Back At It

First I want to thank everyone for the notes I received last week about my Grandpa.....its comforting to know so many people care.

After my 9 day hiatus from running, I jumped back into my schedule last week and picked up exactly where I left off. Maybe not the smartest decision (probably should have eased back in), but I felt good none the less. It was a pretty high mileage week with lots of windy days....my favorite :)

Last Monday I took the day off from work because I was exhausted from all the travel the week before. Bryan and I slept in, relaxed on the couch, and started to clean up the mess that was our house....think skis, boots, and clothes everywhere! I headed out for a run that afternoon and covered 9.5 miles with an average pace of 8:57. Although I was not properly hydrated (I think I had more coffee and wine over the weekend then water!), it felt good to be out there and I took it easy, didn't worry about my pace, and just ran.

Tuesday was a 4 mile recovery run and man did I need it! Monday's run left me sore (mainly my inner thighs oddly enough??). Again....starting with a 9.5 mile run after 9 days off maybe wasn't the wisest decision.

Wednesday was a tempo run of 11 miles with 5 at my LT pace. Why oh why do my tempo runs always have to be windy?? I did a 3 mile warm up which was much needed to loosen up, followed by 5 miles at LT pace (8:02, 8:03, 7:58, 8:07, 8:08), and a 3 mile cool down. Take a guess which miles were INTO the wind? And of course it started raining at that point too! I walked in my house exhausted, but so glad that the run went well and was OVER!

Thursday was a crosstraining day so I did a 75 minute yoga class to stretch out and Friday I took as a rest day too....my left calf was a little tight so I wanted to give it an extra day of rest. Saturday was pouring out so I moved my long run to Sunday. Saturday I did 7 miles on the treadmill (averaged 8:51 pace)....I have I said how much I hate the treadmill??

Sunday morning John and I met up at Fitcorp for an 18.4 mile run.....although I think it should count as more miles than that since we were being blown backwards a few times!! The wind was so strong for the first half of the run that it would actually take your breath away....I heard later that the wind gusts got up to 53 MPH in Boston that morning -- Yikes! Both of us were struggling some during the first 7 miles, but then something clicked as we started back up the Comm. Ave hills in Newton. We both started feeling better and I think I finally got into a rhythm. After 12 miles I decided to pick up the pace some so John and I split up. I was very happy to finish the last 5 miles at 8:43, 8:29, 8:34, 8:29, 8:26, and 8:33 pace. My legs were feeling good, but my low back was stiff. I think running into the wind affects my posture. I just laid on the floor for a couple minutes when I got back to Fitcorp....a hard wood floor never felt so good before! I got home and sat in a frigid bath of 45 degrees for 13 minutes (while guzzling my coffee with two shirts on and a pair of socks!) to help my muscles recover faster....I don't know if the ice bath or the run is more painful but I really think it helps with soreness the next day :)

Overall it was a good week back! Total miles for the week = 49.7