Monday - run/walk for 30 minutes. I did this one at lunch and it was kind of a nice change of pace, running in the daylight instead of dusk/darkness. I felt really great about it all (well, except the half mile long stretch of Route 18 that I have to run to get anywhere). It was a little colder and definitely windier than I anticipated, as I (regrettably, I might add) wore my thin spandex. Plus, it's always fun coming back from a run in spandex to work...I can't wait until the summer so I can wear real clothes that I don't look ridiculous in.
Tuesday - 6mi pace. This is our bi-weekly tempo run, and we KILLED it again. I can't begin to tell you how great this makes me feel, because I can tell I'm getting stronger. We averaged about a 9:30 pace for our 5 tempo miles! That pace used to be very difficult for me to hold. I attribute it 100% to having a running partner to keep me motivated. If I was running alone, it's highly likely I would slow down if I got uncomfortable. Now, I have Brandon to look to. If I get uncomfortable and I see that he is still going strong, I just dig a little deeper and keep it up. That is making all the difference this time around. Thanks, Brandon!
Wednesday - rest!
Thursday - 5x 800. Wow! I am so amazed at how strong we've gotten. We ran all of these half mile repeats consistently at about an 8:00 minute/mile pace. Last time we ran 800's (three weeks ago) we did four at about the same pace, but by the fourth one I felt like I couldn't possibly do another. This time we slowed it down at the start a tiny bit, and ran all five very strong repeats. I was dreading the run all day, but it's much less intimidating now that I am feeling real changes in my running strength. Oh and guess what? It was 60 degrees out!
Friday - yoga. Brandon and I generally practice at home for our cross-training day (speaking of cross training, I started doing my sit-ups on an exercise ball, which seems to be MUCH more effective than on the ground - so if you're following the twohundredsitups plan, try making that change if you hate sit-ups like I do!)
Saturday - 11 miles. Ok, so this run turned into a 9.2 mile run because my Garmin froze on me 10 minutes in, so we had no clue about the time or mileage...and we got lost. It was the best time though! An absolute Cleveland adventure, and even though we didn't do all 11 miles, I feel really good about it! We got to see the city of Cleveland from a whole new perspective, and we spent the last half of our run trying to figure out where the heck we were. I'd like to do more runs, sans watch.
Sunday - rest!
Here is what Week #7 is going to look like:
So, despite the fact that there is another half inch of ice on the ground and it took me two hours to get to work this morning, hopefully we can have another strong week. I need go to Dick's straight after work and invest in a new pair of Yaktrax so I can actually run tonight.
Oh Monday.
Peace, Love & Bagels,
