Workout Recap 7/6 – 7/12

Whoa. First weekly recap since 6/1 – 6/7. Nothing like a month totally off of running to start a training cycle. YIKES.

To be honest, I’m still a little irritated with my training. I’m still just waiting for something to “click“. I’m really hoping it happens soon. So let’s look back at this weeks of training. While it’s easy for me to look at where I want to improve, it’s important I remember how I was feeling three weeks ago and how little I was able to run. So let’s get to it.

Monday:
I took an extra day off for the holiday weekend, and it was absolutely incredible. I did nothing productive, just lounged around (good for the soul right??) and had a short, easy run to shake out my legs after a day of car travel.
AM Run (8.00 miles, 7’48” pace):

Tuesday:
AM: Had planned for a morning run, but after a tough Monday night, I favored sleep over a short run. Had a relaxing morning making breakfast for the week, and watched some Cake Boss. I feel like it’s a bit more informative than the news….
PM Run (5.01 miles, 7’10” pace) & 30 minute Upper Body Lift: My triumphant (not so triumphant) return to RunClub. It’s always so nice to have extra motivation of getting a workout in. Without others holding me accountable, I probably would not have worked out today. The humidity was disgusting (90 something % = ew) and the heat was horrible. But I got it done, and was satisfied with my workout.

Wednesday:
AM Run (5.31 miles, 8’25” pace) & 30 Minute Plyo Training: Easy recovery run before work, and 30 minutes of Plyo’s post work. I want to continue working on core strength, flexibility, and toning, so I am hoping to keep up with cross training on shorter run days.

Thursday:
AM Run (7.5 miles, 8’12” pace): Easy, relaxed run before work.

Friday:
AM Run (5.5 miles, 8’18” pace): I contemplated not running today. But with a long night ahead of me, I wanted to get a little activity in as nothing drives me more crazy then FEELING sedentary all day.

Saturday:
AM Run (5.3 miles, pace 7’59”): LOL. The long run that didn’t happen. Although Lance and I had plans to run together, at 10:00PM last night as I danced away to Dispatch, I made the executive decision to take a rain check. I find quality long runs to be important for my training so there was no reason to slog through a run, at a less than stellar pace, and potentially having to cut it short. So I bumped the long run to Sunday and did a short, easy run this AM before hitting the beach.

Sunday:
AM Run (11.0 miles, pace 7’47”):FINALLY. I hate pushing back my long runs, but I’m so happy I finally got it done. I swear when I move my long run to Sunday, I always feel like I should just skip it and try again next week. But if I’ve learned anything, skipping runs early on during a training cycle only leads to injury and overuse later on.

I finished this week with 2 days cross training, one day of stretching (Sunday – go me!), and about 47.5 miles of running. I’m hoping to focus on speed next week, a quality long run (ON SATURDAY), and ideally a double run on Tuesday. And of course continue with my two days of cross training.

I hope you all had a fabulous week of running and an even better weekend! I will catch up with you all tomorrow to talk about my Marvelous Monday : )

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Did anyone race this weekend?

Have you ever incorporated a short race into the end of a long run? I try to finish with local 5Ks or 5 milers for the end of my long runs in the summer. Learning to race and finish fast on tired legs has helped me finish the last 6 of a marathon strong.