Monday Tuesday Training Update (Week 5): Week Ending 2/18
M - 3 @ EA
Tu - 4.5 @ EB + strides
Th - .5 @ WU, LADDER (400, 800, 1600, 800, 400) w/ .25 mi RI @ WU, .5 @ CD (completed Wednesday)
F - 5 @ EB + strides
S - 7 @ LR (supposed to be blind)
I did a bit of schedule juggling because I flew to SF on Wednesday to surprise my mom for her birthday. That meant that I ran my Monday and Tuesday runs as scheduled (and uneventfully), then pushed my ladder to Wednesday and took Thursday off. I did my 5 on the streets in SF (more in a second). My 7 had to get cut to a little shy of 4 because I had a plane to catch and my mom wanted my help getting fitted for her own walking/running shoes before I left.
Despite the cut short LR, I'm pretty proud of this week. I've come to really value my Monday EA runs (Coach told me in my very first plan that I would, but it took switching to five days/week to really get it). It was a treadmill run, and uneventful. Same with Tuesday.
Wednesday's speed run was definitely daunting. I've run that fast before in races, but never that much in training. I was working from home that day because I was cutting out early to head to the airport, and we had just had a roofing contractor come in to confirm what we already knew (but still didn't want to hear): we need a new roof. Bye bye, dollars... the idea of you was nice. Anyways, between that and some other family stuff (ailing grandparent back in California), it's been stressful, so the run was needed. It was tough. And in my house, it's always the toughest part of the run that someone decides they need to come talk to me about something inane when I really want to be focused and in the zone. This time, it was my dad coming out to tell me about his grocery list. Right in the middle of my 1600. Anyways, I got through it and the rest of the run. Sitting on the very long cross-country flight later that night, I was really glad I had decided to move my run up and get it done that morning. It made sitting for six hours much more tolerable.
My Friday run was by far one of my favorite runs ever. My mom lives about a quarter of a mile from AT&T Park in San Francisco (where the SF Giants play). The Giants are my team (though I do love the Nats, too), and I love the ballpark. It's right on the water and it's just gorgeous. So I ran down there, ran by the park, ran through McCovey Cove, and then continued along the waterfront. I hit the halfway point and was genuinely sad that it was time to turn around. Ran back up, along the marina, around the ball park, and back up to her apartment. I ended up going a little long. And I went WAY too fast for my scheduled pace. But the run felt nice and easy (not sure if it was the air, the elevation, or just that I was so happy to be out on that run), so I'm not sweating the overrun too much.
Here are a couple of gorgeous shots from that run:
Saturday, I did the same route past the ballpark. Some headwind that time, which made it a tougher run. And
@MoanasPapa called me in the middle of the run because my kiddo, who was sick and had to be taken to urgent care on Friday (cue the mom guilt: I was across the country), was asking for me. (She's ok: ear infection and bronchiolitis. Already doing better and back to daycare today.) I also had to cut this run short because I needed to get back and shower so that I could take my mom to Fleet Feet to help her get fitted for a good pair of shoes. I was sad to cut it short since I love the route, but it was the right call. And I have plenty of time in the training plan left, so I don't think the loss of a few miles is going to derail me. I did do this one blind and was too fast by over a full minute. I need to get outside more, my internal pacing is way off.
This week is supposed to be nice. I got to run outside yesterday. I anticipated some stomach trouble this AM so I did the treadmill. Speed workout on Thursday will depend on the rain, but will hopefully be outside. We'll see from there. One thing I'll say is that
I'm tired. Five days a week of running has made a big difference in terms of my overall fatigue. It isn't insurmountable, but it's definitely noticeable. I've got an off-day tomorrow and will be happy to rest.