My friends over at Nuun hydration are now accepting applications for their 2012 Hood to Coast relay team!I had the great fortune of running as a part of their inaugural relay team in 2011 (see recaps here, here, here, & here) and it truly was an awesome experience. I had a lot of fun getting to meet other female running bloggers from all over the country (and Canada!) and running beside them in the U.S.'s most epic relay race. Yes, I can use the word epic here.
This year, they are accepting THREE teams of female bloggers instead of two... so if you want a shot at running this famed race with a fun & energetic team, get your creative juices flowing and APPLY!
And now. The part where you take a nap.
Ogden Marathon training, week 3
Part of me is feeling like I can't really complain about being tired when some of my friends are running a gazillion miles while holding down stressful tax-season jobs and families and actual responsibilities, but I just felt really drained this week for a number of reasons. Sure, my miles bumped just slightly, but not anything I can't handle during the third week of a training cycle. Regardless, lots of stress & other things on my mind made this week a challenge -- I ended up moving a number of workouts around to get everything done.
And I still kicked its ass.
Monday:
Goal: 8 mi. @ MGP + 15-45 sec. (8:15-8:45) & 10x100m strides
Actual: 11 mi. @8:06
This might have been a smidge too fast seeing that I was essentially taking some of Wednesday's miles and moving them here, but I felt controlled and good the entire time. The strides at the end of my run knocked down my overall pace a little, but the run was nearly right on.
Tuesday:
Goal: 4 mi. @ rec. pace (9:00+)
Actual: 7 mi. @ 8:34
I met up with the beautiful Jana after work for a soggy run in the rain! We kept the pace "comfortably working" given the weather and jib-jabbed while splashing through puddles.
Wednesday:
Goal: 11 mi. @ MGP + 30 sec.-1 min. (8:30-9:00)
Actual: Rest.
Thursday:
Goal: Rest
Actual: 5 mi. @ 8:07
Nothing to this run. Just making sure I was working toward my weekly mileage goal.
Friday:
Goal: 4 mi. @ rec. (9:00+)
Actual: 4.16 mi. @ 7:55
I was more focused on getting my miles this week and didn't even think about pace. I kept the music at home and spent some time pounding my thoughts out on the pavement in the rain.
Saturday:
Goal: 16 mi. w/ 10 mi. @ MGP (8:00)
Actual: 16 mi. @ 8:02
PERFECTION! In my head, my goal was to do 2 miles at a warm-up pace, 10 miles at 8:00/mile pace, and then 4 miles as a cool down. Once I found my rythym, I ended up kind of glazing over my cool-down miles. I definitely slowed them down at first because I was feeling tired from the hard 10, but once I took that short rest, I went back into it & added in some pick-ups at the end. It was a cool & overcast morning -- perfect for a hard long run.
(2-mile w/u) 8:27, 8:28, (10 @ MGP) 8:03, 8:02, 7:59, 7:59, 7:54, 7:54, 7:52, 7:53, 7:50, 7:52, (4-mile c/d) 8:09, 8:20, 8:00, 7:55
Sunday:
Goal: 8 mi. @ rec. (9:00+)Actual: 8 mi. @ 9:31
When Renee -- who has taken a whole month off of running! -- tweeted that she'd be running in the Park on Sunday morning, I just had to join her on her return back to the sport!
While it was very windy and cold in the park yesterday morning, our run together couldn't have been more ideal. Renee is a good friend and great support to me -- I loved having this time to run, catch up, & get coffee with her. :)And, by the way, she does NOT run at a snail's pace, even after a month off.
Overall, I finished week 3 with 51.2 miles of running with my average pace being just slightly faster than what I should probably be doing. Ah well... I needed it.
This week I'll be stepping back the miles a little, and I'm running the Oakland Half Marathon on Sunday. I haven't decided if I'll "race" race it for a PR, or if I'll just try to hit MGP miles. I guess I'll see how this week of training goes before making that call.
Just 9 weeks left!
Glad you had a good week -- looking forward to Oakland! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat week, especially in light of the stress -- glad you could use running to get some of it out of your system!
ReplyDeleteI hope to catch you at Oakland -- I'm running some (TBD) leg of the relay.
Sounds like a fantastic week. And, amazing 16 miler! Nice work. :-)
ReplyDeleteNUUUUUUN! Can't wait to see you again! (July, marathon, yikes!)
ReplyDeleteAwww. You are the best! I have been away from my computer most of the week, so just now seeing this. It was a very special run for me, so thank you! Also: love your defense of "epic" and I agree - you can use it there! :)
ReplyDelete