Nov8
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It felt great to just go with the flow in my workouts and do what my body (and mind!) craved. There is definitely a joy to running without a training plan! Here’s what my workouts looked like last week!
M – REST
Tu – 7.5 miles; 7:24 pace
-
5 mile tempo (at 7:05 min pace) + warm-up and cool-down. The wind was BRUTAL on this run so I was really happy with my paces.
Tank | sports bra | cap (old): similar here
W – 4.7 miles with Ali, 8:36 pace + driving range
Ali and I were mistaken for sisters after this run when we grabbed coffee. It happens ALL the time…or people just straight-up confuse us entirely. She’s been congratulated multiple times on getting engaged…and she has 4 kids. ha! We both love it!
I was so stressed after work, so I skipped Crossfit even though the workout looked great. Instead, I went to the driving range and hit balls for almost two hours while Tommy did the WOD. I really love hitting balls when I am stressed because you can’t think about anything else and HAVE to focus on what you’re doing. It’s almost meditative since it forces mindfulness. 
Unless, of course, I’m hitting it terribly, then it’s NOT relaxing. 😉 But luckily it was a good day on the range. I felt so refreshed afterwards (and it’s a nice break for my body!).
Th- Track day! 4×800, 4×400, 4×200 + warmup & cooldown
- 800s at a 6:45 pace, 400s at 6:30 pace, and 200s at a 5:45 pace
- I ended up getting in 8 miles and averaging a 7:50 pace. I did a 400m jog between each repeat (although I only did 200m jog between the 200m repeats).
- Holy yikes, there was a major headwind. But hey, at least it gave me a tailwind too. 😉 I really love interval work when I get myself out there. And I’m enjoying shorter speed work after the marathon. (Interval training is one of the 7 ways I increased my running speed!)
F- REST. I took Maizey on a nice long walk instead.
Sa- 8 miles; 8:00 pace. I did this on the treadmill because it was so windy. Yes, I hate the wind that much. It was actually really nice to zone out on the treadmill and just listen to music. I also did some brainstorming and problem solving while running. 🙂
Su- 6.2 miles; 7:51 pace. I procrastinated this run until 4 PM and almost skipped it, but I’m always glad when I get out there (especially when I get to run by Graylyn, our wedding venue!).
Tank (I want all the colors!!) | sports bra | hat (very very old, ahem 10+ years old): similar here
Total Miles: 34.4 miles
How I’m feeling: Great! My hamstring is a little tight, but overall I’m feeling healthy and strong. I couldn’t believe I was almost at 35 miles last week though! My weekly goal is 25 miles to keep me motivated without a race, but running just felt so good last week. I’ve been doing Crossfit more this week, and I love the flexibility to just do the workouts that I want. During marathon training, I was always worried about being too sore from Crossfit to do my key training runs and the freedom from a structured plan is so nice!
If you’re trained for a race before (any distance!), did you get worried about other workouts impacting your key runs? It’s such a hard balance when you enjoy lots of activities!
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One response to “Last Week’s Workouts + the joy of running without a training plan!”
Yes! When I’m training I’m always worried to do a new workout right before a long run or a speed run because I’m worried I will be sore and it will “ruin” the training. I’m really impressed you got 34 miles without too much planning!