Big Running Week!

This week was FULL of running, although it did not go exactly according to plan…But I’m definitely having fun with running right now, as well as with yoga. I’m feeling really good, overall, and I’m starting to find a nice groove in the schedule. I had 5 total running days this week (more than ever!) and I’m still feeling pretty good (my knees are a bit sore, but I think that’s more due to running on hills/having tight quads versus too much running, but I’ve been stretching them!) Here’s a recap for the week:

Monday:
Vinyasa class (awesome as always)
Recovery Run
I went out for an easy jaunt around the waterfront to shake my legs out from the weekend activities. I don’t usually run with music, as I’m usually running with someone else/J, but this time J was unable to run due to his knee pain, so I let myself jam out on the run. Unfortunately, music really makes me go, and I completed the run way too fast! It still felt good, but I need to try to slow down on these runs!

4.1 miles (9:02 avg pace) OOPS!

Tuesday:
Track
Tonight was a hill workout. It was kind of an interval workout on the hill, involving cones. First, we would sprint up to the first cone, then slowly run back down. Then, we would sprint up past the first cone, until we reached the second cone, then run back down for a recovery. We continued on until reaching the 5th cone, at which time we would start over again with the 1st cone. We continued on this way for 25 minutes or so. I think the recoveries down the hill were kind of hard on the old knees, but the uphills felt really good! I did 2 full sets, and ran for more than 3 miles total, at about 8:30 pace overall. I wasn’t sure what to record with my watch, but you get the idea!

Wednesday:
Power Vinyasa

Thursday:
Lunchtime run

3.2 miles (10:00 avg pace)

Vinyasa (the highlight of my otherwise horrible no good day…traffic + lost shoes + missing the streetcar = very sad Marya :( )

Friday:
Ok, so this was supposed to be the day of our next 5k race, The CATnip Friday 5k…First of all, it was the beginning of the heat wave here in Portland, so I was already kind of dreading another super hot race. But I was still determined to go, and try my hardest. Then I got home, said hello to the kitties, and knew that we wouldn’t be making it to the race… :( Our new addition, Bastian, had a super swollen eye, and just looked miserable, so we had to take him to the vet. The vet said it was probably just conjunctivitis, and we would just need to give him some eye drops for a couple of days. Bastian is much happier now, and he can open his eye all the way!! His stomach has been acting up recently, so we’ll continue to keep an eye on him, but I think he’s going to be ok! :) I am still sad that we weren’t able to at least hang out with some of our friends that were going to be there, but by the time we got home, it was definitely too late to make it all the way down to Sherwood… Oh well, here’s to next year!

We actually talked to the vet, as we were leaving, about running. I had gone to the vet in my running clothes, since I had been planning on just swinging by home to pick up J on the way to the race. Apparently, the vet used to run cross country in college, and ran with Frank Shorter and Prefontaine. He ran with all these super iconic runners, but thinks marathoners are crazy! Go figure!

Saturday:
Long Run
I knew it was going to be a hot weekend, so I tried to get out the door for my long run, before it got too hot. I didn’t quite make it out until 9am, which had me a little worried, but overall it was ok. I decided to run up the west-side of the Willamette, and try to find my way back up to Terwilliger, so that I could finish my run under the shade of` trees, by the time it would really start to heat up. The first 4.5 miles went along smoothly, then I hit the spot I had guessed would get me up onto Terwilliger. I found some signage pointing to the 4T Trail. I see these signs everywhere, but I knew it was pointing me in the right direction. Unfortunately, a half mile into the change of direction, I found the the way up contained a LOT of stairs. I didn’t count them, but I climbed about 350ft in about 1/8 of a mile. You better believe I walked up those stairs! I was pretty tired when I got to the top, and just hoped I could make my way to to Terwilliger somehow, because there was no way I was heading back down that way again…When I finally reached the top, the signage was a bit unclear, but after traipsing about the neighborhood for about 10 minutes, I finally found my way to Terwilliger. I checked Google maps on my iPhone to make sure I was heading in the right direction, and I was on my way! From here it was all smooth sailing back home (mostly downhill! :) I drank about 3 bottles of water on this run (the first with some electrolytes in it), but didn’t really experience that whole “it’s too hot and my head feels faint” kind of feeling, except briefly just before the stairs. I’ve been working on making it through hot runs in one piece, and I think the electrolytes really help. I made it home before it got too hot (although it did reach up to 85°!!) Overall, great long run!

10.1 miles (10:09 avg pace) I tried to take it easy (for long slow distance)

Sunday:
Recovery Run

Another recovery run, another waterfront loop adventure. I also tried to complete this run somewhat early, as the heat wave was continuing on! I had my music again, but tried very hard to mentally slow myself down. It worked, somewhat, but I think I was still a bit too fast…I guess I’ll keep trying!

4.1 miles (9:33 avg pace)

Weekly total: 25.9 miles

Here’s my tentative plan for the upcoming week:

Monday:
Power Vinyasa
Rest day from running/lunchtime run?

Tuesday:
Track!

Wednesday:
Power Vinyasa

Thursday:
Lunchtime Run
Vinyasa

Friday:
Rest Day?

Saturday/Sunday:
Long run/more yoga!

We’ll see what the week holds!

Someday I’d like to be on a structured training plan again, but I’m still enjoying the freedom of my schedule at the moment!