BCHM Training: Week 8

Happy last day of summer! This week was tough, and I'm not sure why. I ran on vacation and didn't take the week off, though, granted, I ran less than I should have. Did the decrease in mileage set me back? Maybe it's just adjusting to re-entry after vacation. Either way, I'm putting this week behind me and looking to the week ahead. A few notes...

On to the recap.

Monday
Morning: 35 minutes Iron Strength

Evening: 50 minutes Yin Yoga, spine series
Trying to do yoga with cats is hard!
Athleta Black Extra-Long Chi Tank & Grey Shiva Top
Lululemon Bruised Berry Wunder Under Crops

Tuesday
Morning:  4.5 miles, 50:52, 11:17 pace
This was my medium pace run, with a target range of 11:15-11:30 pace. I wasn't consistent in my pace (miles 1 and 3 were faster than that range, and miles 2 and 4were slower), and still had trouble getting into my breathing pattern grove. Plus, I was sore from the previous day's strength training workout, which I didn't do at all the week before when I was on vacation. It was 55 degrees though, which was nice.

Evening: Essential Yoga video from Runner's World

Wednesday
Morning: 3.61 miles, 40:03
My tempo run should have been 10:15-10:00-10:15, but I was nowhere near that. Instead, I did 10:17-10:20-11:15. Ugh. It was 52 degrees, and I was the only runner out in a skirt and short-sleeve top (everyone else had long-sleeve tops and tights), but I knew I'd heat up quickly.

Thursday
Morning: 3 miles, 35:15, 11:45 pace
Okay, this was a three-mile recovery run...and it was tough! Why??? It was 54 degrees.

Evening: 35 minutes Iron Strength

Friday
Rest day! I took a true rest day and didn't even do yoga. I really felt I needed it.

Saturday
5 miles, 54:43, 10:57 pace
This was my pace run, where I should target the 10:50-11:10 range. I've always looked forward to pace run days and have had no problems hitting the 11:00 pace, even when I was in Denver. If anything I felt that 11:00 was a bit slow and have had problems slowing down. Well. This run was tough. Halfway through it, my breathing became very labored, and I could see my heart rate was sky high--about as high as it gets on my speed days. WTF?! I've never had problems with this pace before. I miscalculated my turn-around point and got back to where I'd leave the trail at 4.5 miles and decided to give up. I was frustrated that it was so tough, and I was pretty much done with the run. So I stopped my watch and started walking, then told myself, "You're better than this." So after a quick walk break, I started running again and finished the 5 miles. I was pretty upset that it was so tough, but I don't want to assume this means I won't be able to run the race at this pace. It could have just been a bad run. I have a few more weeks of pace runs, and I'm not giving up on this pace yet. My splits were: 1: 10:48, 2: 10:59, 3: 10:46, 4: 11:06, 5: 11:05
Oiselle Burgen Vertical Drop Tank
Lululemon Pretty Purple All Sport Bra & Grey Mesh Bangbuster
Athleta Asphalt Relay Skort
Despite the tough run, Saturday was a great day. It was my 12th wedding anniversary! We picked that day to get married because it's always nice that weekend (we had an outdoors wedding), and this weekend was no exception. It was a beautiful day. We are usually on vacation to celebrate our anniversary, but this year it was nice just to relax at home, grill out, and have a fire pit. We spent some time going through our wedding pictures (still love them!) and updating our anniversary memory book.
September 20, 2002

Sunday
2:00, 10 miles, 12:02 pace
Though I approached this run with trepidation given how the week went, this was the best run of the week. I gave myself permission to go as slow as I needed to. I didn't have any problems, aside from a little boredom from running two hours by myself. I like to use my long run time to get into a meditative state, focus on my breathing, and be mindful and present...but two hours of that is a pretty long time. Who wants to start running with me? :-) It was 70 degrees but cloudy, breezy, and a little rainy, so it felt good. I ran my last mile about 45 seconds faster than previous miles, so I finished strong and felt good.

After the run I did some foam rolling and the Recovery Yoga video from Runner's World.
Complete soaked with sweat
Lululemon Zing Pink Light Energy Bra
Oiselle White Hail Mary Mesh Tank
Athleta Raspberry Relay Skort

Happy running and working out this week!

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