Week 2 ~ Feelin It

As I was getting ready to start this post, I couldn't for the life of me remember how this week started weather wise, so I logged into Dailymile to look at notes and had a chuckle.  Anyone living north of the Ohio river might as well forget about how glorious it was earlier in the week , as we just got dumped on with a thick blanket of white last night!

Monday-5 Miles Tempo
Actual-5 Miles @ 8:47P

My first tempo of the year!  My middle three miles were 8:08, 8:28, 8:20.  I felt they were a little slow, however, I was contending with some serious wind.  I have been looking forward to some actual workouts and this certainly fit the bill.

I thoroughly enjoyed lightening the load of clothes required to run outside over the winter months.  The city had been thawing out for a few days prior so I had no problem finding some puddles and mud to drag my new flashy kicks through  :)  

Tues-XT
Abs and Stretching DVD-25mins

I'm going to start mixing in some strength training and ab work now that my neck fells back to 100%

Wed-4 Miles w/hills
 Actual- 4 Miles w/hills @ 9:05P

Again, the tease of spring was in the air, allowing me to dig through drawers to find my running capris.  It felt so wonderful not to have to grab my windbreaker, my fleece, or gloves.  The sun was shining and it felt great!  I took to the Mt. Hope Cemetery to incorporate some hills in this run.  It's .6 miles to the entrance so I finagled two 1.4 mile loops in the cemetery and then the .6 home.   The .6 home is hardly a cake walk since it's a gradual uphill climb, but it rounded out the workout nicely.  Following this run I was content with the decision not to run the Tombstone 10 (an annual 10x1 mile loop run) this past Saturday.  I just didn't have enough training under my belt to think it would have been successful.  I will look forward to another opportunity to run it next year.

Thurs-XT
Did another video...this time concentrating on abs and arms.

Friday-Rest


Sat-Ended up being rest....pushed my long run to Sunday.

Sunday-9miles Easy
Actual: 9 miles @ 9:25

Mapped out a new route for this one.   I was undecided on where to roam, so Jeff quickly gave me a suggestion or two as I was heading out the door.  I'm so glad I took his word, not that I question it, he has vast knowledge and wouldn't steer me into the hood.  Well, that's not entirely true...lol.  He kept me going on main roads and my confidence was vamped as I envisioned running down Washington Square, my favorite street in all of Lansing  :)    It was so cool to run Downtown on a Sunday morning.   I didn't have to worry about crazies zooming around mindlessly or stopping at crosswalks.  I did miss a turn and realized after checking out the skyline that I was on the wrong side of the capitol, but got back to where I needed to be effortlessly.   I took my new hand held water bottle and a Strawberry flavored Honey Stinger packet.  The water was a blessing, but I'm not so sure the honey thingy will  work for me.  I felt like a superhero for a quick minute...and then less enthused after 2 more miles.   After reading a fellow blogger's post earlier in the week I tried to concentrate on overall effort for the run.  I didn't look at my Garmin at all, rather thinking about form, cadence, and feel.  I felt like I gave a consistent effort throughout, and as expected, my pace was all over the place.  I'm ok with that!

Splits  9:38, 9:35, 9:34, 9:29, 9:19, 9:05, 9:32, 9:10, 9:38, (.3) 9:14



Weekly Total-18.38 Miles.



Overall it was a break through week for me.  Although the 2 goal-based workouts I had planned were more work than I had thought they would be, I felt like I was able to challenge myself for the first time since Thanksgiving.  The amount of icing I did this week was a great reminder also....Yikes!   My goal over the winter months was to keep a respectable mileage base....I did just that.   I realize I need to give myself a break on getting back into the nitty gritty of hills, tempos, and pace workouts.  My biggest hurdle, and it's one I struggle with all throughout my daily life, is making myself slow down and not cram too much into a small slot of time.  I am constantly wanting to do all things helpful and fun for others and end up leaving myself without time to do what I NEED to get done.   Going forward I have to take the time to rationally think about things without fully committing right off the bat.  I vow that I will be working on this so that everyone in the end is happy with the outcome...even me.



Peace and Blessings....

Jen B.

P.S.   Looking forward to a double digit long run next week.  More importantly, 6 Weeks until Martian Invasion!!!!