Back In the Habit

After some time spent away at my favorite beach, I have returned!  And what better way than to do a tempo run today?!  Let's start with where I left off before the trip...

Pretty much the exact view from our room! I miss it already!!

Last week got all kinds of messed up toward the end of it because of a few things (including the trip).  I ended up taking both Thursday and Friday off but I ran 3 miles on Saturday morning with my husband and little brother just prior to heading out.  It was a good run -- I was able to make it to 8 minute segments with just 3 minutes in between for walking breaks.  I spent the rest of the day on Saturday and almost all of it on Sunday at the beach swimming around and just generally relaxing.  It was such a nice time with beautiful weather that coming back was a tough reality check for me.

Would you really want to leave this place either?! It's heaven!!

I ran on Monday evening, another 3 miles.  Not having a clear training plan in mind, I kind of just tried to stick with what I had done Saturday.  According to my previous training plan, I was supposed to run a full 2 miles on Saturday and then walk/run the final mile.  However, since I took both Thursday and Friday off, I decided to go with the plan that should've happened on Thursday if I hadn't skipped the run.  I'm pretty sure I just made something up to justify not having to face trying to run 2 entire miles straight.  That prospect really makes me nervous to even think about trying, what if I fail?  I have a bunch of friends of varying fitness levels but they all still tell me that they are running consistently without having to stop to walk, which kind of intimidates me.  It makes me wonder if I'm just weak or, worse, not really a runner after all?  I'm trying to put those thoughts out of my mind and tell myself to be patient, the running will come in time.

Today's run was fantastic!  Despite being sick with some sort of cold/flu/yuckyness and not wanting to do anything but sleep, I got out there and did a tempo run!  Rob (my personal trainer and, ahem, husband!) took me through a series of fartleks over 2 miles.  I had never done fartleks before so I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I pretty much just tried to go as hard as I could.  I really want to elongate my stride and help my pace.  We started by doing a brisk 4 minute warm-up walk, then I ran at about 70% for 3 minutes before walking for 3 minutes.  I then did a set of 3 fartleks for 30 seconds with slow jogging breaks in between before walking again for 3 minutes and doing a second set of fartleks with jogging breaks.  All told, it was a great workout and really helped me feel that I can make progress on my stride and pace!   

I finally got the official chip results from the race and I ended up coming in under 40 minutes which was really exciting for me!  My goal was 40 minutes and to come in under that was really gratifying for me!  It can only get easier from here, right?  I also got a couple of pictures of me crossing the finish line from the front, which was fun to see!

 And last, but not least, I signed up for another race on Monday!  I registered for the Seniors First Turkey Trot here in Orlando on Thanksgiving.  It's a fun run, which will be nice for a change.  I'll just have to make sure to remember to check out the time clock as I pass through it.  I may not really care about my time, but I do like to keep an eye on my pacing as I get closer to the half marathon!   

TO DO: Rest and strengthen a bit

ON THE HORIZON: Saturday easy 3 miler