Coasting on the downhill! (33M)

I'm so thankful to have gotten last week's training in without any hiccups! Every mileage increase is a risk when you're as injury prone as myself, so when I make a successful move forward I have a lot to be grateful for! Especially to Jake for designing my plan in such a way that my body tolerates it! :) Now that I have had three weeks straight of "up" mileage, it's time for another down week before getting back at it.

This turned out to be a perfect recovery week for me anyways, as I have another local road race this weekend. It's been nice to have the small, free races during my buildup because it's a great training stimulus, fitness indicator, and social activity. I enjoy seeing everyone from DRC at the lake and it's a great way to see how different parts of my fitness are progressing without getting myself thrown out to the wolves. :)

I ran a 5k at the end of May in 6:12 pace and followed it up with a 4M race in 6:05 pace, so I'm looking to see what a month of training with teammates will do for that 5k time! I'm still not expecting anything spectacular as we've been patient with my training and are not doing the quality to run fast times just yet; but, I am still very confident that I can run a solid pace right now.

Here's to another week of getting miles in the book! :)

Sunday, July 1st
6M easy at White Rock Lake in 7:28 pace
Comments: Ran with Tom and Jake this morning on the lake and took the full first mile to wake up! Either I'm getting old or I need to oil my joints up and start going to bed earlier! :) Total time was 44:50 with miles of 8:26, 7:29, 7:26, 7:19, 7:07, 7:04. Aside from the early-on stiffness I felt fine this morning. Not sore or tired to speak of, just still battling this spot on the sole of my foot! Followed my run with a 10M bike pacing Jake on his workout!

Monday, July 2nd
40' easy run + strides at Mountain Creek Lake Park
COMMENTS: I slogged my way through the run this morning; it's a good thing Jake was there to keep me company and distract me! :) Hoping to wake up a bit more later in the week. I also need to get into a doctor because my foot is getting worse and the local trainer said it needs to be treated. I forgot to do strides this morning, so maybe I'll sneak them in tonight if I'm feeling good!

Tuesday, July 3rd
30' run around GP + 2M of 30" hard, 30" easy on the track
COMMENTS: Jake ran with me for the first thirty minutes... Let's just say he had to practically run backwards to stay with me today, I was slogging along and felt like I was killing myself with effort, ha. The track workout was a disappointment due to poor execution on my part (ran too hard for the first part and paid for it later), but I'm sure it will still have its benefits. Total time for those 2 miles was 12:45.
**I went to a podiatrist today for the "blister" under my right foot. It turns out it's a hematoma (?) caused by a stress fracture - the weird part? The x-rays didn't show a fracture and the doctor said I could keep running. Not sure how to feel about it yet?!

Wednesday, July 4th
rest day
Ended up going on a 12M easy bike while Jake ran and then doing 2 hours of lawn work!

Thursday, July 5th
40' easy run on the grass track
COMMENTS: Another embarrassingly slow run, but I don't regret it a bit! Until I start getting that pep back in my step, I have no problem keeping things relaxed! My foot still has the same "blister" pain, but other than that all injuries have subsided! :) MRI today to check on the possible stress fracture.

Friday, July 6th
4M easy + 3 x short strides at Kiest Park
COMMENTS: I had to fast last night and this morning for a doctors appointment, so I delayed my run and  Jake and I ran together in the afternoon. I was a little anxious about the heat and tacking on an extra mile, but it turned out to be a nice run! My right hip flexor and left Achilles are still sore, but nothing serious!
**MRI results are back and great news! No new stress fracture!! Now I just need to figure out what this "hematoma" is from!


Saturday, July 7th
2.5M warm up + 5K DRC Independence Day Race + 1.8M cool down
COMMENTS: I was not feeling very well on the warm up (AKA, 10:00 pace for the first mile!), but I was still confident that I could get in a solid race. A friend from Houston, Catherine Kruppa (anyone in the Houston area looking for a nutritionist should DEFINITELY check her out!), and she said she was going to try to run around 18:20 so I knew better than to go out with her. Unfortunately, even my slower start was too fast for me at this point in the season! :) Paces were 5:51, 5:58, 6:11, 5:40 (last 60") for an average of 5:59 which is right where I wanted to be! Hopefully I'll learn to pace myself a bit better after a few more races! :) Longer "blog" on training thus far and today's race will come tomorrow!

Total weekly mileage: 33M