 miles
Time: 37:18     Pace: 9:19
Easy morning run with my bud Joe. He seemed to float less than a week after a marathon. Amazing! My legs were definitely tired but it was great company.

CROSS TRAINING | Y boot camp
Chaos would be the best way to describe this workout. I alternated between strength and cardio but during each cardio set (a song), I intermittently added lunges, pushups, squats, etc.

Friday, June 6
REST 
Two rest days? CRAZINESS.

Saturday, June 7 
RUN | 4.1 miles, intervals (5 x 2 minutes with 1 minute recovery)
Time: 35:37     Pace: 8:41

Mark agreed to accompany me for this run, which means we had the stroller with us. I pushed for the first mile or so and he took over for the intervals. I figured it would be the equalizer. My goal was to be around 5K pace for these, or about 8 minutes/mile. I gave up trying to look at the watch for it and just pushed. We sort of fizzled out the last one but the others were strong. I am not sure I would have gone as hard without Mark. Interval paces: 7:31, 7:28, 7:27, 7:29, 7:55

Sunday, June 8
RUN | 10 miles 
Time: 1:32:22     Pace: 9:14
The legs were a bit tired on this morning but one of the faster runners in the group kept the pace honest and made me work. I dropped back a bit but just kept trying to stay strong. We ran through a strong rain for a couple miles, and you could hear the feet squish along the trail. The bummer of the workout was a potty break at mile 5 but hey, it happens.