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Last week was a rest week and I snuck in a small town 5k. This week I’ve been measuring my runs by BETTER than WORSE than a 5k.
Monday I had a 7 mile base run and it was DEFINITELY BETTER than a 5k. It felt so good just to run.
Tuesday morning was back to reality with 400 meter repeats. I drove into the trail in town to avoid hills, well to have less hills, because I did not need any extra challenges! It was a quiet morning on the trail with only one bike rider and that was a good thing since I forgot my AirPods. I considered turning back to get them but didn’t want to put off the workout. I also didn’t want to run without music, so playing my music loud and proud was how I ran. This is one of the harder speed workouts that I’ve done. Thankfully after each challenging 400 meters I was able to rest/walk for 3 minutes. This run was BARELY BETTER than a 5K.
Wednesday I was overjoyed to have a recovery run, nice and easy. This was way BETTER than a 5k!
Now Thursday's run on paper didn’t look too hard. I was scheduled to run 3 one mile repeats at my 5k pace, which I had just run on Saturday, plus I could slow jog or walk for 3 minutes after each one. I attacked the first one and it was HARD. I had to fight to stay on pace and when the one mile was up there was NO jogging, only a desire to walk very slowly. The second repeat was worse than the first and I was slow, mentally telling my legs to pick up the pace. When my last repeat started I was flying through the first half mile excited to be running my last repeat and then the last half mile kicked my butt! I saw a relaxing bench near the trail and was tempted to curl up on it for a nap afterwards.
So what was the difference between the 5k race Saturday and this speed workout? Race day adrenaline, lower dew point, being on a rest week with fresh legs, the “super shoes”? It was probably a combination of everything that made this run WORSE than a 5k.
Sidenote: super shoes are carbon plated shoes that are designed to improve speed. I picked up a pair of Saucony Endorphin Pro 2 for 50% off a couple of months ago but had been hesitant to try them in any of my longer races. The 5k was the perfect experiment. I felt a significant difference in the first mile, light on my feet and it was really an easy mile. Of course I pushed myself physically which made the run hard but my feet and legs felt great, plus I ended up with a personal record. After the race I still had 3 miles to run and had considered changing out of my shoes but kept them on to see how they did with extra miles. My right foot must’ve swelled, which is normal my feet do swell a little on longer runs. The problem was the shoe had very little give. I would wear the Endorphin 2s for racing up to a half but tie my shoes a little looser. I’m not sure I would trust them for a full marathon. The Endorphin 3s are out and have improvements but I like to use older versions because I can get them cheaper.
Back to running, Friday was another 7 mile base run, BETTER than a 5k! My legs were tired from all of the speed work this week.
Oh the long run! I had been up early most mornings this week and gave into the need for sleep Saturday. My consequence for the extra sleep was less than ideal running weather. I am a cold weather runner and heat does not agree with me. The real feel temp hit 78 by the end and the dew point was over 60. There was a wind but it was a hot wind and I felt like I was running straight into it no matter which direction I turned. This was a mentally and physically tough run. By mile 3 I had to shed my tank top and just have my hydration vest. I saw an irrigation and attempted to get sprayed but the end gun didn’t quite reach me. I did get a little mist for a small amount of relief. Mile 10 I had to play mental games, run to the stop sign, make it to the blue house, get to the next crack in the road. I walked into the house at the end of 14 miles completely drenched in sweat. One of the positives is I didn’t get nauseous, I just felt HOT and exhausted. After a longer stretching and rolling session I decided to take an ice bath. I don’t use them often and this race season I have been avoiding them all together to let my body recover naturally. Today I needed to get cooled off and get my sore legs on some ice.
TIE! This was just as hard as a 5k! I’m ranking the whole week as WORSE than a 5k. It was just a tough week of training. Next week has a similar structure, so my body should know what to expect.
I’m off to enjoy 40 hours of rest before my next run.
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