Hey there!

So usually I do my running week recap posts on Mondays, but yesterday was the Boston Marathon, so I’m resuming regularly scheduled programming today. 😉

My week was a little different in terms of training since I was working on the weekend. I still got some awesome runs in though, and the warmer weather is giving me a serious mental boost.

How I feel about 60’s and sunny

Monday – Rest day. My legs were feeling a little tired after Sunday’s 5k + 6 additional miles. I went to yoga in the evening, so it was just a nice, relaxing day.

Tuesday – 5 miles at 8:46/mile. The yoga must have helped because my legs were feeling refreshed and ready to go!

Wednesday – I went to the hour-long barbell strength class in the morning and then ran 3 miles on the treadmill afterwards. As much as this class kicks my butt, I love it. I was a lot less sore the second time around, so I think that’s a good sign that my muscles are adjusting and I’m getting more comfortable with the moves.

Thursday/Friday/Saturday – I worked long days at the expo, so didn’t actually do any running. I was surrounded by all things running-related though, so that was pretty darn awesome. I definitely soaked up some Boston Marathon inspiration, which helped me on Sunday’s long run.

Sunday – 11 miles at 9:01/mile. The weather for this run was PERFECT. It was sunny and just cool enough in the low 60’s with a gentle breeze. I decided to push myself to try to maintain a faster pace than I typically go for on long runs, since I have been running sub 9-minute miles more often lately (thank you GPS watch!). This worked perfectly for the first 5 miles, with my pace ranging from around 8:45/mile to 8:58/mile. Then, I got a little tired and the hills on my route definitely got the better of me, with my pace dropping to around 9:15-9:20. But when I got to mile 10, my average pace was right around 9:03/mile. That was so darn close to sub-9! So I decided to push like crazy on the last mile to see if I could single-handedly drop my average with one final, fast mile. The last mile of my route also included a long, steep hill so this was not exactly easy. I managed to pull off an 8:39 minute-mile (not too shabby at all for already having 10 miles under my belt), but it wasn’t quite enough to drop my average pace below 9 min/mile.

Oh well. I can’t be too bummed when I’ve never run that fast for that distance on just a regular training run (it’s usually the excitement of a half marathon that motivates me to keep running fast when I’ve already gone a long distance). After, I stretched in the sunshine with Keeper a little (she loves to sunbathe and I think she might be just as excited about the warm weather as I am.)

I just realized my workout capris weirdly resemble jeans in the lighting in this picture. Trust me, I didn’t run 11 miles in jeans. 🙂

My mom also ran 12 miles (we went separately so we could go at our own paces). I think the two of us will be in good shape for Providence (our 11th half marathon!!) in a few weeks!

So another solid training week overall. This week begins the taper before the race, so the hard work is mostly done now.

How was your week? Are you getting excited for spring races too?