Pushing through.

Monday
Planned: run
Did: 4.51 mi @ 8:35/mi avg
Played the dangerous game again by saving my workout til the end of the day. Knowing it was the last non-rainy day of the week was good motivation, though. Got out on the trails at work and enjoyed the mild temperatures before the rain moves in.

Tuesday
Planned: run (track or treadmill)
Did: 6.2 mi treadmill 4x 1mi repeats
Mile repeats on the treadmill today for #10kTuesday. Splits for the repeats got progressively faster (intentional) - 7:24, 7:23, 7:15, 7:03. This actually felt GREAT to run fast, and I know if I'm going to work towards a 5k PR I'll need to get these to an even better place. Trying to not push too much given my hamstring issues - they're still nagging and of course the advice is "rest it". 😏 Did some stretching afterwards.

Wednesday
Planned: gym
Did: rest
Today was full of work emergencies.

Thursday
Planned: rest
Did: 5.0 mi treadmill intervals @ 8:26/mi avg
3x 3x 400m on the treadmill at the end of the workday. Man I was exhausted from the day (morning seminar and an afternoon full of meetings and emergencies) but glad I got this run in. Progression of 3x400m from 10k pace to 1M pace.
3x 400m at 10k pace - 1:51, 1:51, 1:50
3x 400m at 5k pace - 1:47, 1:46, 1:46
3x 400m at 1M pace - 1:39, 1:39, 1:38


Friday
Planned: strength train
Did: 52 min strength
Good gym session today (actually made it down in the morning) and I'm sure I'll be sore tomorrow.

Saturday
Planned: early run
Did: 9.33 mi @ 8:36/mi avg
Had originally planned to meet the downtown group, but when only Matt and I wanted to run, we opted to meet up closer to the TR side of town. He proposed Altamont Rd on Friday night and I was iffy, but by the time we met up Saturday right at dawn, I decided we should go for it. We warmed up with a loop around the Furman lake, then headed up the climb on Paris Mountain. It was a slow ascent for me (22:14) or so it felt, but I made up my mind it was going to happen without stopping to walk. Barely made it, since my glutes, quads, and hammies are all sore from lifting yesterday. Took a short break at the top, then started descending. I did pause at a spot I'd noted on the way up that caught the morning sunlight just right. 

Good morning, Paris. 

Matt was far ahead of me on the way down, and he caught a few action shots towards the bottom.

Downhill!

Flyin' high

It was a great run, perfect temps (mid-30s), beautiful sunshine. And a hard run that I needed - felt good to push myself!

Sunday
Planned: group run or bike
Did: 5.77 mi @ 9:11/mi run + 9 mi bike ride
Ran with the Sunday Morning crew at Swamp Rabbit Grocery. Scott joined us today and I pushed D in the stroller. Just a short run (most folks went ~6 mi) but chilly and sunny made it enjoyable. My legs were definitely sore and tired from yesterday's efforts. After we ran, I got the opportunity for a quick spin on the bike and rode home via the trail. Took a loop through Furman just to get a couple more miles, but didn't mind when the ride was over.


Week-ending thoughts:
Wow, I actually exceeded 30 miles this week... no wonder my legs are "talking" to me! I do like the higher mileage, and I feel great around the 25-30 mpw mark. More than that takes some concerted effort, but I feel pretty great knowing I can achieve that mileage without really "trying" to.

Also I think it's time to put an actual plan on the calendar for the Zoom through the Zoo 5k where I'm planning my first PR effort. I'm thinking it'll be an 8-week plan, which should kick off on 3/16. One more week til that gets going!