Weekly Recap

I had a great week of running.  I ran almost 20 miles, which is definitely a high for the last two years!

After my long run Monday, I worked 16 hours on Tuesday and didn't get home until 4AM.  I debated running on Wednesday, but my sister (wisely) talked me out of it.  So I ran on Thursday with Pete and B:

Not bad for a stroller run.  And yay negative splits!

I also ran on Friday.  I never run two days in a row.  When I trained for my marathon, I was convinced it was the only way I'd be able to finish.  So I just told myself I couldn't do it.  Now that I'm a firm believer in stretching and foam rolling, I wanted to try it.  And I needed to get the miles in for training.  So I set out to do an easy 3 miles with the stroller.  I literally didn't even look at my Garmin until after it chirped 3 miles.  I was at 3.2, so figured I'd just do 3.5.  I ran entirely by feel and had a decent run with my two buddies:

Really, what's with the negative splits?

I worked 12 hours on Saturday, and despite the fact that I was super busy, all I could think about was my run on Sunday.  I was equal parts nervous and excited.  I knew it would push my mileage for the week, but I really wanted to get in a good run.  I thought my training plan called for 6, but it really only called for 5.  I woke up not feeling the run.  It was "feels like 28" and windy.  When I stepped outside with B (no stroller!) I thought I was way overdressed, because it didn't feel that cold.  Then the wind kicked in. And I alternated between freezing and sweating.  And for miles 2-4.5, I was cursing the wind, running and everything in between.  I felt like I was literally fighting for every step, let alone every mile.  Again, I chose not to look at my Garmin.  I needed to run by feel alone.  So when it chirped at 5 miles, I was relieved.  I was kinda far from home though (I was too lazy to walk that far), so I figured I'd run to the end of the street.  When I got there, I'd hit 5.4 miles so I figured I'd just make it 5.5:

All things considered?  Not too shabby.

I was happy because the run ended on a positive note.  But I'd like my happiness not to be so pace-dependent.  I kept telling myself that I'd be happy no matter what because I pushed through a tough run and finished.  But I was also relieved to see sub-10:00/miles.  And yet I'm also disappointed that I know I won't PR at the half in May.  I ran a flat 9:00 pace and that was only because I'd ran a marathon 3 weeks before and had some serious mileage (for me) built up.  

Either way, I'm happy about my week of running.  I'm petrified my IT band is going to give out at some point soon.  But I managed the 5.5 on Sunday with only a little discomfort.  And after 3 miles, I barely noticed it. Foam rolling is key, I think.  In fact, I should go do it right now!