Monday
Distance: 6.0
Pace: 8:52 average
To make things interesting I ran:
1 mile EZ, 1 mile hard (7:47), 1 mile EZ, 2 miles hard (8:02, 7:42), 1 mile EZ
Tuesday
rest day
Wednesday
Distance: 12.0
Pace: 9:27
Reduced mileage from 14 to 12
Thursday
rest
Friday
Distance: 6.0
Pace: 10:00
Saturday
Distance: 4.0
Pace: did not time
Reduced mileage from 6 to 4
Sunday
Distance: 16.0
Pace: 9:19
Reduced intensity from 16 miles with 12 at MP to just 16 miles.
Total: 44 miles
It was absolutely awesome to end the week with a long run that I finished feeling strong! I'm glad that I didn't try to push myself to hold MP for 12 miles on Sunday. I wasn't sure how this run was going to feel. My last two long runs started to get messy around 14-15 miles into the run. I was feeling pretty good at 12.5 miles, so I dropped my pace down to MP for 1.5 miles (Garmin indicates 9:03 for this section, but I got caught at a stop light* right before my watch ticked over to the next mile. I was running ~8:45). For the final two miles I pushed it a bit harder to average 8:10.
*I typically don't pause my watch during long runs and speed workouts. I figure that I won't be stopping the clock during a race, so I try not stop my watch during important runs. For easy/recovery runs I stop my watch to wait for traffic signals because it forces me to be honest about my pace. If I let my watch run for 90 seconds while waiting at a light I could run faster than I should for recovery but it wouldn't be noticeable looking at my average pace. This would defeat the purpose of an easy run.
One final thing: I will probably be late with my next training check in. My sister's family is staying with us for a long weekend and I will be way to busy being Auntie Heather to work on a blog post. I am counting down the hours until I will be doing this:
Nice job this week! Glad you had a good one this time. You really have been doing a lot - not only is the recovery good for your body but you deserve it after how incredibly hard you've been working! And good for you having the discipline to make it a true recovery week, too!
ReplyDeleteI always pause my watch at traffic stops. I care about my pace too much not to, haha. I'm a total freak about needing to know how fast I was actually running. I understand that I can't pause the clock during a race, but I've practiced racing enough that I never have any problems making that transition.
It's funny that every runner has their own little data quirks. I try to plan my routes to avoid traffic stops as much as possible, but on long runs they just can't be avoided. I worry that if I get used to taking a little break every now and then that on race day I will want to take little breaks every now and then.
DeleteThat's understandable, but if it makes you feel better, as someone who lives and runs in a city I frequently have short forced "breaks" during my runs and I've never needed a break in a race. It's basically the same anxiety behind the worry that because you have rest intervals in between each of your 400m repeats, your body will never learn to hold that pace for an entire 5K. And yet, on race day, you can.
DeleteI'm glad you had a good week! I almost never pause my watch. I guess I just don't really care about my pace too much and also because I'm not training for anything too crazy at the moment. Have fun being auntie! My niece is coming to visit in a couple of weeks and I can't wait!!
ReplyDeleteOh man, I just left you a long comment and it didn't go through! Argh! Technology!
ReplyDeleteWay to go on the 16 miler! I think it was smart to just do 16 at whatever pace felt comfortable to give your legs a rest and to boost your long-long run confidence.
I hope you have a great weekend with your sis and family! :)
I pause my Garmin for long stops I can't control like waiting for cars just because I want to know my running pace. I like your Monday workout of a hard/easy run to change the pace. Glad you had a good week of running!
ReplyDeleteI pause my Garmin for long stops I can't control like waiting for cars just because I want to know my running pace. I like your Monday workout of a hard/easy run to change the pace. Glad you had a good week of running!
ReplyDelete