Week in Review: Training Week 7

Before I get into the review, I thought I'd quickly update the water bottle dilemma from last week (because I'm SURE you were all dying to know). I ended up getting the Aphiphod Full-Tilt Velocity waist pack--oh, who am I kidding--FANNY PACK holder thingamabob. It came highly recommended by the woman at the running store and it seemed to fit all my requirements without being too excessive. I wore it on Saturday's long run and LOVED it. And I ended up getting the pink one, because that's what happens when you let your preschool-age daughter help you pick it out. ;)

Also, a shout out to my friend M who absolutely ROCKED her sprint tri on Sunday!

A quick glance at my training spreadsheet shows GREEN across the board, which means I hit all my workouts last week! Yay! And I can't believe Week 7 is already behind me. Yowza.

• Sunday: I have it marked off as completed, but I have no recollection of what I did! It was a strength/stretch workout, and I vaguely recall doing a DVD, but that's all my pea-sized brain is remembering at the moment.
• Monday: Run--4.3 miles, 45 minutes, 10:26ish pace: Ah, yes. The first of my "just get it over with" runs this week. It was cold and my legs were tight and tired and I never found my groove. Looking back at my time, I see I held a pretty good pace, but I know I was miserable, and not in a "hurts so good" kind of miserable.
• Tuesday: Strength--Heard about a "card deck" workout from one of my BBC Running Mamas and decided to try it out. Yowza. The great thing about this workout style is that you decide WHAT to do and the deck decides how much to do. It gives you choice AND keeps you on track at the same time. I ended up doing 42 curl/press combos, 64 burpees, 74 shoulder combos and 83 push ups. All with 8 pound weights. My arms were dead. But it was a great workout!
• Wednesday: Run--5 miles, 54 minutes, 10:43ish pace: I ran from Ash Wednesday service back home, which takes me from the flat part of town back to the top of the highest part of town. It was cold and dark and windy, but I did it. I wasn't happy most of the time, but I did it.
• Thursday: Cross training--Spin 40 mins: The usual spin class, the last one before our two-week break. A good class as usual! Nothing out of the ordinary.
• Friday: Rest day! Always the easiest day to complete.
• Saturday: Run--7 miles! 1:16, 10:57 pace: I can't really complain about this run at all. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, I had my new water bottle, my iPod and a great attitude. I was amped just enough to get me excited to go (not so much that I was nervous). Not to say I didn't struggle at times--my right ankle/foot started hurting around mile 4 or 5 and my legs were tired about that time too. I hit a mini-wall about mile 6, but I snarfed a couple of fruit snacks (the poor man's energy chews) and realized I had less than a mile to go and got just enough of a second wind to finish strong! And then I rewarded myself with a smoothie and buttered soft pretzel while I waited for the Hubster to come pick me up. Not sure that's on the list of approved recovery foods, but it was good and dammit, I'd earned it!
  

So happy to have ended the week on a high note with a great long run. My friend M was right--each week I am amazed that I have been able to complete a new longer run at distances I'd never thought I'd do. I still get a little concerned when I realize I basically have to do two of Saturday's long runs back-to-back in order to complete the half, but I also know that by the time that happens I'll be ready for it. That's why the half is in 4 weeks and not last week!

I'm looking forward to another strong week of training this week. Weather should be good once we get past today and I'm ready for more great workouts and new long distances to mark off the schedule.