Boston Training: Week 1 Summary

I feel really good about this week. It was a confidence booster. I feel like I have a baseline to start from now. The weather has certainly helped. Even though the beginning of the week started chilly, it  warmed up by the end of the week which is fantastic for January!


TOTAL: 46.3 land running miles; 22.5 pool miles

1/2 (Monday) - Pool Running 1 hour 45 minutes AM
I had the day off work today and a bunch of CAR runners were meeting at the pool to run anywhere between 7:30 and 9am. I got in the pool a little after 8am. Brrr. It was a fun, relaxed run. I still have to figure out how I am going to incorporate my pool running into my training. I really don't want to cut back on land miles.
1/3 (Tuesday) - Hill Workout
It was around 25 degrees when I started my warm up about 5:50am. It was chilly and a little windy but it could be a whole lot worse at this time of year. I will take it in early January! We did 6 loops around Iwo Jima. The first 3 felt really good. My legs started to feel a little jelly-like on the 4th. That is not surprising though. I do really like this workout! I did a quick cool down, logging a total of 8.47 miles for the day.  Those miles went by really fast!
1/4 (Wednesday) - 8.31 miles EASY AM
I woke up and immediately checked the weather. 14 degrees! Good thing I received all my cold weather running gear from RunningWarehouse.com yesterday. Perfect day to test it out. The only things that were super cold were my fingers on the hand that I was holding my light with. They hurt even 1 mile into my run. It is refreshing to run in the chilly weather though. I did not wear my watch again. I still haven't decided whether or not to take it on my easy days. It defeats me, but maybe I just need to get over it and trust that running slow on these days is the right thing to do. I want to run slow and recover, but not too slow which I fear may be the case.
1/5 (Thursday) - Pool Running 2 hours
I woke up sleepy this morning. Not tired. Sleepy. There is a difference. Sleepy is more mental in my book. I hit snooze once, but knew Cheryl would be at the pool at 5:30am sharp so that gave me extra motivation to get moving. Cristina and Amy also joined making the 2 hours fly by. I think at this point, I am going to aim to pool run on Thursdays with the option of also doing a Monday pool run if I feel up to it after my long run on Sundays. We will see how that goes.
1/6 (Friday) - Tempo
I was in bed by 9pm last night, but kind of tossed and turned all night. I need one really good nights sleep to get me back on track. The weather was just about perfect (for this time of year) at 6am - around 40 degrees. No wind. I did a 3 mile warm up, joining Melody {WillRunForMargaritas.com} for part of it and then the group convened. I had a 1 x 3 miles, 1 x 1 mile tempo w/ 5:00 recovery workout on the schedule. I am actually pretty happy with the run. It was hard, but felt good. I did the 3 miles in 21:49 (7:20; 7:18; 7:11) and the 1 mile in 7:05. I then did a 2 mile cool down and stretched. I haven't done yoga this week and feel it.
1/7 (Saturday) - 8.02 miles EASY AM

It's so great to be hanging around another runner who really gets it. Even when I am tired, as I was this morning, that other runner can say something right to motivate you and it becomes easier. I ran an easy 8 miles along the Mt. Vernon Trail towards Belle Haven. The weather was just about perfect - 60 degrees and sunny...in January! The trail was packed with cyclists and runners. I worry I may be running too slow on my easy days, but I started at a 9:16 pace and ended at an 8:39 pace. I wasn't worn out or physically spent so maybe I did it right.
1/8 (Sunday) - 12 miles LONG RUN AM
I ran with Mason and Emily {Speed Laces, Amazing Races} today - as well as with about 20+ CAR peeps starting at Carderock. I was pretty happy with the way the run went. Around the 2-3 mile mark, I was thinking that there was no way I was going to be able to keep up with those two. Then, at the 8 mile mark I told them that if they wanted to run ahead, I wouldn't be offended. I hate holding anyone back. I don't know why I said that because I was feeling good. We averaged an 8:15 pace. My first mile was 8:47, and my last mile was 7:43. The run boosted my confidence a little. I told George before the run that I wasn't sure that I would be physically able to do that progression-type of run. He said I could and especially if I ran with others. He was right.