Training Summary: December 19 - 25

I feel good about how this week went. I added some speed work with hills and a tempo run. Although I wish I was running a little faster at this point, it is what it is and I have to start somewhere. I am ending the week kind of sore, but I think it is from the cross-fit class on Saturday because the muscles that are usually sore feel fine. It's good to shock the system every now and then, I guess. 


TOTAL: 49.7 miles  

12/19 (Monday) - 7 mile easy run PM
After a long, stressful day of sitting behind my desk - basically from 7am to 5pm - I was ready to run. I got a lot of big projects out of the way, so I can finally relax for a few days. I have decided to start wearing my Garmin again this week but vow not to race it. I wasn't even going to look at it during my run, but I was so curious as to what pace I was running. What is EASY for me? I really want to focus on these easy runs and running them as so. I am going to get injured if I don't. It's as simple as that. I ended up running the first 3 miles between an 8:34-8:40 pace, then the next 3 between 8:23-8:26 and my last mile was 8:17. To be honest, it probably wasn't as "easy" as it should have been, but I felt good and ran relaxed.
12/20 (Tuesday) - Hill Workout AM/Yoga PM
Today was my first Hill workout and it was a blast! I was a little nervous because I had no idea what to expect from myself - physically - but, I did ok for my first time out. I pretty much pushed it to my limit with my lungs, but was able to stabilize my breathing pretty quickly after each hill which was good. By Hill 5, I wasn't sure if I would be able to do another one, but Cheryl kept me motivated and I finished with Hill 6 strong. I am glad we only did 6, but I bet I could have eeked another one out.  I went to a Flow Yoga class after work. Even though my muscles were feeling pretty sore during the class, I woke up on Wednesday morning feeling great. A little tightness in my calf, but after I got moving, it was fine.

12/21 (Wednesday) - 1 hr 45 minute pool run AM
I pool ran this morning with Tim and Allison. I felt so loose and relaxed when I got out of the pool. I was so hungry by the end of the run, I could have eaten my flip flop. I waited and had my tasty yogurt parfait when I got to work :-)
12/22 (Thursday) - 9 mile easy run AM/Yoga PM
I was tired this morning and set out for 8 easy miles. It was so beautiful out though, I decided to go for 9. I really could have worn shorts this morning - it was that warm. I keep loading up on my cold weather gear because I am really going to try to NOT run on the treadmill this winter. I did too much of that last year and it took a month or two to readjust to the pavement. I will take these 50 degree mornings any day though! I attended a Fast Flow Yoga class this evening. It was awesome. I actually held my handstand for 2 minutes. It wasn't even a hot yoga class and I was sweating while in the handstand. I love being upside down for some reason. 
12/23 (Friday) - Tempo run AM
I was very nervous for this workout. Like "race nervous" and "I couldn't eat anything before the run nervous." Silly, I know. Again, like the hills, I just didn't know what to expect from myself. I had not run a sub-8 minute mile in months. We did about a 1.5 mile warm up, then 2 x 2 mile tempos, with 1/2 mile jog in between and then a 1 mile cool down. I ran the first 2 miles in about 14:25 and my second 2 miles in about 14:40. I need to get that down to 14:06. I obviously have a lot of work to do. I am not afraid though. I gave 100% to the workout and will keep pushing. I have to start somewhere. George made an interesting observation - I guess when I get tired, my arms start crossing in front of me. It's good to be aware of that and remember to push forward. 
12/24 (Saturday) - Cross-fit AM/7 mile easy run PM
I flew into West Palm Beach to spend Christmas with my sister, Jocelyn, yesterday. I am so proud of Joc. She is really dedicated to her cross-fit classes, so I thought I would give it a try with her this morning. Those people are hardcore. I pushed it, but not too hard. The last thing I need is to get injured doing dead lifts or some other crazy exercise. Joc and I are kind of... um...competitive...so when it came time to run 200 meters, do X numbers of burpees (my first ever today), flip a flipping tire(?) or 110 jump rope "double unders"...it became a rather fierce contest followed by rolling on the ground laughter. We had breakfast, got mani-pedis and then I headed out for an easy 7 miles. It was wonderfully warm, without a cloud in the sky. There was no reason not to go. I averaged about an 8:21 pace. I looked like I jumped in a pool when I was finished. It felt so great.
12/25 (Sunday) - 13.2 mile run AM/Yoga
I was only planning on running 12 miles this morning and thought I mapped it out correctly. Apparently not. The good news is that I started slow (first 4 miles: 9:15-9:20 pace), picked it up a bit (next 4 miles: 8:35-8:40 pace) and then finished the last 5 miles at an 8:15-8:20 pace. It was pretty tough but I am not used to running in 75 degree temps with 80% humidity - and that was at 7:30am. I ran a beautiful route through Singer Island. Joc and I had breakfast, then took a restorative-type of yoga class. It was perfect.

Pretty route through Singer Island.

Also ran through John D. MacArthur Park - one of my favs.