I've Been Having Some Good Runs Lately

The title says it all. Almost all of my runs over the past few weeks have been really enjoyable. I have had my fair share of crappy I hate everything about running runs though too. Because of all the good runs I have been having lately I have really fallen in love with running. Instead of thinking when do I have to run I now think when do I get to run. I'm pretty sure all of my awesome runs lately are due to following a smart training plan that includes lots of cross training. More on my training plan sometime this week.

12 miles total {3 miles warm up, 6 miles @ HMGP, 3 miles warm down}

Friday evening I set out to do my longest training run yet. I didn't do a hard run last week because I wanted to rest a little after the triathlon, so I added some tempo work into my long run. As the runs get longer I will be slowing down tremendously. I also wanted to use this run to get a sense of where I am at for my half marathon in two weeks.

The first three miles were pretty hot but after that it was really nice out. I wasn't sure how hard HMGP would feel but was pleasantly surprised with how easy it felt. It was by no means easy but I was expecting it to be much harder. I had some GI issues during the last mile at HMGP and ran out of water so I decided to drive home and finish my warm down where my house was never far away. I didn't want to break the run up like that but it was only a 10 minute break.

2 miles trail run/walk with Gracie

On Saturday I met my boyfriend at a local lake that has some beautiful trails. He was going mountain biking so I decided to hit the trails by foot instead. I knew I didn't want to go for long after Friday's run. The trails are really hilly so I walked the steep uphills and ran the rest. I love running on the trails and wish I got out there more this summer. There is a huge state park about 10 minutes from my apartment with hundreds of miles of trails that I am planning on taking advantage of now that I'm back at school. If only I could bring this adorable face with me.

5 miles track {1 mile warm up, 5x 400 sprint-800 recovery, 400 warm down}

I had a minor injury scare over the weekend so I cut my track run down to 5 miles from 7, and reduced the actual amount of hard running during the workout. If anything hurt during the run I was going to stop. Luckily nothing hurt though. I have expressed before how much I love doing track workouts and I think part of the reason is that it may be the best way to measure progress week to week. At least in terms of speed.

1:32, 1:32, 1:33, 1:34, 1:28

I don't know if it was the cool, rainy weather, the sort of rest week last week or what but my legs came ready to run fast today. Normally those splits would be the fastest interval of my run and a number that I would see only once. Based on the last one I wish I would have pushed myself harder on the middle ones but at least I gave it my all on that last one. After seeing my first few splits my goal was to break 1:30. When I saw 1:28 pop up I almost started crying. I never in a million years thought I could do any sort of running at that kind of pace. It all makes me very excited for what's to come.

Another Night at the Track

After years of hating running at the track I am constantly craving my time running fast around the oval lately. I love running in the evening and even more so love doing hard, fast runs in the evening. Maybe it is because as a swimmer we had finals at night and my body is accustomed to going harder at night. Who knows. But combining running in the evening and running fast and I am a very happy girl.

After not being able to get in a track workout while on vacation I was anxious and excited for my workout this week. Of course I went the first day home on Monday. So far all of my workouts have been centered around hard 400's. I don't know why but there is something I really love about that distance.

This week, though, I wanted to try something a little longer since I will be running longer intervals as marathon training ramps up. I decided to compromise and do both 800's and 400's. Since this is the first time that I am really training hard for a race I am being ambitious with my goal time and paces. When running at the track I just kind of run hard and am satisfied with that but it is nice to see that I am right in the range for my goals.

3x 800 hard, 400 recovery
Goal: 3:36-3:47

I really didn't know how to pace myself for these 800's. Sometimes I would start out too fast and then die, while other times I started off too slow and wasn't able to recover. My splits are all over the place but I am generally happy with them. I really pushed the third repeat but in general none of them felt completely taxing. Faster paces are really getting easier, which is so amazing to me.

3:40 (7:24), 3:45 (7:30), 3:30 (7:01)

Next week I am going to do more 800's and practice running more consistently. The problem is I want to sprint but then can't hold on. I was surprised that the minimal recovery time really didn't seem to bother me. I thought it would really tire me out but I felt pretty good the whole time.

3x 400 sprint, 800 recovery
Goal: 1:36-1:47

I love the feeling of sprinting during 400's. I feel so fast, free, and just completely amazing. These weren't my fastest splits for 400's but they were pretty darn close.

1:38 (6:24), 1:38 (6:30), 1:35 (6:17)

I really love that these paces and becoming my normal. They feel comfortably hard and doable. Don't get me wrong, I am not going easy at the track. I'm not pushing myself to 100% though. That is for races. Regardless, I love my weekly sessions at the track and can't wait to continue to see improvement.

Keystone State Tri Training Week 1

Monday:
Ran 6.5 miles in the morning. It was really humid out and my legs felt incredibly heavy. Definitely should have a done a shorter run as my first run since my tri. The run was terribly slow but good mental training I guess. In the evening I went to my first group ride! We rode about 28 miles in around 2 hours. I'm not sure because of stops but I was pleasantly surprised with how fresh my legs felt after a rough morning.


Tuesday:
After a long day of workouts on Monday my body was craving it's weekly yoga session. My legs were a little tighter than normal but felt a million times better afterwards. I had a track session scheduled for Tuesday night but was really nervous because my legs still were feeling pretty heavy. I decided to go anyway & just see how my legs felt. To my surprise they showed up ready to run fast. I did 1 mile warm up followed by 4 rounds of a 400 sprint & 800 recovery. My 400's were 1:40, 1:38, 1:36, 1:36, all faster than the last time I did this workout!


Wednesday:
After two tough days of workouts I gladly welcomed an easier day. I was supposed to swim but storms had the pool closed all day. I ended up moving my swim to Friday and just doing only my strength workout. It was my first time in the gym in awhile and I was definitely sore Thursday morning. I have two strength workouts that I'm alternating between but I think I still need to modify them some based on what is available at the gym.


Thursday:
More storms were in the forecast for most of Thursday so I knew if I wanted to get in any workout outside it needed to be in the morning. I did a slow 3.5 mile easy/recovery run before going to my yoga class. I felt really sluggish during the first mile of the run but then my legs started to loosen up. Despite the slow legs I have been really enjoying running lately, which is a complete 180 from how I felt about it a few months ago. Good timing considering marathon training coming up.


Friday:
Friday was yet another rainy day. I had no desire to run in the rain and biking in the rain can be pretty unsafe so it ended up being a swim day. I was surprised how off I felt in the water. I can't really explain it but I certainly didn't like it. Hopefully next time will be better.


Saturday:
Saturday was spent relaxing by the pool and enjoying summer. All in all it was a perfect rest day.


Sunday:
My boyfriend decided he wanted to take me on a ride so I could get more experience on the road and climbing hills. Despite the rest day my legs were feeling tired and heavy from the beginning of the ride. We planned on doing 37 miles but cut it down to 22 miles because of multiple road closures and my cranky legs. I still have a lot of work to do but I still have a few weeks before my next tri.




Weekly Totals

• Swimming: 1,800 yards
• Biking: 50.08 miles
• Running: 14.02 miles
• Strength: 45 min
• Yoga: 2 hours
• Weekly Totals: 9 hours 25 min

Track Tuesday

After two tiring workouts on Monday my body was pretty tired yesterday. In fact, it still is. I went to yoga yesterday morning and had a track workout scheduled for last night. My legs felt so sluggish just walking around my house that I was really doubting my ability to do any kind of workout. The track is located right by my normal running trail so I figured I would give the workout a shot and if my legs weren't having it then I would do an easy run on the trail. I drank a bottle of nuun, charged up my ipod, and was on my way.

When I got to the track the first thing I saw was a pickup game of soccer being played on the field inside the track. I debated whether to just go the trail then but wanted to at least give the workout a shot. Since my legs weren't feeling in prime condition I opted for more of a sprinting workout with short sprints and long recoveries.

1 mile warm up
4x
400 sprint, 800 recovery

My warm up mile felt comfortable but was noticeably slower than normal. My legs didn't feel too bad so the workout was on. I tried to remind myself that the goal was to push myself even if my times were slower than normal. It was incredibly hot outside too which didn't help.

I was shocked with how this workout turned out. My legs showed up ready to run fast last night and that is exactly what they did. I contemplated skipping the workout because I thought my legs were tired but clearly that was not the case. It's funny how the mind can trick us into thinking we are less capable than we really are.

I did this same workout back in June when my legs were feeling fresh. Here's those splits vs. last night's splits:

June 20
1:52 (7:09), 1:44 (6:59), 1:40 (6:40)
I forgot to hit lap after the second repeat so I don't have that split. My best pace during the entire run was 6:24

July 17
1:40 (6:46), 1:38 (6:23), 1:36 (6:22), 1:36 (6:26), fastest pace 5:59

My first repeat last night was the same at my fastest repeat the first time! Makes me wonder what I could on fresh legs. I want to take a quick second to brag about seeing a pace sub-6:00 for the first time as well. Never something I thought was possible.

A Case of Overconfidence

After yesterday's unexpectedly fast longish run, last week's track party, and an unofficial 5K PR the week before I started to think that I was invincible. I was quickly reminded that I am not some sort of running superstar when I hit the track tonight for my second and last speed workout before next week's triathlon.

My planned workout was:
1 mile warm up
3x 800 fast, 400 recovery
5x 400 sprint, 800 recovery

This would have put me at a total of seven miles. I am really not sure why I thought running seven miles of hard track running would be a good idea when my longest run during this training cycle was not only seven miles but the previous day. The other problem with this workout was that I went during the hottest time of the day so that I wouldn't miss a minute of watching my favorite swimmers battle it out at Olympic Trials.

Before I even started the workout I was sweating buckets and should have taken that as the first sign to back off on the planned mileage. But nope, that did not happen. I started my warm up and was immediately greeted by wind. Luckily the wind was only affecting me on part of the lap, but it still felt pretty miserable.

Besides starting out way too fast on my first 800 the first half of the workout went pretty well. Even on the recovery jogs I was holding a pace much faster than what I am used to. But when the third 800 came I started to really feel the effects of yesterday's run. I tried to push myself but my body fought back.

3:30 (7:07), 3:28 (6:58), 3:33 (7:09), 1:46 (7:03)

I thought I would do better with the shorter distance of the 400 sprints so I moved on. After the first 400 I decided to call it quits though. I felt absolutely terrible and was even starting to get dizzy. I realized that pushing myself even more so close to a race is not worth it. I would rather be able to push myself even harder during my race.

After I left the track I came home to watch the Olympic Trials. While I watched I soaked my feet in a big bucket filled with ice water. This was my first time doing an ice soak and boy was it an experience! Within seconds of putting my legs in the bucket my feet started to hurt really badly. I wasn't sure if this was normal but I decided to keep my legs submerged for at least five minutes. After I was done my legs felt a million times better and I could really notice how much swelling went down. Ice baths may not be fun but they are definitely effective.

My First Track Party

After a pretty bad run on Tuesday I wanted redemption. I decided to head to the track on Wednesday evening for my very first track party. I have honestly never had any desire to run at the track but after reading about how much fun Sarah was having during her track parties I wanted to have one myself. I didn't want to do a long workout or anything that would leave me too sore but I still wanted a challenge. I settled on doing a mile warm up, followed by four rounds of a 400 sprint and an 800 recovery.

The warm up mile was slow and terribly boring, leaving me questioning why I was even at the track. But after my first 400 sprint I remembered why I was there. I had no time goals for this run, only to sprint my heart out and see what I was capable of. I am not used to doing short fast sprints so it took my body a little bit to really get going.

4 x 400 sprint
1:52 (7:09), ? (I forgot to hit lap), 1:44 (6:59), 1:40 (6:40)


I had my garmin set up so it only showed me time, not pace. I was able to somewhat figure out my pace with a little math but I was still shocked to see how fast I was going once I got home. Anything sub 8 min/mile is normally pretty darn fast for me so I was in no way expecting to see a number starting with a 6 pop up.

This run may not be very impressive to those of you who frequent the track and do longer and harder runs but for me this was a pretty big deal. I still have a little over two weeks until my first triathlon but this run left me excited to start marathon training. I had a blast running instead of forcing myself to keep going. I actually considered doing more repeats but it was already dark out and I had a lot of homework to finish.