May in Review

Total Miles:  118.33 miles up from 64.64 miles last month.  70.7 miles last May. 3rd highest May mileage, only behind 2010-2011 aka the years of alllllll the PRs. #progress And that's with a race that I tapered and recovered from. Whoop!

Total Time: 20:06:49 up from 10:28:03. 

Total Runs: 20 runs for an average of 5.92 miles/run.

Highest weekly mileage: 

	4/30/2018 – 5/6/2018: 32.1 mi 5:19:02 9:56 / mi

Most hardcore run: 10 miles in 93 degrees. Mental toughness and heat training at its finest. Or my 12 mile long run, solo, with a dead iPod in 98% humidity. Uff da. If grandma's is hot, I'm ready for it! (*please don't be hot!!*)

Favorite run: Toni and I had 9 miles worth of interval work on the track. It was hard but it was fun to knock out some hard repeats!

Favorite Race: I suppose I should say Brookings half, but I didn't really enjoy it.

Favorite Jam: I need some new music. What do you have for me?!

May in Review

Total Miles: 70.7 down from 104.9 miles last month. 60.6 miles last May.

Planned Miles: 67 miles. I only calculated through the Brookings half.

Total Time:  12:07:08 down from 18:58:53 last month. I've easily done six hours of yoga or cycling to make up the time difference!

Total Runs: 14 for an average of 5.05 miles/run.

Highest weekly mileage: 28.7 miles the first week in May. 4:49:16 10:06/mi pace

Favorite run: Last long run of the cycle with Toni, where we divulged our top secret race goals for each other during the run and they were secretly spot on with our own super secret race goal times. Ha.

Most hardcore run: Yoga-track-athalon. We did our ladder workout on the track after doing warm up miles and yoga. It felt awesome. I was worried about the paces and the intervals, and we killed them.

Favorite Race: Brookings Half Marathon Fastest time in 3 years! Wahoo. And 11 minutes faster than last year's race (in 20 degrees warmer). I'll take that progress.

Bike Miles: I haven't taken my road bike out yet, but I have gone to two 45 minute cycling class at the new yoga and cycling studio. I so wish it would tell me how far we went during class. It kills me!

Favorite Jam: None. 

May in Review

May in Review

Total Miles: 17.2 up from 3 last month. Lolz. April was a rough mouth for running. Hashtag alltheyoga. Down from from 61.5 last May.

Total Time:  2:45:57 up from 33 minutes last month. Ha. Last May I ran 9:57:55.

Total Runs: 5 runs, for an average of 3.44 miles per run. 

Highest weekly mileage:

5/18/2015 – 5/24/2015:	8.2 mi	1:18:07

Favorite run: 
5 mile "hilly" long run at a decent pace. Yeah, you just saw me put favorite and long in the same sentence. Probably because the length of the run wasn't 16-20 miles long. :P

Most hardcore run: 

Tempo run to and from barre on hills. No clue how I held a fast past after barre.

Favorite race: 
None.

Bike Miles: None.

Yoga: 21:30 hours. I spent almost a day of this month getting my om on. Whoa. And this doesn't count the full weekends spent toward my 200 hour training (except for the hours we were actually flowing/practicing). Wowsers. I'm surprised by that total!

Barre: 2:30 hours.

Favorite Jam: 

May in Review + Goals

May in Review

Total Miles: 61.5 down from 65.7 last month.  Up from 45.1 last May.

Total Time: 9:57:55 down from 11:23:15 last month. Which I'm totally okay with. 90 minutes less of running for roughly the same mileage. Wahoo! Speeding up!

Total Runs: 11 runs, for an average of 5.59 miles per run. 

Highest weekly mileage: 5/12-5/18 22.5 miles

Favorite run: 
800m repeats at the track with Jenn. My legs felt like they were flying.

And a 12 mile long run at a faster pace than two of my spring half marathons. 

Most hardcore run: 
Hands down, mile repeats in the extreme heat last week. Woof. Still managed my fastest repeats in years. And as I realized during the final repeat, my mile pace was faster than my half mile repeat pace from earlier this spring! That's insane, and I puffy heart love seeing progress.

Favorite race: 
Brookings Half Marathon--PGSPR

Bike Miles: 25

Favorite Jam: I put Fancy on my playlist, and it has been in my head for a week now. Ollie's name before I adopted her was Fancy, so this song always cracks me up. 

May Goals

I kind of sucked at my goals for the month. I let myself slack a little bit, knowing that I have an intense marathon cycle coming in June. I want to be sure I'll be able to focus for that long, so I tried to be less strict this month. 

• Run 100 miles.
• Run three long runs as scheduled. (Skipped one LR this month. 2/3 5.16.14, 5.2.14)
• Do one fast finish LR. (did another one with pickups instead, helps keep my glutes engaged) 
• Do one LR with 3 minute pickups every 20 minutes. 5.16.14
• Run all three speed sessions as scheduled. (3/3) 
• Run a strong half in Brookings (post-grad school PR pgspr!). 9 minute PGSPR from the weekend before! 
• Watch 2 Oscar Best Picture Nominees. (1/2 Her 5.17.14)
• Track food intake on days I don't run.
• Every other day core work, hip stretches, and drills.
• Learn 2 new recipes.
• Get a couple of pounds closer to my race weight for May races and the start of marathon training in June. Oops, I did the opposite after the Brookings race... :/
• 2 buddy runs. (2 sets of 800 repeats, tempo run!)
• Find a new place to live when our lease is up! (Feel free to shoot me leads on 2 bedroom places in town that allow dogs!) Decided to stick it out another year at our current place and avoid paying another $500 non-refundable pet deposit. Boo but YAY for not spending all of May panicking about packing, moving, and unpacking!

May in Review + Recovered Legs

May in Review

Total Miles:  87.6 down from 163.6 last month.  (96.7  miles from May 2010.)
Total Time:  14:05:55 down from 26:03:49  (15:04:50 last May.)
Total Runs: 14 for an average of 6.26 miles/run
Highest weekly mileage:Favorite run: 

5/16/2011 — 5/22/2011:

31.2 Mi

5:12:03

Bike Miles:  8.5.  Look out Lance.
Favorite Jams: Meh, anything that blocked out my internal whining/lamenting/woe is me during the marathon.  ;)
________________
So thanks for all the kind slash OMG GROSSSSSSSSSSs comments on my monster eye infection.  It looks 1000x better, and feels better too.  But it's definitely still messed up.  Oh well.  I have another eye, right?!!?  jk (I take my eye health very seriously...... but $180 for a 15 min eye doc visit and insanely expensive Rx.... I'll wait it out a smidge....)

I'm tentatively following the Hal Higdon post-marathon training program, I say tentatively because my legs have felt like butt hole so I've been pretty conservative with my miles and my pace.  Tuesday I set out for a very windy run expecting to have yet another slog fest.  Color me shocked when my legs felt BACK TO NORMAL.  At one point my "easy" pace was marathon pace (@#$%()#$%@#*($%*#($)%).  Yes.  Drama.  Me.  I knew the wind was at my back for the start of the run, and figured that's why it felt so effortless, but was even more shocked when I turned around and was able to maintain my pace against the wind without it affecting my heart rate too much.  Neato burrito.

For shits and gigs I threw in 4x100 m strides during the final mile to see how the hip/IT bands would take it.  Swimmingly.  HOLY GUACAMOLE, I MIGHT BE RECOVERED!!!  Only took 11 days, but whatev.  And good thing too, because I think I found my next race.  Just a little local 5k, but it's on my 1/2 birthday.  YAYZIES!

Sidenote:  I was telling KK that my 1/2 birthday was coming up and was all excited when it hit me.... crap....... 
J:  At what point do I have to stop celebrating my half birthdays?  [with pouty lip and puppy dog eyes...]
KK:  Definitely NOT 27 1/2!
Just another reason I keep that kid around. :DMost hardcore run: 
Favorite Race: I wish I could say it was the Fargo Marathon where I sub-4 and glitterfarted up the course.  But I didn't.  So I won't.  I did have a pretty g.d. good time at the Avera 10k though, and didn't die on my first 10k ever, and MAYBE even sparked a new favorite race distance.  So there's that, at least.

May in Review + Toughest Workout

Total Miles:   96.7 down from 180 last month.  That's ok with taper time and recovery time factored in.  I was half tempted to do a 2nd run on Monday to get an even 100.  Good thing work #1 handed my booty to me. (74.3 one year ago.)

Total Time: 15:04:50 down from 27:49:32.  

Total Runs: 14 for an average of 6.9 miles/run.

Highest weekly mileage: 5/10/2010-5/16/2010:  38.2 miles 6:01:40

Favorite run: To be honest, I still have marathon brain.  I don't remember really anything pre-marathon as far as runs go.  And took mucho time off after, and am only getting back into the swing of things.  Just the fact that I was able to run within a week of the race should be considered a favorite; meaning I didn't get hurt during the 'thon.  Go legs!

Most hardcore run: 800 meter repeats.  See below for hardcore-osity.  It's legit.  

Favorite Race: Uh.  Cellcom Green Bay Marathon.  Duh.

Current Jams:  Lovin' Kevin Rudolph's--I Made It.  Alyssa suggested it to me for my marathon playlist, and when I heard it during the race I seriously got choked up.  Good jam for that sort of accomplishment fo sho.

___________________________

Since I kinda wussed out on my mile repeats last week (or in more gentler terms, i knew my legs weren't 100% ready for speed work yet), Monday's work out was my first legit speed work session of the summer.  I had 6 miles total with 1 mile warm up, and 5x800 @ 3:34-3:44 with 800 m. jogs in between.  I was totally amped up to do these runs, and the weather was actually fairly nice.

I'm going to be honest when I say, I kicked my own ass.  Holy cow.  I had many many tough track practices back in the day, but I think this is one of the hardest workouts I've ever done.  That puke threshold people are always talking about?  Hit it.  Twice.  Impressed?  Because I sure as heck am.  Holy cow.  

Recovery	1 Mi	9:23	9:23	9:23			warm up
Interval	0.5 Mi	3:38	13:01	7:16
Recovery	0.5 Mi	5:07	18:08	10:14
Interval	0.5 Mi	3:38	21:46	7:16
Recovery	0.5 Mi	5:06	26:52	10:12
Interval	0.5 Mi	3:42	30:34	7:24
Recovery	0.5 Mi	5:22	35:56	10:44
Interval	0.5 Mi	3:42	39:38	7:24
Recovery	0.5 Mi	5:28	45:06	10:56
Interval	0.5 Mi	3:43	48:49	7:26
Recovery	0.5 Mi	5:09	53:58	10:18

I always post this from my log on Runners World and never explain it.  Column 1 time is split, Column 2 is total elapsed time, Column 3 is pace/mile.

I walked ~.05 after each half and then jogged the remaining .45.  Puke threshold (ok, dry heave threshold) was reached at 800 #4 and #5.  

I did 6 miles in 53:58 for a pace of 9:00.  800 m. pace avg. = 3:40.

I found it was pretty easy to hit the paces, and in some cases over shoot them, but I did struggle with maintaining them the last .05-.1 of each interval.  Good to know what your weaknesses are off the bet so you can work on them, right? :)

Someone commented on the daily mile that if these were Yasso 800's I'd be looking at a pretty major marathon PR (and likewise a BQ, bahah).  Which got me to doing some research on them.  Has anyone used these in their marathon training?  I quite enjoy 800 meter repeats (in a sick masochistic way), and am contemplating trying it out for a sub-4 finish in Vegas in December.

Check out Sam's giveaway!!