Another record week!

So much for the ten percent rule...I went from a mileage PR of forty miles two weeks ago to forty-seven miles last week!  I think I need to take it a little easier this week so I don't over do it.  But as I take an inventory of how I feel, I think I am recovering pretty well.

Here is a recap of the week:
Monday-  Six miles.  A nice run in the rain.  It was a hilly route and I took it easy.  It was my first inclement weather running in a while.  Since the hard stuff didn't come down until later in the day, it was quite enjoyable.
Tuesday-  Ten miles.  I usually don't get this long of a run in during the week, but I used my free time during preschool to make up for the lack of long runs over the weekend.

Wednesday- Rest.  I normally don't rest on Wednesdays, but I was feeling tired and starting to get a sore throat Tuesday night and didn't want to push it.  I feel like I did the right thing listening to my body.
Thursday- Five miles.
Friday- Rest.
Saturday- A nice run in the rain.  Kelly and I set off to run between ten and twelve miles.  We both had a deadline to be home.  Neither one of us got into a groove right away.  We met up with some of our running buddies and ran with them for a couple of miles before having to head back.  We ended up running ten miles.  I made it back around 8, showered, got the kids dressed and headed out to have breakfast with Santa.
Sunday- My husband had to work all weekend and had to be in very early on Sunday.  There was no way I was getting in a long run.  I asked my brother and sister-in-law if my kids could hang out with their cousin for a few hours.  They were happy to host a playdate for the cousins and I headed off along the Santa Ana River for a fifteen mile run.  It takes a village.

I already had a lot of miles for the week, but I had yet to do a real LONG run during this training cycle.  I wanted to push it past thirteen miles (my threshold between long runs and REALLY long runs).  It wasn't easy, but it was a nice run.   I spent the first hour or so listening to the end of an audiobook.*  After that, I just zoned out to some good music.

I wanted to test my fitness level a bit, so I decided to run a couple of miles at a quicker pace.  I did mile twelve at half-marathon race pace and mile thirteen at marathon race pace.  I miscalculated my route and hit a steep hill at the end of mile twelve.  Where I had hoped to run under 8:30, it ended up being closer to 8:35.  I felt pretty toast at the end of that mile pushing up that hill.  However, the next mile felt pretty easy and it ended up faster than marathon pace at 8:56.  The rest of the mile splits were between 9:30 and 10:00, which is right where I wanted to run.  I felt pretty good that my 44th and 45th miles of the week (and 22nd and 23rd of the weekend) could be pushed like that.

It was a good week.  This week, on the other hand, is starting out pretty slow.   But that's ok.  I know I'll make it up along the way.

Happy Running.

*I listened to Born To Run by Christopher McDougall.  AWESOME book.  I loved every minute of it.  I will probably be buying it in paperback, just to reread down the road.   I highly recommend this book.