NYCM: Week 14 Recap

I apologize to anyone that may have been waiting on my Sunday-night weekly recap post this week. I was in Vermont over the weekend for a funeral, and blogging just wasn't a possibility.

Last Week's Total Weekly Mileage: 30 Miles

Monday: 6 miles at 8:30 pace

Many of my weekday runs are run at a slower pace than I would like, however, this also means that I am less likely to get injured. On this day, I ran about 3.5 miles with the kiddos at practice, then another 2.5 at home. I was still feeling good, both mentally and physically, thanks in part to the relaxing weekend. This night was the first night that I actually felt cold in DC since moving down earlier this summer. It was a whopping 67 degrees and I had goosebumps by the end of my run!

Tuesday: 6.8 miles at 7:34 pace
Monday's chill was gone and we were left with humidity and rain. Practice was cancelled, and even though I started my run at home, I ended up back at the school because I forgot something in my desk. Oops! It made for a really great tempo run, and also allowed me to kill one of the biggest hills in DC. Ok, maybe not one of the biggest, but it was pretty large. "Coach Dani", aka the voice in my head,  kept yelling at me to attack the hill, run fast, shorten my stride, make sure I was running on my toes. And as that "coach" in me kept yelling, I realized how lucky I am to be a coach. Not only am I helping younger runners, but I can benefit from it as well. I am constantly thinking about my form while running, and even pushing myself to do actual workouts this year.

There was a point in this workout, however, where I felt a twinge of pain in my right hamstring. It wasn't at the end of the workout, but rather in the beginning. It was one of those twinges that make you question whether or not it is smart to be running on it. However, after a few strides it was gone, so I kept running. Another 5 miles. I forgot about the pain as soon as I made it back home.

Wednesday: 3.6 miles at 7:48 pace
This was supposed to be a day off, but the kids had a "longer" run scheduled for the day, which meant that I could get some running in as well! We ran on some back trails, which were super fun. It's so nice to have Rock Creek nearby: it's a mini escape from the city life!

Thursday: 7 miles at 8:08 pace
This was a two part run.
Part 1: Practice. The kiddos ran on the trails as they did a hill workout. It soooo reminded me of high school when we did hills every week! It was during this workout that the entire team learned the importance of making sure you are properly hydrated before a workout. Water water water! Make sure all of you out there are getting enough water in your day!

Part 2: I got home and Tom wanted to join me on a run! We haven't run together in SO LONG! We did a short but quick 20 minute run and ended at a pizza place down the road. For $10 they give you a crispy-crust pizza with your choice of toppings. Can't beat that! The other awesome thing about this particular pizza place is that they sell homemade pasta, pasta sauce, cheese, and a variety of imported items from Italy. I am in love.

Friday: 6.5 miles: tempo turned into slow run.
I was cruising during the first half of this run, hitting nice splits as I made it around the city. My goal was to get in an 8 mile tempo run, but that didn't happen. Around mile 3 I started to feel that twinge in my hamstring from Tuesday. Uh oh.

I had to slow down immediately, and continue to run slower the rest of the run. Every time I landed, I felt the pain in my hamstring. Not horrible, but definitely not just a sore muscle. It was a muscle that was damaged, overworked. The run was cut short, but that was only after I had a chance to make it to  the running store to get some more waffles and ...

NEW SHOES!!!

I could not wait to get the new Asics. I have run in the 2100 series for about 7 years, and they just modified the series to now be the GT 2000s. The current, 25 year old version of myself was a little hesitant about the black, but the 6-year old version of myself would have been super excited for these shoes. There was actually a time in my life when I thought it would be cool to have a black house painted with neon pink polka dots. Don't ask me what I was thinking......

I tried the shoes out yesterday (Monday) and loved them. I honestly can't feel the difference between these and the older shoes, but that is a good thing. That means I won't get hurt like I did when I tried to switch to Mizunos.

Random fact: I have bought a new pair of running shoes each time I've gone to VT since we moved down here. I'm thinking that there needs to be more trips so there can be more shoes!!

Saturday: off
Sunday: off 

As I mentioned earlier, I spent the weekend in Vermont, and had little time for running. In fact, no time for running. I also left my capris at home in DC so I thought I'd freeze my butt off if I ran in shorts. Apparently I am becoming even more of a temperature wimp than before.

This week

This is my last week of high mileage, and also my last "long" run. I am really loving this training program, especially since I can walk and run the day after the long runs. I can continue to get in good quality workouts throughout the week, and haven't felt running pains like I do in the past. 

NYCM 2012: Week 7 Recap

Have I really only completed 7 weeks of training? I swear, it feels like it has been a lot more. I don't mean that in a bad way, but I'm feeling too good (*knockonwood*) for only 7 weeks.

Total Weekly Mileages: 49 miles!

Monday: Two workouts that equaled a combined 5 miles. 
I love being able to do errands (go to the bank, post office, library, grocery shop, etc.) while running, and today ended up being one of those days. We brought the car to the garage in the morning to recharge the AC and I ran to the garage in the afternoon to pick it up. That gave me 2 miles, and the other 3 miles came that evening at the first XC practice of the season. They were a very easy 3 miles and I was extremely thankful for an easier day of running.

Tuesday: Speed Workout, 8.6 miles total.
I ran a 2.5 mile warm-up before tackling my track workout. Once again, I was running faster than target pace. I really need to focus on pace and slow myself during the workout, but it's hard when the entire women's soccer team is out practicing and there's a guy on the track running speedy 400s. The plan was to run 6 x 800m, but since the first four 800s were so quick, I decided to combine the last two into a 1600m and "take it slower". I almost succeeded, but barely slowed down. The cool-down was a 2.5 mile run back home. I would love to focus on more consistent intervals next time. I used to be awesome at consistent 200s in college, but not so much anymore.

Tuesday night we boarded JetBlue and flew to VT! Perhaps my excitement of the trip was also a factor in the speedy and uneven 800s. 

Wednesday: Day off!

Thursday: 7.2 miles, 7:46 min/mile pace. I loooooved running back on my old running routes. I combined two high school routes to make for a 7 miler, and couldn't believe how much easier the run felt now than it did back in 2004/2005. I was very excited to be out on the run and tried to soak in as much fresh VT air as possible. It was also amazing how quiet it was compared to DC runs. My favorite running is rolling hills that pass through open fields and have great views of the Green Mountains, and this run provided that.

Friday: 7.2 miles, 8:06 min/mile pace. Tom and I went to a wedding the night before and had a blast dancing to the music for a few hours Needless to say, the legs were a little tired in the morning so I took the run a bit slower. It was a good 20 degrees cooler than in DC, which meant that by the time I finished running I was barely sweating. I ran the same route as the day before since I didn't think I got enough of it on Thrusday.

Saturday: 7.2 miles at 7:56 min/mile pace.
This was one of those Vermont days that you never want to end. When I headed out the door for my run, I did something I normally don't do: I ran on an empty stomach. I needed to run as soon as I woke up and thought that I could make it for the 7 miles. I felt fine on the run, but wouldn't want to go any longer without food.

It may be possible that I talked to some of the cows that grazed along this hill during 2 out of the 3 of my runs. I hope that doesn't make me a crazy person...

I took the phone along to take photos, but wished it could capture sounds and smells besides just the visuals (which still don't look as good as the real thing). The crickets served as my "ipod" and I listened to their music along the way. The sky was so blue and the morning felt so crisp. It was the most beautiful day I could have asked for for my last day in VT.

Sunday: 14 miles at 8:01 min/mile pace.
I was almost dreading this run: I had 4.5 hours of sleep last night because we had to wake up at 4am and board a 6 am flight. However, I managed to snooze for 45 minutes when we got home, waiting for the rain to pass by, and by the time I left for the run it had stopped raining and I had more energy.

The run went surprisingly well for no sleep. I think the few days of VT running did something to my legs and they felt really great. The hills that normally bother me here felt alright, and I wasn't tired until mile 11, when my belly starting to get hunger pains.

I had to remind myself to run slow, but I did not run as slow as I should have. The longer runs should be at a more relaxed pace and I will need to continue to work on that. Perhaps that will be next week's goal.

New Shoes!
I completed my goal for last week: to buy new shoes. I got them on Tuesday, right before we left for VT. I like to change my shoes after about 400 miles, but my most recent pair had over 500. I was starting to feel shin splints and knew I needed new ones ASAP!

I asked the girl at the store to help me out. She pulled out at least 5 different shoes and had me test them all on the treadmill. Turns out that the reason I was getting bad blisters in my Asics shoes was.... drumroll please.... I was being stupid and buying shoes that were too small. I definitely think that 7.5 is a much cooler number than 8, but 8 it is.

It took me a good 10 minutes to decide between the pair of Mizunos and Brooks. Ultimately, I went with Mizuno, but when I left the store I felt bad that I left the Brooks behind. They looked way cooler ( black, yellow, and silver), and actually felt wonderful. I thought that the Mizunos felt more like the Asics (wider in the front) and that perhaps it wouldn't be much of a transition for my feet and legs to get used to. I suppose we'll find out a in a few days or weeks if my body likes the shoes.

I probably would have gone back to Asics if they had had my size at the store. They could have ordered it but I wanted new shoes for the trip home. Apparently Mizuno runs small, because I ended up getting 8.5, which is a whole size larger than my old running shoes.

It felt odd on the first run to have so much space, and I am curious to see what happens when the shoes are fully broken in.

The other new piece of information that I learned is that I am way overdue on getting new orthotics. I haven't had new ones since 2006. Apparently you need them every year. Oops! Yet another thing to add to my list of to-do's for this fall.

Hope everyone has a Happy Monday!!