The total mileage for the week came to 41 miles. That is over 10 miles less than I have done the past several months, and I am okay with that.

Sometimes in the beginning we have to force ourselves to do certain things. At first, I wanted to fight it but then I accepted it. It’s time for a little rest, some new training and starting the first step towards my next marathon (even if it is later this year!)

The less mileage really has given me much more free time this past week. It’s awesome in that regard.

 

Here is a break down of my running this week on the new plan:

Monday

Monday was my first day on the plan, so I headed out to make the most of it. The one thing about this plan versus the other is that my easy pace is increased. I was supposed to average an 8:49.

Just like when I started marathon training, I need to work on pacing.

The final average for this run came to around a 8:25. Whoops! I was surprised how easy it did feel though. That extra sleep during the weekend must have really helped!

 

Tuesday

Another uneventful 5 miles planned.  Same pace and it took a little longer to get my legs up to speed, but still a little too quick.

I did add strides in this day. I decided on my easy days to do at least 6 strides. This helps keep my legs used to going quick and also break up the run a little bit!

During mile 3, I did 6 x 10 second strides on dirt. I’ve noticed if I do the strides on soft ground they don’t hurt my legs near as much.

 

Wednesday

Wednesday was my one and only workout of the week. I was actually kind of nervous going into it because it was a tempo run. I haven’t done a tempo run since before my marathon in December.

I set up the tempo run on my Garmin. This is still hands down my favorite thing about the Forerunner 220! My goal pace for the tempo was 7:30. I knew I COULD do it, but I didn’t know how much I would have in me at 4:15 in the morning.

My goal was to sustain the pace for as many miles as I could. If I didn’t hit 5, then I’d work up to it.

Every morning before my workout I pull up the weather on my iPhone to see what they are calling for.  I panicked a little bit because it said 10-15 mph winds. While that isn’t awful, when you are trying to hit a faster pace it can make a difference!

As soon as I got out there I quickly realized it wasn’t going to be that bad! Looking back on the run I say it went well, but it was definitely not easy! I sucked it up and got it done!

I completed all 5 miles at 7:30 with a 1 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down for a total of 7 miles.

 

Thursday

Thankfully the only day I had to get on the treadmill was on Thursday. The run was set up just like Monday and Tuesday – 5 miles at 8:49. I added in 8 x 10 second strides in mile 4.

I obviously slowed my pace down to hit 8:49 since I was on a treadmill. Though by Thursday I’m much more tired than Monday, and this didn’t feel quite as easy!

The strides really helped to break it up!

 

Friday

Per usual, I took Friday off from running.

Our Friday night looked a lot like this.

It was absolutely perfect!

 

Saturday

I was so ready for my long run when Saturday rolled around. My legs felt fresh too, which hasn’t happened in a while so that was a nice change!

I went out the local trail because Wes wanted to do a 11 mile tempo run in preparation for Boston in just 6 weeks! I completed the first 2 miles with him as his warm up. His warm up is usually my normal pace, so I figured it would work out perfectly!

I did the next 12 miles on the trail. The weather was beautiful and it was so nice to be able to wear shorts again!

I did a total of 14.25 miles at around an 8:25 pace. I went a little quicker than expected in the beginning, but was able to even it out a bit as I continued. It is such a change for me to be running while fully rested and in the sun light I just have the temptation to GO!

Overall, a great Saturday long run!

 

Sunday

Sunday the plan is to knock it back and do an easy 5 miles. Going to stick to it and hopefully get in a good core and strength training workout!

 

On top of the running I did a lot of foam rolling and stretching this week. I incorporated 6 days of core work and 3 days of strength training.

I’d say that’s pretty good for a week! My mileage may have gone down but I got in a lot of extra necessities!

 

How did your running go this week?.