This week was great to enjoy time with family and take a step back from all the work stress. I had a ton of fun, and I consciously noticed how rejuvenated I felt when I got back home today. Don't get me wrong, I would love another day or two off, but I'm in a much better mental place than I was on Tuesday.
It's a bummer I have to transition right from a holiday to close, but hopefully some lingering issues will get resolved in the next couple days and I can move on. (Plus only 12 work days until I take some more vacation time!)
I'm happy with how I was able to fit all my workouts in this week, despite the travel and new environments. I had to do a little rearranging, but it really made me appreciate how flexible RLRF is (since Hanson's was the polar opposite). I still got everything in and never ran two days in a row, so I will give myself top marks.
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| Yep, this is totally me now. |
500 yd swim
It was back to alternating kick and swim sets. I feel like I've finally built my swimming fitness back up, which is good since my swim distance is more than doubling this coming week.
Tuesday, November 25
lunch - lift
PM - 1 mi WU, 3 mi @ 8:37 w/ 400 jogs, 1 mi CD - 5.75 mi total
I had been dreading the mile repeats all day, but I reminded myself that I had permission to back off once I was spent. I accidentally ran the first mile way too fast (I miscalculated the lap splits for the indoor track), which hurt me for the second two miles, but it showed me how much my mind gets in my own way. I didn't have any real confidence I could do the repeat in 8:35, like the plan called for, but I banged one out at 8:22. The following pain was almost worth seeing that.
Wednesday, November 26
lunch - 500 yd swim
PM - lift
I got early dismissal from work at 12, and I think the whole world did as well, because the pool was far more crowded than I've ever seen it as lunch. There was only one slower person there, so I managed to just get into a lane share with her, instead of the hardcore dudes flying around.
I'm not sure how useful it was to lift two days in a row, but I really wanted to do it twice, and this was pretty much the only way to make it happen.
Thursday, November 27
Turkey Trot for a Cause @ 29:15, 6 mi total
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| I don't have any pictures from this year yet, so just imagine. |
As luck would have it, Thanksgiving fell on my tempo run day, and I had three miles on the schedule. We got to the race early so I could do my warm-up (I felt like such a real runner doing a warm-up before a 5K!), and my parents dropped me off on the way back to their house so I could run my cool down. My goal was to pace Eager Feet Dad to a sub-30 5K, and he crushed it with a 29:15! I'm so proud of him, I know it wasn't easy. It was also a great indicator to me of what kind of shape I'm in. I don't think I could PR in the 5K today, but I'm getting closer.
Friday, November 28
rest
I went Black Friday shopping (for the first time!) at some running stores and manged to score a new pair of capris for 75% off! My old pair is super stretched out, and I've really wanted new ones, and I'm super happy with the deal I got.
Saturday, November 29
18 mi long, 10:57 min/mile
I got my butt out of bed relatively early Saturday morning to get my long run done before the Michigan/Ohio State game. Michael's aunt and uncle live less than a mile from a metropark, so I was able to try out a new running path. The park was beautiful, and the new scenery really helped take my mind off things!
Michael had six miles on the schedule, so I ran the first 12 and then met up with him. Breaking the run up that way really helped me tackle it mentally. The run had over 600 feet of elevation gain (a typical long run for me at home has less than 100), so I'm super proud of myself for beating my time goal by a minute.
Sunday, November 30
Flow for the Shoulders & Hip Flexor Heaven
I discovered these two yoga videos when I was taking my short break after Stone Bridge. Between them, they target all my problem areas, and I feel like I have a brand new body when I'm done. The chiro always tells me to work on my hip flexors, and that second video almost brings me to tears with its intensity. I missed going to my normal class, but it was nice to spend a little more time with my parents before heading home.
Run Miles: 29.9
Swim Miles: .6
Lifting Time: 42 mins
Yoga Time: 1 hr, 14 mins
Total Time: 7:59
I'll be back to not knowing exactly when I'll be able to leave work again this week, so I need to really kick my own butt again and get my runs done in the morning. After Thursdays things should quiet down, so I just need to push through a few days. We're scheduled to go back down to some colder temperatures, but no snow, so I'm crossing my fingers that I will be able to head outside.
While fun, this past week was a bit of a holiday whirlwind, so I also want to focus on getting enough sleep. Sometimes it's hard because I want time to wind down if I get home from work late, but I often fall into a trap where "winding down" means fooling around doing nonsense and then going to bed late. I work my best and run my best when I'm well-rested - besides just being a much more pleasant person overall - so I want to be conscious of my efforts in this area. Luckily I have this cute face to help me out.
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