Week in Review: Training Week 6

We've reached the halfway point of training, which is hard to believe! Six weeks done, six more to go...

• Sunday: My very first 6-miler!! (6.12 miles, 1:09, 11:20 pace). And hey, my first hour-plus run. That's pretty cool! Anyway, it was a cold, wet, foggy day. Part of me was excited to get out and conquer this latest foe, another part was not particularly loving the weather. I debated waiting a few hours to see if the thick fog cleared, but I realized that was just an excuse, so I left right then. I took a new route from my house (it would ultimately intersect with a route I pretty often) and it brought a few hills and a loop through West Campus that I thought would NEVER end. I don't know why that loop completely killed my mental strength. Maybe because I didn't know the route and had no distance perspective? Who knows? I was simply happy when I was done with that segment. Another mile or so and I was back to my regular route, where I knew approximate distances and therefore had a better idea of what was ahead of me. And happily, after those first 2.5 miles or so, things went really smoothly. My legs were pretty tired at the end--and having to stop for a stoplight in the last half-mile didn't help, as they didn't want to go again once they'd stopped--but I finished. I FINISHED 6 MILES. And that erases any bad feelings from earlier in the run.
• Monday: Stretch/Strength--Easy Bob Harper DVD workout, TV yoga: Monday was supposed to be a 4 miler, but I wanted to rest my legs after the previous days' long run, so I did an easy strength/stretch option. Felt good! And it's always fun when Belly does yoga with me. :)
• Tuesday: 2 miles, 19:36, 10:09 pace. Needed to run, but didn't want to overdo it so I could do my 4 miles on Wednesday (still trying to get back on my regular schedule) and all I had time for was a quick 2 miler. But loved my finish time. A great run and a great pace! Sometimes a quickie is a good thing. ;)
• Wednesday: 4.11 miles, 43 mins, 10:20 pace--My regularly scheduled Wednesday run, my regularly run route. It was chilly and my legs were a bit stiff, but as usual, my super-awesome running playlist pulled me through the tough times. And I'm crazy stoked about my pace time!!
• Thursday: LPRD spin class--The usual spin class. It was a good class though--definitely harder than the norm!
• Friday: Rest. Ahhhh....
• Saturday: Local 5k race, 31:15 official (30:35 watch time), 10:04 official pace (9:56ish? watch pace). I've recapped the race here, but in short, it was freezing cold and absolutely awesome. It was totally the confidence boost I needed to head into another week of training!

Another week complete, another week closer to the race! I feel like this week was a really good week both in terms of training and in terms of confidence. Of course, that makes me wary of the fall--all good things must come to an end, right? And logically I know that not every week will be sunshine and rainbows, especially now that the mileage is creeping steadily upward. But still...a great week of running is something I accept fully. I'm enjoying it while I can!