[S]he Conquers Who Endures

15-16 miles easy

Niles, IL; 16.01 miles in 2:17:33 at 8:35 min/mi AP. Met up with some friends and we got to chatting and noticed we were running 8:20s so kept trying to pull back the pace. I'm not sure why 8:20s felt so easy, but it's nice! I was feeling pretty fatigued at the end because my carb intake was zero.

45-50 mins easy with 4-6x100m strides

Chicago downtown through the city; 4.16 mi in 39:35, 9:30 min/mi AP then 6 strides @ 5:26 min/mi AP. My legs felt so fried at the start, like they've been pounded a lot. They felt a little better towards the end. Hammies and soleus are tight. The strides felt nice to stretch things out! 5.41 miles total in 52:44

40-45 mins easy

Boston Charles River; 5.01 miles in 45:23, 9:04 min/mi AP. My legs felt much less trashed than yesterday. Finished up with some PT exercises and weights.

15 min w.u. 2 mile tempo, 2 mins rest, 800@10k pace, 3 mins rest 2 mile tempo 15 min c.d. with tempo between HMP and MP

Charles River loop; tempo splits were: 7:59/7:55/7:47/7:52 (7:53 min/mi AP); 800 was @ 7:12 min/mi AP. 8.18 mi total in 1:08:35. I tried to slow down my paces to be more realistic of my current fitness (although the 800 was probably still too fast). I had major adductor soreness from weights yesterday, but seemed to go away during wu. I was very tired all day yesterday and woke up tired after 8+ h sleep - not sure what's going on here. Finished with PT exercises and strength work.

I've been freaking that my tempos are supposed to be between HMP and MP. This seems so slow, but from what I'm reading this is called "aerobic threshold" not to be confused with "lactate threshold"? I am trying to succumb to this concept, which sounds like I should be doing as I am base building for Boston 2 Big Sur. My hip has been consistently feeling better though so I'm itching to push my LT to get my speed back! I hope my patience pays off at the end of April!

35-40 mins easy with 4x100m strides

Shaking things out...There was a nice breeze blowing from the ocean up the river. The salt water smell reminded me of my FL runs...but 40 degrees cooler. :)

Charles River in Cambridge; 3.68 mi @ 9:16 min/mi AP then 4x100m strides @ 5:37 min/mi AP. Adductors were more sore than yesterday! It's been so long since I've felt this just sore not injured feeling - absolutely love it!! 4.24 mi in 40:14

My workout today was to get extra sleep - rest day!! ~ 9.5 h sleep. :)

20-25 mins easy + 4x100m strides

Charles River Cambrigde; 3.36 mi @ 8:38 min/mi AP then 4 strides @ 5:22 min/mi AP. Hamstrings are still tight and sore from Tuesday's strength workout, but didn't seem to be too much of a problem on the run. 3.88 mi total in 34:17. My shin is freaking me out. I missed a box jump 3 weeks ago and banged my shin it's still hurting but I don't notice it much during my run, just after. It says online it can take 3-4 weeks to heal, might see my ortho this week depending on how it feels tomorrow.

Half Merrython 2.62 miler (race) + Half Marathon (easy)

Dynamic stretching then 1.59 mile wu with 3x100m strides. This is my first race in the Kinvaras since my stress fracture! Wahoo!! Love them! I set out at a comfortably fast pace. Then noticed after about 0.2 mi my watch said I was running 6:15 pace. I tried to pull back behind a guy to draft (it was kinda windy in Cape Ann...go figure). But he was going to slow so I just passed and stuck behind the first female. She glanced back and saw me, then took off a bit. I decided to maintain and not push it. With about 0.4 mile to go I glanced back and saw no one so figured I'd win 2nd place female!! Then when I turned a corner with 0.2 mi to go a girl flew past me. I had no gas, boo. I finished in 19:03 with a gps distance of 2.77 miles. 

Again?! Really? My Chicago gps watch was off 0.45 miles in the last 10k I ran - turns out we were misdirected by the course marshalls. Today my Boston gps watch was off 0.15 miles. It seems like a lot for such a short race. I'm pretty sure the course was long. The course basically looked stretched from the start, finish, and middle turn around when I compared the course map to what I ran. I compared the top three male finishers times to their recent 5ks too. They were quite a bit slower for all top three guys and one guy had run 4 5ks very consistently between 5:56 to 6:04 min/mi pace (18:29, 18:39, 18:54, 18:36) and today he ran 6:17 min/mi pace. If the course really was 2.77 mi, he ran 5:56 min/mi pace. Another guy ran close to a recent 6 miler (5:58 min/mi pace) by posting 5:59 min/mi. 

I don't know if I really ran a 6:53 min/mi AP (garmin) today or a 7:16 min/mi AP (official). If my gps is correct, this would mark the first mile I ran sub 7 since my stress fracture, but I don't know if it's true!!

1.08 miles between races to keep things warm.

Low and behold the half marathon measured 12.97 mi based on garmin. This was an "easy" pace run for me. Even though the pace felt easy and I kept trying to slow things down, my legs were hurting so bad towards the end from the elevation change. A much needed training run to prepare me for B2B!! 8:47 min/mi AP (garmin) or 8:41 min/mi AP (official). 0.22 mi shake out/cd.

Half marathon elevation gain: 458 ft

45-50 mins easy

Charles River Boston in the icey slush; I decided mid run to switch today's and Wednesday's workout. The roads were not amenable to strides with the ice everywhere and my legs are really weak and sore from yesterday. 5.12 mi in 50:19, 9:50 min/mi AP. Surprisingly I only slipped once on this run but was able to catch myself on a rail!! My glutes feel surprisingly good, my lower legs (below the knees) and feet feel pretty trashed. I'm not sure if that's from the impact of all the hills yesterday?

The pelty rain made me regret mid-run the decision to not wear a hat, that regret was completely abolished once I showered after my run and felt how smooth my face was! My skin is glowing! Haha.

15 min wu, then 8-10x 1min on with 1 min off. on's @ 10k pace, then 10 min cd.

Charles River least icey route; 15 min wu @ 9:35 min/mi AP then 1 min ons @ 7:10 min/mi AP (too fast!) split paces were: 7:17/7:19/7:06/7:49 (ice slushy shuffle)/7:05/7:01/7:17/6:43/7:17/6:53. offs were @ 8:57 min/mi AP. Then 2.18 mi cd @ 8:53 min/mi AP. 6.41 mi in 55:32. I'm blaming my splits being all over the board because of the wind coming off the river in all different directions! My legs still feel pretty sore from Sunday. I was really surprised how good the faster paces felt on tired legs. Fast feels easier than slow??

Strengthening things up at PT after. I think I need to work more on strengthening and stretching my calves and stop over-focusing on my hip that held up nicely on Sunday!!

45-50 mins easy then 4-6x100m strides

Treadmill @ 1% incline because there's black ice everywhere; 5.55 miles in 50:00 @ 9:00 min/mi AP, then 6x100 m strides at 6:00 min/mi pace (fastest the treadmill will go) at 2% incline. 6.53 mi total in 55ish mins.

15 min w.u. 5-6 x 1000@MP with 1 min rest. 15 min c.d.

Charles River loop. 6x1000m paces were pretty consistent: 7:56, 7:55, 7:56, 7:54, 7:54, 7:58 for 7:56 AP. 8.13 miles in 1:10:33. My hamstrings were tight and tired from strength yesterday. :) Finished up with some glute strengthening and corework.

18 miles easy

Niles, IL neighborhoods and parking lot loops in yak trax in the snow; the snow was around 3-5" in deep most of the run. I was really worried about my hip not being able to hold up. I ran with some friends and ran typical long run effort which ended up being 9:38 min/mi AP in the snow. Although this was my slowest long run in over a year, this was a break through run for me. My friends were complaining how hard it was to run in the snow, and quit after about 8 miles. My legs were strong the entire run and I finished with very tired legs, but no burning, searing pain that I used to have! I think last weekend's workout really toughened me up. I am so happy how much strength I've gained in my hip and this is the most proud I've felt after a run in a really, really long time! 18.01 miles in 2:53:24

30-35 mins easy

Chicago lakefront; nothing is tight, pulling, or overly sore after yesterday's run! I just have slight general leg fatigue. I think the soft surface of the snow gave my tissue a much needed break from impact. It was a gorgeous, frigid run with a friend today. 4.14 miles in 37:32, 9:04 min/mi AP

45-50 mins easy with 4-6 x 100m strides

Treadmill run because of ice at 1% incline. 5.69 mi in 50:00 (8:47 min/mi AP) then 6x100m strides at 2% incline and 10 MPH (6:00 min/mi). 6.42 mi total in 57:00

15 min w.u. mile, 1000, 800, 400, 200 @ Half mar pace, 10k, 5k, mile effort. 10 min c.d.

Cambridge is one sheet of black ice, thus, treadmill at 1% incline. wu at 9:13 min/mi AP then mile @ 7:35 min/mi, 1000 @ 7:13 min/mi, 800 @ 6:53 min/mi, 400 @ 6:44 min/mi, 200 @ 6:44 min/mi. I had to walk before the last 200 for my recovery. My legs felt dead from running last night and probably from running in the snow Sat. Hip felt great! 6.5 mi in 55:45

45-50 mins easy

Through Boston in the snow wearing yak trax; 5.24 mi in 50:25, 9:37 min/mi AP. Legs felt dead but that could have been because the snow was pretty deep. Nothing felt sore or tight.

My confidence is severely lacking for Saturday's 5k after how dead my legs have felt all week and my lack of energy. Stupid head games!

40 mins easy + 4x100m strides

Cambridge in the snow no yak trak - slippery; 4.08 mi @ 9:49 min/mi AP then 4x100m strides @ 6:28 min/mi AP. Excited to run in FL with no snow! 4.68 mi in 47:56 total.

Tampa, FL; 70F and 88% humidity; 1.01 mi wu with a couple of strides, then 5k in 21:03 chasing a bunch of middle schoolers. Splits were: 6:42, 6:52, 7:07. I blame the slow last split on having to run around the 1 mile walkers then 5k walkers. Only 30 sec off my 5k PR!! 1.11 mi cd. Did not add extra mileage because the weather was just too hot and humid and figured my body could use a cut back week in mileage. 5.18 miles total.

30-35 mins easy

Robinson's Preserve in Bradenton, FL; 73F and 89% humidity. So hot! 4 miles in 35:41, 8:55 min/mi AP

45-50 mins easy with 4-6x100 m strides

Bradenton, FL; 72F and 94% humidity; 4.54 mi @ 9:09 min/mi AP then 6 strides @ 5:53 min/mi AP. 5.35 mi in 50:51. Legs did not feel sore. Energy felt low I think from the humidity.

15 min w.u. 10 min @HMP (3 min rec) 4 x 30 sec hill (rec jog back to start) (3 min rec. after last hill) repeat 10 min @HMP, 4 x 30sec hill, 15 min c.d.

Ringling Bridge, Sarasota, FL; 64F and 77% humidity, windy - nice weather!!! This was switched with last Tuesday's workout. 10:00 @ HMP were @ 7:34 min/mi (1.32 mi) and 7:28 min/mi (1.34 mi) AP. 30 sec hills were @ 7:50 min/mi AP and roughly 3% incline. 8 miles in 1:08:10. Legs felt really strong on this run even though the wind was trying to blow me sideways!

15 min w.u. 3-4 mile aerobic tempo, 3 mins rest 8 x 30 secs on, 1 min off 10 min c.d. Tempo between HMP and MP.

Flatwoods in Tampa, FL; 59F and 98% humidity; 15 min wu @ 9:20 min/mi AP then 4 mile tempo @ 7:46 min/mi AP, 30s on were @ 6:33 min/mi AP. 8.54 mi in 1:11:06. Adductors were extremely sore from Tuesday's strength work, but running faster paces felt okay and stretched them out a bit. The tempo felt pretty relaxed especially towards the end, then the strides felt fun to push the pace.

16 miles with middle 4 miles at MP

Ringling Bridge, Sarasota, FL; 66F and 98% humidity; MP for miles 6-10, splits: 7:58 (bridge with headwind), 7:56 (bridge with tailwind), 7:50 (flat with tailwind), 8:03 (flat with headwind). AP for MP: 7:57 min/mi, AP for entire run: 8:46 min/mi. 16.01 mi in 2:20:15. Elevation gain at least 400 ft. My legs hurt the ENTIRE run. I'm starting to notice a trend from my FL runs. This was similar weather as the Disney Marathon last Jan. when my legs hurt the entire race. I'm wondering if this is an electrolyte thing? Or poor oxygen delivery to muscles in high humidity - it basically feels like I'm running with a bag over my head when I breath. I took an ice bath and had muscle spasms in my hamstrings for most of the day. Took in pickle juice, gatorade and Nuun throughout the rest of the day.

30-35 mins easy

Robinson's Preserve, Bradenton, FL; 70F and 94% humidity; my left quad feels tight and jacked. It loosened up a bit by the end of the run. Finally! Something in my left leg hurts and my right leg is fine! Haha. 4 miles in 37:28, 9:22 min/mi AP. Last run in FL for a while. I am going to miss running in the warmth even though the humidity kicked my booty!

45-50 mins easy with 4-6x100m strides

Chicago, IL; 7F and 60% humidity; My what a difference the weather can make! 4.66 mi @ 8:47 min/mi AP then 6 strides @ I'm not sure what pace since my GPS was pretty wacked out in the middle of the city. 5.87 mi in 54:00, 9:12 min/mi AP. I started with my right quad hurting and tight so bad I wasn't sure I'd be able to run today. That seemed to loosen up. I think my TFL is super tight on that side. Hitting the foam roller and hoping it will subside for tomorrow.

15 min w.u. 6-7 x 800 @10k pace effort with 2 mins rest 15 min c.d.

New treadmill in Chicago; My left quad is really tight and sore. I didn't think I could run on it because it hurt so bad to walk. Yesterday running seemed to loosen it up so I gave it a try. Got wu in and 2 repeats, then had to shut it down on 3rd repeat. Running faster did help but then the muscle cramped up on the recoveries. After the workout the pain was an 8 out of 10. 3.1 miles in 27:40