Training week #3

7/2-7/8-  PRESCRIBED RECOVERY WEEK


Miles this week: 26 miles 

Monday 7/2- REST DAY


Tuesday 7/3- 4 miles
Easy paced. Stretching and abs after.

Wednesday 7/4- 7 miles
Freedom 4 mile race. 2 mile warm up. 4 mile race- 7:44, 7:42, 7:33, 7:59. 1 mile cool down.
The race had a large hill in the last mile- basically we went from the lowest point of the park to the highest point. I used my hill training from Capital Area Runners, dug deep, and finished strong....but my pace still slowed on that last mile. O well. I am still very happy with the race, in that I felt great and strong the whole 4 miles. (Even on the hill) It's no PR, but it's a mental victory and a confidence boosting run. I did also end up with 3rd place in my age group! (31:22)

Thursday 7/5- 0.6 mile swim
Easy free, pulls, and kicks. Stretching and abs after.

Friday 7/6- My birthday! 5 miles
Easy run w/ x3 accelerations to open the legs

Saturday 7/7- REST DAY (assigned) 
Recovery weeks are a definite challenge for this type A-OCD "need hard work outs/high mile weeks"athlete. I feel antsy!

The next 3 weeks will be a great challenge with my workouts, and I look forward to it!! :)

Sunday 7/8- 9.6 miles
Easy 3 mile warm up and stretching to loosen legs before beginning prescribed 5 miles at 8:20 average pace.
Prescribed 5 miles: (1)8:08 (2)8:01 (checked Garmin;slowed pace) (3)8:13, (4) 8:08(checked Garmin; slowed pace) (5) 8:12. Average of 8:09 pace. Below prescribed pace. My pace drops when I am not watching my Garmin. I actually feel very relaxed at an 8's pace (like I used to at 8:30's)...so when I am not monitoring my Garmin, my pace drops, but all the while I actually think I'm around 8:20 pace.
Easy 1.6 mile to car due to not well planning on my part; I thought I would hit 5 miles about half mile from my car.

Training Week #2

Training log for week 6/25/12- 7/1/12

Total running miles this week: 37.43

Monday 6/25- 

1000 meter swim. Abs and stretching after workout. 

Tuesday 6/26- 9.2 miles 

Interval workout. 

2 mile warm up

4 x 800 (4:00, 3:39, 3:28, 3:26) 1x1600 (6:54) with easy 800's between each.

2 mile cool down

Wednesday 6/27- 5.62 miles

Easy paced recovery run. Abs and stretching after.

Thursday 6/28- 8 miles

Tempo run completed on the treadmill.

2 mile warm up

3 mile tempo (8:02, 7:44, 7:32)

easy 800

1 mile tempo (7:28)

1.5 mile cool down

Abs and stretching followed.

Friday 6/29- REST DAY

I met my new coach Felicia Gomez today, from Pinnacle Training Systems- she is amazing!
( http://www.pinnacletrainingsystems.com/ ) I am excited for my new program, and hope for the best marathon time from it! (Fingers crossed) Essentially the training program is to help increase my lactate threshold by holding a maximal steady-state pace during runs and decreasing my recovery time between intervals during the interval workouts. (*Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) has been viewed as the key component to success in prolonged exercise activities) 


Saturday 7/1- 9 mile long run at prescribed pace of 8:20 average
8:28, 8:24, 8:09, 8:09, 8:03, 8:10, 8:05, 8:04, 8:11- avg 8:11 pace- I felt great, the pace felt easy. After my 2nd mile, I settled into runnning and decided I wouldn't constantly watch my Garmin to make sure I stayed ~ 8:20 pace. I just went by feel. Needless to say I ended up running under my prescribed pace, but the pace felt easy, and I naturally kept this pace - so both myself and my coach are happy. Stretching after.

Sunday 7/2- 5.63 miles 
Easy recovery run with Sierra Express running club. I was a little worried I would feel Sunday's quicker paced run on Saturday, but I really didn't; my legs felt fine. Stretching after.

Week 7/2-7/8 is a prescribed recovery week. I hope I don't go insane from the lower miles this week!