Weekly training recap: CIM Week 7 + Mini Race Recap LMJS 10K

I’m starting to sense that every week, there’s a theme to my training. This week’s theme was “run by feel.”

Mon: Rest.

Tues: Rather than go by any goal time, I wanted to run by feel (or perceived exertion). I set out to run with a medium to medium-hard effort the whole 6 miles, since I haven’t done that in a while. It was kind of a slow pace overall, but not bad considering that it was 2 days after a 14 miler. The first warm-up mile (10:30) didn’t help my overall pace, but I was happy with the effort.
Stats: 6 miles @ 9:55/mile

Wed: Decided against spin class because I had a couple of speed runs on the calendar for the rest of the week. I ended up doing random cross-training at the gym, focusing on upper body and core. I was so sore the next day! I really need to incorporate more weights into my training.
Stats: 40 min (10 min rowing + 30 min lifting/core/ab work)

Thurs: Another run by feel workout. Thought I’d do 1 mile warm-up + 2 miles faster (no target time) + 1 mile cool down. Pretty pleased that my faster miles were between 5K-10K paces. Splits: 10:03, 9:24, 8:39, 9:59.
Stats: 4 miles @ 9:31/mile

Fri: Fridays are usually rest days for me, but since this was a low mileage week, and because I decided to run a 10K on Sunday, I opted to do an easy 3 mile recovery/shake out run.
Stats: 3.2 miles @ 10:27/mile

Sat: Pretty lazy day + wanting to conserve energy for 10K = hiking and walking as cross-training.
Stats: 60 min hiking/walking

Sun: LMJS 4th Sunday 10K! Since I’ve run several of these before (here, here), I decided against writing a separate race recap.

Why did I decide to run this race? I wanted to have a good indicator of my fitness level and speed ahead of the Healdsburg Half, where I would like to run a sub-2 hour race. Up to this week, I’ve been doubtful about that goal, so I wanted to run a 10K full out to see how I’d measure up. Coincidentally, my long run this week was only 10 miles, so I figured I could run the 10K and run another lap to get the run up to ~10 miles. Perfect!

The Gypsy Runner and I met up with AEW and we walked over to the start. None of us had registered in advance, but because this is such a small race, registration was a cinch. We each handed over $7 and a registration form in exchange for a bib, all of which took less than 3 minutes. I did a short warm-up, during which my legs felt dead. Not a good feeling, but I’ve felt bad before pre-race and proceeded to run fine, so I wasn’t too worried.

The 5K race started about 2 minutes before us, so we cheered on the Gypsy Runner as AEW and I waited for the 10K to start. Before I knew it, the 10K started and we were off to a seemingly fast start. My goal was to run a 9:00-9:15 pace. I glanced at my Garmin and upon seeing the 8:30 pace, decided to cool my jets. No need to go out so fast when I had 5.5 miles to go. I settled into a 9:02-9:05 pace, which definitely required considerable effort, but not so much that I felt like I would die. There’s nothing all that eventful to report about the run, except that I’m grateful for several “pacers” along the way, including green sweatpants girl and white tank top girl. Because I run this route so much, it’s hard to maintain motivation, so I tried to find focus where I could, whether it was those pacers or by concentrating on my form. My slowest mile came from a lapse of focus and to several bottlenecks around the course. (The course is not closed off to the public, which is a real hassle during these races.)

Somewhere in mile 6, I knew that I had accomplished my goal and I was excited. I didn’t get my “A” goal of 56 minutes, but I ran well enough to set a new PR! I was also happy that I met my pace goal; a sub-2 hour half marathon is definitely within my reach. Woohoo!
Stats:
Official – 56:49 (6.2 miles) @ 9:08/mile
Unofficial/Garmin – 56:48 (6.28 miles) @ 9:03/mile

After getting some water and a little breather, AEW and I headed out for another lap around the lake. It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, so it was great to be able to catch up. I had intended on running 3.8-4 miles, but I was running short on time, so I cut the run to 3 miles. I figured 6.28 hard miles plus 3 easy ones roughly makes up for 10 moderately easy miles, right? 😉
Stats: 9.28 miles total

WEEKLY TOTAL: Target 23 miles/ Actual 22.5 miles + 100 min cross training
How I feel about it: Runs were great this week, even if I fell short of my mileage goal by 0.5 miles. Cross-training left much to be desired, but with the pool opening back up tomorrow, this should improve. A-

 

About Jen

Howdy! My name is Jen and I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I like to eat, run, and blog, but not usually at the same time.

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Tagged with: 10K, CIM, cross training, intervals, LMJS, marathon, race recap, running, training
Posted in CIM, Race Recap, Training