Monday, January 6th:
Off. Taking a couple days off to give myself a mental AND physical break from this rough winter. My body is a little beat up right now, and I don't want to think about another run in sub-zero degree windchills tonight or tomorrow. Plus it will help me get back into the flow of work this week without seeming like over kill.
Tuesday, January 7th:
Off. Bad news is the windchill was below zero all day, so I didn't even once consider going out for a run. The good news is my legs are finally start to feel normal again with the extra rest, so I am hoping tomorrow or Thursday gives me a chance to start some easy running again.
Wednesday, January 8th:
7:45pm, 20 degrees, 47%, calm. Maple Shade - Neighborhood. New Balance 1260v2.
7.5mi (8:00) - including 4x :20 strides after
I finally got some motivation to run again tonight. I have decided I am going to switch things up a bit and move all my workouts to at least every third day to give myself proper recovery so I don't get so run down again. I am also not going to sweat my weekly mileage volume and instead just focus on getting in good workouts when I can get them in. Whenever I need a day off, I'll take one. If the forecast calls for bad weather, I'll just push the workout back until conditions improve. And I'll stop worrying about my easy run paces and just go back to running them based on feel and then checking the watch afterward to see what kind of splits I ran. I love having structure in my training, but at the same time I need to listen to my body, common sense, and continue to look at the big picture - which is long-term. I think this revised thinking will keep me more motivated, less stressed, and overall healthier in the long run.
Thursday, January 9th:
7:40pm, 26 degrees, 56%, 5-10mph. Hialeah-Chapel Loop. New Balance 1260v2.
4.5mi (8:18)
My body almost felt like it wanted to shut down tonight. I just didn't have the energy and couldn't move much faster than a shuffle, so I didn't force the issue, kept the same slow comfortable pace, and called it quits when it felt like my muscles were tightening up. We'll see if I feel up to a workout tomorrow, or if I need to shutdown for awhile to recuperate from whatever funk I am in right now.
Friday, January 10th:
10:15am, treadmill workout. Adidas Adios Boost.
11mi (77:30): 2mi warmup, 7mi@6:25/mi average (3.5mi@6:27, 3.5mi@6:23), 2mi cooldown
First great news to report in awhile! The workout went phenomenal. I had zero expectations going in based on how I have been feeling all week and based on the fact that I HATE treadmills. The roads and sidewalks were just sheets of ice today, so I didn't really have any other option than driving to my in-laws' and using their treadmill.
I also got to break in my new shoes, which I LOVED. Lightweight, just enough cushioning, handled the pounding with ease. I kept the treadmill incline at 0.5 the entire time because it just felt awkward at 0.0. I compensated by easing into the paces during the warmup, the tempo, and the cooldown. Felt completely in control the entire time and could have kept going at that pace for awhile since I had SportsCenter on in front of me on the TV.
Best of all, no hamstring/groin symptoms before, during, or immediately after the workout. I also went back to using an elastic band to do some hip flexor/glute exercises that will hopefully help strengthen/stabilize weaker areas that might be the cause of the muscle tightness/soreness lately.
A very encouraging run, even if on a treadmill. :)
Saturday, January 11th:
8:00am, 60 degrees, 95%, 5-25mph, rainy. Haddonfield. Adidas Supernova Glide 5.
8.84mi (1:17:13) (8:44/mi)
Clothes/socks/shoes got soaked pretty early, which made the effort feel a little harder than it really was. Despite the rain and at times gusty wind, it was nice to keep company with Stilley and Stelmaski, and the run still went by quickly enough.
Sunday, January 12th:
7:00am, 43 degrees, 645, 5-15mph. Moorestown. Nike Pegasus 29 USATF.
~8.75mi total - 2:00 jog, strides, 8mi (62:00) (7:45/mi) per Steve's watch, strides
Finally felt like my legs were totally under me for an easy run this week. Did some stretching and light warmup/strides prior, which seemed to help. Steve and I were both feeling good and kind of held back the pace around 7:45/mi. My Garmin battery was low, so I am basing the times off of Steve's watch. Felt like a regular runner again. :)
Weekly Total: ~40.5 miles
Well, the week obviously started off lousy but ended on a positive note. I was very happy to get the 7mi marathon pace tempo in on Friday, even if on the treadmill. And today's relatively mild, rainless, snowless, iceless run was a refreshing break from the rest of the week. I hope I can carry the momentum into next week, and start hitting some consistent workouts again. Still plenty of time before any major goal race yet.
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