LOVE that treadmill

Not being sarcastic.

It was cold, rainy, and generally unpleasant last night, and after working a 10 hour day, the last thing I wanted to do was hit the track in the pouring rain. Fortunately, we re-joined our gym this week, so I took my interval workout to the treadmill, and it was awesome (in an "I'm totally getting my ass kicked" kind of way).

I warmed up for 1 mile (about 9 minute pace), then did 3 1-mile repeats at 6:58 min/mile, with a mile recovery after each one. Then I cooled down for a mile at the end.

The whole workout ended up being 7 miles in 58:08. It would have been a little faster, but I got HORRIBLE stomach pains after the first interval, so I walked for a little while. Fortunately that cleared them right up and I finished the workout with no problems!

I can't say the last one didn't hurt (I think it was more mental than anything). It took everything I had not to slow it down early, but I made it through, and even bumped it up to 8.8 (6:49 pace) for the last minute!

Tonight I'm excited to go to spin class for the first time in over a year. I'm going to be super sore tomorrow but I LOVE spin and have missed it like crazy!

ZzZzZZZZ

I think I came about as close to sleeping while running as possible today. I had a REALLY hard time dragging myself out of bed, and was absolutely exhausted for my whole 12 mile run (which shows, because I ran it at 9:23 min/mil. 9:23! That is slower than any long run I've done in months, and it was only 12 miles!)

I don't know if it was the heat, or the fact that I was sick yesterday, but it was a very unpleasant hour and 52 minutes. At least I got a decent tan out of it.

Other than that and the fact that I missed my 5 mile run yesterday because I was sick (I feel like you can't really run after you go home sick from work, even if you start to feel a little bit better), it was a pretty good week.

Summary of the week:
M - 30 Day Shred Level 2
Tu - 5 miles easy
W - 2 mile warm-up, 3.35 mile race (7:12 pace), 2 mile cool down
Th - rest
F - 2 mile warm up, 4 x 800 (400 m recovery after each), 2 mile cool down
Sa - sick
Su - 12 miles (9:23 pace. yikes.)

Total: 31 miles

Thank you, running gods

Today's track workout pretty much erased my doubts about my fitness that arose from that crappy 5K the other night.

The plan was to run up to the track (2 miles), run 4 800s at about 3:20, and run home (2 miles...obviously)

It was a PERFECT morning - sunny, cool, no wind. My legs felt surprisingly springy and fresh (I took a rest day yesterday and usually that makes them feel pretty dead). I busted out those 800s in 3:18, 3:15, 3:12, and 3:15. I can run at 6:30 pace and not die! I actually felt pretty good running at that pace. Huge confidence boost that leads me to believe that someday in the near future I may be able to set a new 5K PR. AWESOME.

I am just going to make sure the track workouts happen once a week, because they totally make a difference!

Run to Rember 5K race report (or, Proof the Track and I Haven't Seen Enough of Each Other Lately)

One word for last night's 5K: disappointing.

I came in at 24:09, but everyone said the course was long. I went home and checked it out on Map My Run, and it was somewhere in the vicinity of a quarter of a mile long, which puts my pace at about 7:12 (which would translate to a 22:23 5K). I REALLY wanted to be under 22, but it just wasn't my night.

This was a TINY race...maybe 50 people. I've done it in the past and there have been a few hundred, but with temperatures in the low 50s, an ominous gray sky, and crazy wind gusts, I'm not surprised a lot of people chose to skip it.

The course starts off right in the middle of campus, goes out around the sports fields and crop science unit, and comes back up a long steady hill back to where it started. There were lots of turns, including one that I missed, and the guy who was supposed to tell me to turn had to yell after me. Apparently that happened to quite a few of the other runners too.

So, I got a nice little reminder that I'm not in fact as in shape as I was hoping I was, and I need more quality track time. It wasn't a total loss though - I got a nice T Shirt and reflective arm band, and it was a decent workout too.

Summer?

Ugh, I totally forgot how much harder it is to run when it's hot. This morning wasn't even that hot, I'm just totally acclimated to perfect 60 and partly cloudy, so the sun this morning made it a little tougher than usual.

I'm really proud of this week's training. I had a good track workout Tuesday, and good tempo run Thursday, and a pretty hard 11.3 mile "long" run today. Mike and I sat down the other day and put together a race schedule for the summer, so I'm hoping my speedwork will help me PR.

Summary of the week:

Mon - 3 miles easy
Tues - 1 mile @ 6:34, 4 x 400 (1:32, 1:30, 1:30, 1:28) - 7 miles total
Wed - 30 Day Shred Level 1 (this is still hard with 5 lb weights!)
Thurs - 6 mile run with 4 @ 7:23 pace
Fri - REST!
Sat - 4 miles (8:22 min/mile)
Sun - 11.3 miles (8:03 min/mile)

Total: 31.3 miles

Survived...

I forgot how much fun track workouts can be, especially 400s. You get to run fast, and it feels amazing...then right when you feel like you're going to die, you get to stop!

My mile wasn't great - 6:34, but I can't really complain. My 400s were a little better: 1:32, 1:30, 1:30, and 1:28. I walked 100m in between each.

I'll be back at the track next week for some 800s, and I'm honestly looking forward to it. I am dying to PR in the 5K sometime this summer, so I'm prepared to work my bum off in order to do so.

Summary of the week

I just realized I completely forgot to do a re-cap of last weeks workouts. I only ran 4 times, but got in 26 miles, and did 30 Day Shred twice. Love that workout.

Monday - 30 Day Shred Level 2
Tuesday - 5 miles (8:19 pace)
Wednesday - 5 miles (8:07 pace)
Thursday - rest
Friday - 7.1 miles (8:52 pace)
Saturday - 30 Day Shred Level 2
Sunday - 9 miles (7:58 pace) horribly windy, but a great run!

Week total: 26.1 miles

Back to the track

In 7 weeks, I'll be running a 10K. I would LOVE to PR, but since I've done almost no speedwork at all in the last 6 months, I realize it's not likely. So I'm doing what I really don't feel like doing but know I should, and heading to the track tomorrow after work.

Just because I'm curious, I'm going to run a mile as fast as I can. I'm hoping it's under 7 minutes, but in all honesty, I have no idea whether it will be or not. Then I'll do a few 400s. If I survive, there will be another post up in about 24 hours telling you how it went. I'm sure you're on the edge of your seat!

Checking in: My 2010 Goals

Back at the beginning of the year, I posted these:

Goals for 2010:
1. Qualify for Boston (hopefully at the LA Marathon CIM?)
2. Run at least two full marathons
3. Set PRs at 2 or more different distances
4. Run at least one trail race

So how are things going?

1. I missed a BQ in LA by 14 minutes. It was not a great race, and I know I didn't train enough. I am still hoping to BQ at CIM in December

2. I've run one, and will run another in December, so I should meet that goal if I can stay healthy

3. We'll see... I'm planning on running a half marathon in October (the same race I set a PR in 2 years ago) and I think I'll be able to do it a few minutes faster. I'm also signing up for my first 50K in August!!! so I'll have an instant PR there

4. The 50K is a trail race, so that should be taken care of.

As long as I can keep my IT band in check and avoid any other injuries, I think I should be able to meet all my goals!

I'm beyond excited about training for my first Ultra. I decided not to run marathons in San Francisco and Portland. With the 50K in August, a half marathon in October, CIM in December, and a few shorter races thrown in here and there, I think I have a good schedule set for the rest of the year!

Post-run refueling

So who doesn't come directly inside after a 7 mile run and devour a few Cadbury creme eggs? I may not celebrate Easter in the religious sense, but I definitely celebrate candy. Particularly candy shaped like eggs (or bunnies).

I'm following a 5-week recovery plan that will gradually step my miles up to 35 per week, and although it feels like I'm hardly running at all right now, I think this will really help me avoid more IT band issues. It's also leaving some days open for 30 Day Shred, which I hadn't done in a few weeks. It is reaaaallly sad how quickly my muscles turn into little bands of jello. I did Level 1 last Sunday (with 5 pound weights) and it made my arms incredibly sore. I'm trying to get back on the wagon though...I'd rather not let my arms turn to complete mush.

If you're in parts of the world other than California, are you running outside and LOVING it? I seriously don't know how people live in places where you can't run outside all winter, but I guess if you're chained to your treadmill for a few months, it makes you appreciate running outside a whole lot more.

Anyway, here's how my week looked:
Monday - 45 minutes power yoga
Tuesday - 5 miles (8:22 min/mile)
Wednesday - 5 miles (8:12 min/mile)
Thursday - 30 Day Shred Level 3
Friday - 4 miles (9:09 min/mile)
Saturday - REST
Sunday - 7 miles (8:42 min/mile)

Total: 21 miles