AR 50 Week Four + January

1/24-1/30

This week began as usual, with the best intentions, only to have things derailed by an unfortunately timed cold : / Trying to look at the bigger picture, I scrapped a few runs this week to rest, including my weekend long run. So my mileage for the week is much lower than planned, but life happens and I'm ready to get back to it this week.

Monday
4 miles, 9:10 avg pace + 90 min hot yoga. On Mondays I like to fit my run in just before yoga, that way I avoid feeling sweaty/gross for an extended period of time and only need one shower : ) Well, I didn't quite give myself enough time this week so instead of my planned 5 I squeezed in a quick 4 miles. Better than nothing!

Tuesday
10 miles, 9:29 avg pace. I wasn't sure how long I wanted to go for my midweek medium-long run. I thought about dropping down the miles to 8 or 9, but once I got going I felt pretty good so mid-run I decided to do an 8 miles loop on the parkway bike path then swing home, pick up my pooch and take her along for another 2 in my neighborhood.

Wednesday
Rest.

Thursday
5 miles, 9:24 avg pace. Early morning run before work traipsing through the crazy fog with my pup. Seriously, I couldn't see more than 10 feet in front of me! I felt a little sluggish during the run but, of course, much better after and glad I got up and got the miles in. That night, however, I started to feel a bit rundown with some telltale signs that something was coming on...

Friday
Rest. I woke up this morning to find that my symptoms from the night before had indeed turned into a cold. With the weekend coming up (meaning longer running and busy work days) I figured it would be smart to take a sick day. Luckily, being sick coincided with my planned rest day, so I just stayed in bed all day, sleeping and reading on my Kindle.

Saturday
Rest (sick). After taking a day off from work to get over my cold, I figured it wasn't a very good idea to get up early and run, so trying to look at the bigger picture, I took another rest day.

Sunday
Rest (sick). I actually had grand plans to get up and do a long run on the roads. My usual trail buddy, Diane, had done her long run Saturday and so with no one else to accompany me on the trails I figured the road was my only option. Well, lo and behold I still felt like crap when I woke up early, so I promptly hit snooze and skipped yet another run. Once again, I was trying to think of the bigger picture and not dwell on the fact that my weekly mileage would now be just half that of last week. I headed to work that afternoon, only to be mercifully sent home a couple hours later since we were slow. I guess no one wanted to be around a sickie...I felt like such a leper!

I'm feeling better today, although not 100%, but managed to fit in my usual workout. If anything, this little cold has reminded me how important rest and recovery are as I continue to amp up my training. Hopefully I've kicked it and I have no more hiccups in training from here on out!

Total: 19 miles

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January

Week One
Week Two
Week Three
Week Four
  
Total: 132.8 miles

Hard to believe the first month of 2011 is already over! As usual, the weeks flew by, along with lots of running. In fact, I hit both my highest weekly mileage ever in January and my highest monthly mileage ever! I kicked off the month (and the new year) with my first race of 2011, the Resolution Run 10 Miler up in Auburn. It was my first trail race, too, and while it was chilly, rainy, and ridiculously muddy, it was a fun way to kick things off and really set the tone for my ultra training. This month I also kicked off training for my upcoming ultra races, Way Too Cool 50k in March, and AR 50 in April. I've got some great time in on the trails and have really started to get into a routine with training, fitting in weekly yoga and some strength training (note to self: need more of the latter!). February is looking to be even busier, but with a few fun races and runs to keep things interesting : )