This is a busy week, in both my training schedule and my other life, so I'm going to make this entry snappy.
Last Saturday I did 4 800's with my friend Brittany. It was a beautiful morning and despite battling a headcold, it turned out to be a great work out. We ended up using a straight and flat street for the repeats instead of my normal route, which requires a couple of turns. With a stroller especially, I think this makes a difference. I was using my nike app for measurement, so I know it was probably a little off, but I am still pleased with my performance. Much improved from last round of 800's.
According to McMillan, I should be doing my 800's between 3:35-3:45. Here were my times:
3:23
3:20
3:27
3:22
I took Sunday off and on Monday did 5 hill repeats. It was a good workout. Not seeing much improvement in my speed up the hill, but I could feel that my legs were still a little fatigued by the 800s. The highlight of this workout was the post-run visit to the zoo. Susannah played with the goat, slid down the big-girl slide and saw the tigers.
Tuesday I did an 8 mile pace run. My legs were definitely feeling heavy but I pushed through and felt pretty good after the first couple of miles. Here are the splits:
8:54
8:19
8:28
8:31
8:49
8:28
8:22
8:19
All for an average pace of......drumroll please.......8:31!! Yay! I know it sounds crazy, but anytime I hit 8:31 right on the head, I know it isn't coincidence.....God is orchestrating those results and it makes me so excited for race day!
Then Wednesday, I had to do 16 miles. I know that doing all of these runs back to back is a stupid idea, but with childcare and scheduling, it is the only way for me to make it work right now. I figure if it doesn't completely debilitate me, it will only make me race better when my legs are actually refreshed from a nice long taper. From the moment I took off I knew I was in for a tough morning. I didn't feel awful, but I definintely wasn't excited about this long run. (Usually long runs are my favorite work-out.) I prayed that God would give me the strength I needed and that he would give me the faith to rely on his strength rather than my own. Little did I know he was going to use my prayers for a little cosmic comic relief........I never felt great, but I never really felt awful either. I had planned to take a break and eat the Luna Bar I brought with me at mile 10 so during the first 10 miles I was basically telling myself to make it to that point and then I could rest and refuel. So you can imagine my dismay and horror when I grabbed for my White Chocolate Luna Bar and realized it had fallen out of my pocket somewhere on the trail. All I could do was laugh. I immediately remembered my earlier prayers and knew that God was laughing at me. Now, for these last 6 miles I would HAVE TO depend on his strength. I have never run 16 miles with no fuel. My immediate future felt very daunting. But I knew that finishing was my only option so I took one last swig of water from the fountain, turned up my music, and hit the trail. My leg fatigue, the strong headwind, and my lack of nourishment combined into some pretty slow miles at the end, but I'm proud to have finished. I'm refusing to listen to that voice in my head that says that my time goal is out of reach since I didn't stay in my pace range on this run (I dipped into the 10's 5 times). I'm going to stay positive and remember that I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me.
Here are the splits:
9:15
9:18
9:24
9:26
9:23
9:24
9:26
9:46
10:05
9:53
10:01
10:04
10:17
10:13
9:42
9:31
Tomorrow is an 8 mile tempo........ Then: 2 days of REST! Yay Rest!!
Yay rest!!! Proud of you!
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