Week 4 of Training... Focusing on Consistency

I'm coming off of week 3 a little discouraged by the toll the humidity has taken on my training. My daily runs have become slower, despite my increased efforts (my attempts to get the runs back to normal paces). I've even felt drained doing to light work on my easy days in the evenings.
In light of that, I'm going to focus my attention on consistency this week... trusting that if I am consistent in getting the miles, strength, and intensity we have scheduled, it will pay off in the end. Nothing I do will go to waste, so even if I don't feel like it's as good as it should be, it will still improve my fitness.

Sunday- 8.7.11
Workout: 2M warm up + 4M tempo

• Surface: Apt complex treadmill
• Total Time: easy 2M for warm up, 25:00 (6:15 AP) tempo
• Pace Progression: 6:32, 6:17, 6:09, 6:02
• Comments: Much better feeling run than I've had lately... possibly due to a morning off and possibly due to running indoors? Regardless, I'm happy with today's run. Feeling strong muscularly and aerobically, but still need to work on maintaining solid form when I get tired.

Monday- 8.8.11
Rest day.

Tuesday- 8.9.11
Easy: 6M

• Surface: Memorial Park dirt loop
• Total Time: 45:04 (7:31 AP)
• Pace Progression: 8:19, 7:49, 7:29, 7:17, 7:18, 6:53
• Comments: TERRIBLE pain still in my back, but went ahead and did the entire run, drills, and strides regardless. Aside from my back I feel great. Muscularly and aerobically I feel as though I am progressing properly. I will say that my runs have been starting slower lately though... it's taking me much longer to get warmed up and loose.

Strides: 6x100m
Supplemental Work: Form Drills, Myrtyl Routine + simple core work (trying to get past this back injury from Saturday)
Double: 30' stationary bike

Wednesday- 8.10.11
Workout: 3M easy + 8x 2' fast, 1' easy

• Surface: Memorial Park- Dirt loop for the warm up, timing track for the fartlek
• Total Time: NA
• Pace Progression: w/u and recovery segments were easy, surges were 5:41, 5:34, 5:25, 5:26, 5:30, 5:18, 5:30, 5:21
• Comments: Not a good day as far as feeling fresh or fast. I was weak from the first few steps of the run, but got it in nonetheless. Had to add an extra 2' recovery halfway through the workout... which you couldn't tell by looking at the pace of my 5th surge! :) Another day is in the books now, though, so I really can't complain. Looking forward to better days! :)

Thursday- 8.11.11
Easy: 6M

• Surface: Primarily grass and dirt, with some concrete at Terry Hershey Park; rolling hills
• Total Time: 49:09 (8:11 AP)
• Pace Progression: 8:56, 8:29, 8:17, 8:08, 7:43, 7:35
• Comments: Terrible, terrible run. Went straight to CVS, made very good use of their restroom, bought some pepto bismol and sprite, and am still miserable as of 10:45 this morning. Need to figure out what I ate that was so bad. Legs were heavy as well, which also contributed, I'm sure, to the slow pace.

Supplemental Work: 3x12 strength session

Friday- 8.12.11
Easy: 6M
Strides: 6x100m
10M long run

• Surface: Memorial Park dirt loop
• Total Time: 1:16:00 (7:36 AP)
• Pace Progression: 8:36, 8:01, 7:44, 7:42, 7:36, 7:27, 7:27, 7:29, 7:13, 6:47
• Comments: Had terrible chest pain starting 6M in, probably due to the loss of bodily fluids or me drinking water to rehydrate (still sick to my stomach... meaning several emergency pit stops during the run!). Other than that... it was a GREAT run. Muscularly I felt very strong and the run went by extremely fast! LOVE long runs!!

Saturday- 8.13.11
Long: 8M
Moving day... switching yesterday's run to tomorrow!

Week 4 Total Mileage- 35M (1 long, 2 workouts, 2 easy)