Eat Drink Run Woman

This week’s theme: “I think I can, I think I can, oh maybe not, oh yes I can! but then again perhaps not, but on the other hand…”

Given the tough workout last week, I wanted to scale things back a bit this week. Mind you, I didn’t skimp on my mileage; I just chose routes that were easy and flat (okay, so MOST of them were easy and flat). I also made sure my core work wouldn’t leave me spent for my speed work.

The biggest boost this week? The weather! Pretty much the entire week was glorious: blue skies; few clouds crisp, cool air. Studies have shown that us Pacific Northwesterners are vitamin D deficient due to the lack of sun, but this week we all came out in droves to soak it in.

Sunday: rest day (I toyed with hitting the pool for a few laps, but instead got engrossed in creating my Medoc shadowbox).

Monday: Arms, abs, stretching (and lunges!). 8-mile lactate threshold run w/4 miles @ 15K-half marathon pace. For this run I ran 2 miles at a very relaxed pace, then picked it up for 4 miles. My goal was to run at a 8:52 pace (my estimated 15K pace). Just as I got to Greenlake I saw my darling, who was in the midst of his own LT run. Since he had run fairly hard he decided to join me for the remainder of his run.

Although I intended to run slower, I was a bit dismayed to see I was averaging about a 9:45 – 10 min. pace; I felt I was running much faster! I didn’t think this would bode well for my speed work, so I decided I’d be happy if I could average an 8:52 – 9:04 pace (the latter being my half marathon pace). When I got to 2 miles I hit the lap button on my Garmin and picked up the pace. I was determined to just run what felt comfortable, albeit fast; I wouldn’t keep checking my progress on Garmin.

A half mile into my speed work my darling had to make a potty stop, so we bid each other adieu. At that point I noticed a runner approximately 100 meters in front of me, running about the same pace. I was determined to pass him at some point, but I also didn’t want to speed up too quickly for fear I’d bonk at the end. As we wound our way around the lake I’d get close, but then he’d speed up and increase the gap. I’m sure I vexed him as much as he vexed me. I finally hit mile 4 and exited the outer loop for a nice leisurely jog along the inner loop (I’m sure my tormentor was more than happy to see me go).

Given it was not only a holiday, but a sunny day to boot, I knew the inner loop would be packed. It didn’t bother me for the first mile since I wanted to cool down from my speed work, but the crowds soon became unbearable. I headed back out to the outer loop to finish out my run. When I downloaded my run upon returning home I was shocked to see what my average pace was for my speed work: 8:46! Goes to show what you’re capable of if you take things slow in the beginning.

Tuesday: yoga. Last week I was Miss Creaky-grumblepants, but this week I felt much more flexible. I even was able to do the triangle! Granted, it was only for a few seconds, but I was proud. I was like a little kid excitedly yelling to her parents: “Look at me! Look at me!” That afternoon I ran a 4-mile loop around Greenlake at a 10:07 pace.

Wednesday: Arm weights; 11.5-mile general aerobic run. The schedule called for 10 miles, but since I bagged on a 5-mile recovery run the week before, I figured I should make up for some of it. Besides, I also had signed up for the ASICS 100 miles/month challenge on MapMyRun, and I was 11.5 miles from my goal (I would have felt silly only entering 10 miles for the day). I kept a rather slow pace (9:56 average), but I included the almost mile-long Stone Way hill.

Thursday: core work, stretching (and yes, more lunges).

Friday: arms, abs, core work. A 4-mile recovery run was on the docket, but since I’ll be racing the Mercer Island half — which features rolling hills throughout the course — I decided to do some more hill work in Woodland Park. I probably pushed it a bit too much as my right groin was rather sore afterwards.

Saturday: 14-mile long run. This was the kind of day when I kept telling myself, “I LOVE living in Seattle!” Yes, it frequently rains here. But when it’s sunny the city is truly breathtaking. My darling and I drove down to Seward Park where we looped around the park. We then headed north on Lake Washington Blvd. Not surprisingly, there were plenty of bikers and runners along the route. Because my darling is also training to BQ we parted ways at the halfway point so that he could speed up to the finish. But I wasn’t too terribly far behind him — only 12 minutes. The run left us both feeling spent, but we were able to rally to walk to our local pub for some fish & chips and beer.