Moving forward! [22M]

Sunday, July 14th

4M on grass. Last run in Dallas for the week! Got in 4.25 miles (0.85M loop) at Mountain View Community College just before the rain started. I followed it up with a few quick core/ general strength exercises. I'm very pleased with today's run for a couple of reasons. 1. I ran around 8:35 pace. A few weeks ago I would have panicked about that, but I'm now to the point that I realize I'm coming back from nothing and I need to let my body judge effort levels. 8:35 pace today felt like a nice comfortable daily run... The way an easy run should feel. 2. I stayed on grass. My shins have been bothering me, but for convenience's sake I've been running in the neighborhood a lot. I need start making more of an effort to get on soft surfaces. 3. I followed my run with stretching and a very short body strength session. I want to get back in this habit as it's something I've neglected since I started doing so much strength x-training on my non-running days.

Monday, July 15th

4M + 4 strides. It feels good to be back in Houston and on the loop! LOVE this place! I think it gave me a little extra pep in my step! ;) 15: 22 at the 2M turn around, 30:40 to finish out the run. Felt good and controlled the whole time. Shortened my strides to 15" since Jake wants them to be faster, so I felt like I should do more than four, but I didn't. :) Patience! Followed everything up with some lunges and a few core exercises. Also, Diana saw me and came over to talk while I was doing core - Love how friendly everyone is!

Tuesday, July 16th

Rest

Wednesday, July 17th

5M on the loop at Memorial Park. I found the 00 and every quarter mile after that was marked, so I just turned around at 2.5! The time was 20:20 when I turned around and I finished at 39:30, so I averaged 7:40 pace for the run back. Nothing fancy or fast, but I was very happy to run five miles without stopping! I was pleased because I have not been "tired" on runs this week like I was the past several weeks. Unfortunately I'm feeling more pains, though. My knee and thigh on my left leg and my hamstring on my right leg were most noticeable today.

Thursday, July 18th
30' cycle class, 30' weight machines.

Friday, July 19th

4M + 4 strides. Still enjoying Memorial Park very much! 8:30, 7:50, 7;42, 7:13. Strides went really well also! Set the beep on my watch for 17" instead of 15" like last time because the 15" felt too short. Well, I must've run harder this time, because I was beat when I finished! Good day though! I enjoy the mystery of not knowing who I'll run into or who will run up behind me. Plus there is always someone to chase or be chased by! :)

Saturday, July 20th

5M with a 1' surge at the 1/2M marker of each mile. I almost skipped this run (or at least pushed it off) because I felt so sick this morning - sore throat, feverish, weak, etc. Finally decided to run and even though it felt exhausting and wasn't ever really smooth or comfortable, I'm glad I got it in before traveling back to Dallas. Each mile at the half mile mark I started a 1' surge (0.5M, 1.5M, 2.5M, etc). Splits were 8:07, 7:38, 7:32, 7:32, 7:10. I had to take about 30-45" pit stop in the last mile to stretch and massage my quad. I actually didn't think I'd be able to finish the run it curled up so bad in the middle of the thigh! Getting a LONG massage tomorrow. Also, my right ankle is really sore today.

Regrouping before adding miles again! [16M]

No problems with the twenty mile week last week! I did struggle with fatigue and being overly winded on the last couple runs, but I think that had more to do with lack of sleep and high humidity than anything else.

This week we're dropping back to the previous week's mileage before we move forward again. I am embarrassed by how far I fell during my last break (and how long it is taking me to return), but I am very much enjoying the process of building back up. I love knowing that someday in a few months I will show up out of nowhere feeling strong and lean and fast. That's a good feeling. One day. Coming soon. Just have to keep trucking along patiently!

Sunday, July 7th
38' trail run in Huntsville. Definitely closer to four miles than five, but it was terrible footing. Certainly not a place to run fast. Got in the first run of the week though! I've yet to miss a run! :)

Monday, July 8th

60' BodyPump class. Up in leg weights and chest/back weights today. :) Hopefully this doesn't hurt me tomorrow!

Tuesday, July 9th
4M run + 4 uphill strides. I definitely still question if I'm running too hard right now. Not because I'm running fast, by any stretch of the word; but because I feel like I'm out for a tempo run or race on most of my runs. I keep feeling pressured to have "good" runs because I'm running so little right now, but none of my runs are turning out "good". It's either really slow and feeling good, or decent paced and feeling awful! Today's run was 8:12, 7:43, 7:35, 7:29. But let me tell you, I expected that last mile to be over 8 minutes because I eased up so much during the first half of it!! Haha! The four strides were good, but I was definitely fatigued for them this week. I guess it's just still a matter of patience...

Wednesday, July 10th
4M run. Okay, I'm officially concerned, haha! I ran four miles in our neighborhood and decided to stop "forcing" effort and just run comfortably. The only problem? I was never comfortable!! Hahah! I wanted to stop every chance I got and just get off my legs. They're just so tired! 9:19, 8:43, 8:19, 7:59. Whew.. Long road ahead!
60' bodypump after work

Thursday, July 11th

30' cycle, 30' strength

Friday, July 12th
4M with 2M of straights and curves. I walked about 20 minutes to the grass track, ran one mile, did some leg swings, then did two miles of straights and curves in the opposite direction before getting in a one mile cool down. Then I had a nice relaxing and peaceful walk home! :) I almost put this run off for tomorrow because I was sleepy and my hamstrings were so sore, but after taking a couple steps on the grass track I decided I'd be an idiot not to run. It was a cool morning, not too much wind, and the grass felt SO GOOD! I need to try getting out there more often when I get home from Houston! The straights/curves miles were not as fast as last week's, but I was on grass and ran them continuous today. I think this workout was probably better for me since I kept it more controlled.

Saturday, July 13th
Rest with a quick strength session in the afternoon.