Tuesday: 7 miles -- 4x100m strides at 5:00 pace + 6x1000m repeats at 4:35-4:40pace with 2-minute walk rest + 1x400 ALL OUT + 1 mile warm-up and cool-down
This was my second major quality workout and it was a ROUGH day. Splits were slow. I ran them on a gravel road with some good hills. My splits were 2:59, 2:57, 3:01, 3:02, 3:07, and 3:09. Like I said, it wasn't my best day. The weather was overcast, cool, and windy. On the bright side, my ALL OUT 400m was 58 seconds, so it wasn't a complete loss. My final thoughts on that one: not entirely impressed with myself.
Wednesday: 5 miles at 7:52 pace
I ran super relaxed. The whole team was extremely sore, so everyone took it incredibly easy. I really tried to recover for Friday's workout since yesterday didn't go well. Nothing felt good. My legs still felt like jello.
Thursday: 10 miles -- two runs, the first at 7:06 and second at 6:25 pace
I had two 5-mile runs. My legs were starting to feel looser on the morning run, so I tried to pick it up a bit to really shake things out. Then in the afternoon, I felt relatively fresh, so I just ran. It wasn't strenuous or anything out of the ordinary.
Friday: 10 miles -- 4x100m strides at 4:45 pace + 6 mile tempo at 5:20-5:40 pace + 1 mile easy+ 4x200s with 200m jog + 1-mile warm-up and cool down + bonus 5-mile shakeout in the PM
Tempo day! It was essentially the same workout as last week's tempo run, but today went in the exact opposite direction than Tuesday. I felt amazing as I started my warm-up mile at 7:30 pace and then hit my strides. I did my tempo run on a 3-mile gravel loop. My splits were 5:35, 5:32, 5:29, 5:22, 5:17 and 4:55. I still felt strong in the easy mile at 7:13 pace and the 4x200s. I tried to do exactly what I did last week where I relaxed and just let the legs go to work. I ran a 29, 29, 28, and 28. Finally. I cooled down barefoot in the wet grass for a mile without my watch. This workout helped me get some confidence back after Tuesday.
Saturday: 13 mile long run at 6:44 pace
I ran 13 miles for my long run this week! It went by significantly faster than I expected, and truth be told, I ran an extra 400m to make sure I would run my first half-marathon! It felt nice to get out of Hartford. It was foggy and cool with a slight breeze. Similar to last week's long run, this one started out a bit slower at about a 7:45. However, this week's last mile was a bit quicker, at about a 5:30 mile.
Sunday: OFF DAY!
For an off day, I was awfully busy! In the end, I think I got the needed rest and that's what the important part is.
Total Mileage: 55
Overview: The beginning of the week was a definite struggle. But after some rest and a little bit of pace in my easy runs in the middle of the week, I rocked my tempo and long runs to finish out the week. My goal for next week is to focus and be more consistent on my major quality workout and keep up the energy throughout my training.
