MONDAY: 5K at race pace. The course I chose was an old race course that use to give me problems. It has 2 major hills and 2 smaller hills that are guaranteed to tire out your legs. In previous races on the course my best time was 23:14. Monday I ran it in 22:12. I had to tell myself a few times to keep going and not give up. I never looked at my time until I was finished and after I saw my time instead of getting happy for a PR on the course, I immediately said "I could of went faster". It's moments like these that are showing me my improvements.
TUESDAY: GYM DAY: All day I knew I was going to the gym and all day I kept getting depressed because I knew the treadmill would hurt my shins. I am not sure if this is a mental thing or if at times it just kills my shins. I decided I needed to pull something out that might make me not think and just run. Enter my Nike shoes I purchased months ago and have had them waiting in the wings to get back on my feet and get ready for some races. Armed with the Nike's on my feet I made the treadmill my bitch. 4 miles at a 8:00 pace, followed by a great leg workout. These shoes will be worn for the great race and for the Buffalo Creek Half Marathon.
WEDNESDAY: 5 miles on a very hard hilly course. This run went good as far as the running part but about 1 mile into the run I got hit the BG'S. What is the BG's you ask? That is the bubble guts. My stomach started to rumble and make all types of odd noises. I happened to be in a place with no bathrooms in sight, however there was a nice set of woods. I don't need to go into detail but lets just say I started this run with 2 sleeves on my shirt and when I got done I was wearing a sleeveless shirt.
Rather than that little mishap the run went pretty good.
THURSDAY: HILL WORKOUT: I found a grass hill that is about 300 meters straight up. I would sprint up the hill and jog back down. There was no resting and by the end of it I thought I was going to collapse. I never gave up though, and I just kept telling myself the race I am training is all down hill so imagine how fast I will be able to go if I am training running up hills.
FRIDAY: REST DAY: Most weeks I don't need a rest day, but this day felt so nice since I really pushed my legs during most runs. I still had to cut the grass so it's not like I was just sitting and resting them though.
SATURDAY: LONG RUN: 10 miles at about 75 percent speed. My legs felt heavy for the first 2 miles but once they got loose I was really feeling good. The course I ran was not an easy one which made it even better. Anytime I felt the urge to stop I was able to push through and keep going. It was a huge confidence booster as the weeks start to get closer to race day.
SUNDAY: By the time you read this I will be either driving too or I will be in Charleston, South Carolina. Amanda and I are finally going on a much needed vacation this year. I will have to use this day as a rest day since we will be driving most of the day, but I am not mad at all. Don't expect another post from me until next Monday. I will still be reading all my favorite blogs and commenting through out the week, but I am not going to take time out of my vacation to write my own. Don't worry my running gear is packed and I am ready for some good beach running.
What I took away from this hard week was, I am ready! There is still room for improvement up until the race, but I am already in the mind set that this race is going to be a special one for me. Every week I plan on throwing in courses that make me work hard until the end of the run. One thing I lost in previous races was my mental toughness, I trained for the physical part but not the mental part. This time around I am working on both, and I expect a better outcome that past races.
How was your week?
How you handle training with vacation?
