March Recap

March was a GREAT month!  I turned 25 and I ran my most miles ever!  I am sad to see it go but I am so ready for April and Spring!


Average Temp: 42F/5.5C

Miles run: 136.7 miles - My highest mileage month EVER!

Rest days taken: 10 days

Highest mileage week: 33.95 miles - My highest weekly mileage EVER!

Average pace: 8:21min/mile

Races: Johnny's Running of the Green 5 miler

Current Obsessions: My foam roller!  My legs have been needing some extra stretching and rolling in order to get them feeling good after all the hard workouts!

Current Blessings: New friends and an amazing husband-to-be!

Current Excitement: My 15k race this coming Sunday!!  I will be using it as a training run but I am still excited to run with some of my friends from running club!

Current Read: Still on The Postmistress by Sarah Blake - it has been a slow month for reading. 

Current Guilty Pleasure: Cupcakes!  After a long week I may need some more cupcakes after work!


Let's hope that April brings some warmer weather and no more snow!

A tasty treat!

A while back I bought a groupon for cupcakes!  I finally got to use it this past weekend as a reward for my double long runs!  Brian got one but I could not resist the urge to get TWO cupcakes!!

Brian's is the one with the chocolate chips on it! The other two are MINE!  I got my first one with red velvet cake, cream cheese frosting and gummi bars!!

Don't mind Brian's awesome (I mean super ugly!) plate sets from college! Those are so going once we get our new set from  our registry!

For my second one I got chocolate with raspberry filling and vanilla frosting and sprinkles on top! They were both so good but they were expensive.  Nothing beats homemade!

I just found out there is another great cupcake place in town!! Next week I will have to go and try their cupcakes!

Half Marathon - Week 7

Monday - Easy
3.25 miles/28:27/8:46 pace

Lunch Run and then Yoga after work.

Tuesday - Tempo
7.7 miles/1:03:21/8:14 pace

I went to running club after work like usual.  The workout was pretty intense:
4x 1mi at tempo (~7:30 pace)
5x 200m uphill w/200m downhill recovery

This is how it turned out: 7:30, 7:24, 7:23, 7:14
I was pretty happy with the paces and they felt really good.  Running with the girls always makes these workouts so much more enjoyable!

Wednesday - Off

After 4 days in a row of runs I needed a break.  I tried to get to the gym to cross train but I just wanted to get home and rest.

Thursday - Interval
5.5 miles/41:22/7:32 pace

Running club run!

Friday - Off

After work Brian and I headed to the Running club Spring dinner.  The club not only knows how to run but also how to drink and eat!  The buffet spread was amazing and I had trouble not getting second and third helpings!

Saturday - Long
10 miles/1:22:12/8:14 pace

The start of Monster Weekend of runs!

First long run of the weekend with 2x 25 mins at HMP with 3 min recovery.  The sun was out and although it was a bit cold it was so nice to be outside. 

Sunday - Long
7.5 miles/1:03:23/8:28 pace

Second long run of the weekend.  The sun was out again and I headed out for 7.5 miles with 2.5 miles at marathon pace.

Total week 7 mileage: 33.95 mi

Monster Weekend

For the past 6 weeks my training plan has called for a long run on Saturday and then a rest day on Sunday.

This week, everything changed.  This weekend my training plan called for two long runs.  For me this was a big deal and also a first.  Definitely a monster weekend of runs.

Saturday
2 miles at Easy
2x 25 mins at half marathon pace w/ 3 min recovery
~ 20 min at Easy

I slept in Saturday morning, woke up and had coffee and oatmeal before heading out after 9am.  It was cold and windy but sunny!  The first two miles were easy and enjoyable but soon it was time to get down to business.  The first set was on a mainly flat area and I settled into a good pace.  Some parts were super windy but I continued on.  I rested for the 3 minutes and then set into the second set.  This one was harder because it had more hills and the wind was annoyingly strong.  Often I yelled out loud when the wind got to be more than I could handle! I wanted to quit so many times during this second set but thankfully had the strength to push and finish.  The final cool down easy run home was so nice.

Results
First set: 3.21 miles at 7:47 avg pace
Second set: 3.24 miles at 7:44 avg pace
Total miles = 10

After a nice shower to warm up and hot chocolate mixed with coffee, I pulled on my recovery socks and made myself a nice lunch - tomato soup and a tuna melt!  I tried to stay off my feet as much a possible in hopes that it would help me recover and be ready for the next day.

Sunday
2.5 miles at Easy
2.5 miles at Marathon Pace (don't really have a MP though...)
2.5 miles at Easy

I woke up to sun again! Although it was a cold 22F, I headed out again after coffee and oatmeal!  I wasn't sure how my legs would hold up after the 10 miles from Saturday.  I set out nice and easy and my legs actually felt good.  I planned my route to run past my wedding reception place!  I often run past it and can't wait until the wedding.  Right now it looks pretty barren but soon the snow will melt and the grass will grow and become green.

Results
2.5 miles at 7:50 avg pace
Total miles = 7.5

After this run, I once again pulled on my recovery sleeves.  I was so surprised that I didn't feel completely worn out from all the miles.  It was definitely a big confidence booster that I was able to run 17.5 miles in one weekend and hit all my planned paces.

Monster weekend completed!

Where is Spring?

Just when I thought that winter was over, we get MORE snow!  On Wednesday we got almost 5 inches of snow in 12 hours!  My legs were pretty tired from Tuesday's mile repeats workout with the running club and I decided to take  complete rest day.

My shoveled path to the garage

The sun just peaking up over the horizon

 Thursday I decided to go to running club again because I had finally convinced a friend to come out and run with the group.  It was great to have her and we had a pretty awesome workout!

warm up
1x800m @ 15k pace (3:46)
4x1200m @ 15k pace w/ surge of 400m in the middle w/ 3 min recovery (5:34, 5:30, 5:30, 5:22)
4x100m strides
cool down

Our goal 15k pace was about 7:45 min/mile or 5:49/1200m but we went a little fast because the pace felt good.  It was bitterly cold out and my hands were freezing by the end even though I wore gloves.  I am so ready for warmer temperatures...hopefully they will be here soon!

Happy Friday!