Last week during my training recap I explained my decision to stop my 5k plan. I was tired, a little burnt out, and was having a hard time finding the JOY in running.

I was reminded of this (very old) post I wrote about what to do when running ins’t fun anymore.

I knew I needed a change so I went into this week with a new mindset, a rejuvenated spirit, and an awesome husband who offered to help make sure I didn’t fall back into that trap again. It is such a blessing to have someone who knows me so well.

As I’ve shared on my Instagram, we’ve got a very busy few weeks ahead of us. We are moving in just over a week and I’ve been a bit overwhelmed with getting everything done in time. Having a 7 month old and packing makes things very interesting!

I decided to take these three weeks and just enjoy it. I’d still do about 2 workouts a week but they are no where near as intense and it’s simply about focusing on leg turnover. Everything else is pretty similar to before but just making it a priority to enjoy running and not add stress. All runs would be done based one effort with no specific paces set.

 

Here is a look at my running this week:

Monday – 6.44 miles

I started my first day of my “reset week” at the track. I decided on a pretty simple workout overall but one that would get my legs moving.

20 minute warm up, 10 x 200 meters with 100 walk/100 jog recover, and a 20 minute cool down. My splits for the 200’s ended up being: 41, 43, 42, 43, 42, 44, 42, 43, 44, and 42 seconds.

I enjoyed being out on the track. It was just enough of a workout to make me feel good but not enough to wear me down. My Mom was up for the day on Monday so I was also able to do this workout without the stroller which was a blessing and a big help to enable me to reset.

 

Tuesday – 5.61 miles

All I had planned for Tuesday was an easy 50 minutes. I had no goals going into it except to make sure I was running easy and to keep my heart rate down. I used the time to really let go of all the stress and just enjoy being out on the trail with my son.

I surprised myself Tuesday by being able to go quicker while still keeping my heart rate less than or equal to 150 bpm. In total I averaged an 8:55 pace.

 

Wednesday – 7.10 miles

Wednesday ended up being more eventful than I would have liked but still enjoyed the run. Another moderate workout but a good test of my legs.

20 minute warm up, 4 x 800 meters on/800 meters off, and a short cool down. My goal for the 800’s was “comfortable hard” so I just went off how my body felt. My splits were: 3:37, 3:34, 3:34, and 3:33.  I didn’t look at my watch during the 800’s and just hit the lap time to record and look later.

These felt good, still good effort but overall another enjoyable workout. Something that I’ve really been struggling with prior to this week.

 

Thursday – 5.38 miles

Another easy 50 minutes but unlike Tuesday my body was much more tired. In order to keep my heart rate down I averaged a 9:18 pace and probably could have stood to go even slower. It was tiring but a good lesson on focusing on my heart rate and going off the effort that my body has that day.

I try to take my easy days and just enjoy the time with my son. He’s been doing much better in his stroller lately and I enjoy the moments we get together out on the trail.

 

Friday – Off

Friday was my off day as usual. One thing that always stays consistent no matter the cycle I’m in are my rest days and I make sure to give my body the time off it needs.

 

Saturday – 9.50 miles

I haven’t run a double digit run in almost 2 months but in all honestly I’m not really in any hurry to do so. There will be a time (in the not-so-far future) where I will start adding them back in but for now 80 minutes is plenty of time on the feet for me for a long run!

I got out pretty early this morning to try and get my run in. The high for the day was 98 and it felt like 116. I knew the earlier I got out the better, but unfortunately E didn’t have such a great night of sleep thanks to teething. We still got up at a decent our and were out on the trail around 7:50 AM.

It was still brutally hot and humid but I really just focused on enjoy the time out there. It wasn’t easy but I enjoyed it. I didn’t look at my watch the entire time and just ran off a “moderate” effort. Not too hard, not too easy – just somewhere right in between. In total I averaged a 8:25 average pace and was really happy with how I felt.

Runs aren’t always easy but sometimes it’s just about getting out there and spending the time on your feet.

 

Sunday – 6.67 miles

Sunday was all about recovery and I made sure to be smart about it since it was still pretty hot and I knew my body would have to go slower to still be able to maintain the heart rate I wanted for recovery.

The goal was 60 minutes easy but somehow pushing a stroller never feels “easy.” The first couple miles were humbling but as I continued on I started to really relax and enjoy the run. I kept reminding myself how important these recovery miles were to the coming week.

I have my auto-lap turned off on my Garmin now so I just run for 30 minutes, turn around, and come back. Then afterwards I look at my pace overall and see where it falls. I did look at my watch a few times to make sure my heart rate was in check and make adjustments if necessary.

The heat really picked up at the turn around but I just focused on keeping it easy and relaxing.

 

In total I hit 40 minutes for the first of my “reset” weeks. I actually feel really good and I’m happy with where things are after this week. Onwards and upwards!