Sunday Speedwork

I have so badly wanted to wrap up a week with 30 miles of running. This week gave me the opportunity to do so. I came into this morning with 25.8 miles so far, so it was a mater of a measly 4.2 miles to round out the week. Wow - this whole running thing is still new enough that I remember when 4.2 miles was a *long* way to run....

Today was a 45 minute fartlek workout on the training plan. Other than being a little sore and stiff from yesterday, I felt pretty good, so I opted to lengthen it out to a 6 mile fartlek workout. So, my workout looked like a one mile warm up, 4 miles of fartleks, and a one mile warm down.

Once done, I downloaded myGarmin and was quite surprised at the data! I was able to maintain a fast pace for up to a quarter mile at a time. My best pace was a 7:34 pace for a quarter mile! Overall I managed a 9:38 pace for the entire 6 mile workout. No wonder I'm a little tired and sore tonight!

My six miles today also resulted in my first 30 plus mile week! I ended up at 31.8 miles for the week! Woo hoo! I am looking forward to a 5K to see what my improvement would be!

New Shoes

I broke down yesterday and got some new shoes. Stayed with the tried and true Asics Gel Kayanos. The results were pretty immediate. No lower back pain. The nagging pain in my calves and shins is gone.

This morning I am a little stiff from my workout yesterday. Yesterday was the first fartlek workout that I have done running. My pace varied widely, as fast as 6:30 per mile and as slow as 12:00 per mile. I tried to run fast a quarter a mile at a time, but by the time things were wrapping up, I was lucky to get a tenth of a mile in without blowing up. But - that's okay. To be honest - this was one of the quickest 33 minutes I've done. It really did not seem like 33 minutes had passed.

Today I'll keep it easy for 3 miles followed by some strength (core) work....