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Week 4 (Aug. 20-26)
Monday: 6.5 miles, medium effort, 7:13/mi
Since there is practice in the evening today, I did about 15 minutes of core work and upper body resistance training in the morning. A big workout is planned for tomorrow, so instead of doing the usual long run, today was just about putting in a few miles. I ran with the guys team, and while the first few miles were a little quick, the pace gradually toned down to one that was more relaxed. My legs felt really good and it made me wish that I could have gone longer! Afterwards, I did strides.
Tuesday: 5.01 miles, easy
There was a change of plans, so now our workout is moved to tomorrow. I ended up being
really thankful that we didn't do the workout today, because I didn't get to stretch very much last night and my legs felt more tight for today's run. I kept the pace easy, averaging 7:35 per mile. Later I did yoga, and it was exactly what my legs needed to get stretched out again. (YOGA DOES WONDERS, PEOPLE!!)
"I LOVE HILL REPEATS!"
Wednesday: 11.5 miles, The Infamous Northern 15-15-30 Out-and-Back workout
Yeah, this workout was guaranteed to be a tough one. I ran a one mile warmup with the team down to the road where we do the workout. After some dynamics, the head coach gave a rundown of the workout: 15 minutes easy, straight into 15 minutes hard, then turn around and try to make it back in 30 minutes. My coach asked one of his friends to run the workout with me, and I was thankful to have someone else along the way to work with.
We started out at 7:30/mile pace to get two miles in for the first 15 minutes. The hard-effort part of the run started on a mile which was mostly a gradual uphill, so our first mile was around 5:57, but the second mile had a long downhill which led to a faster split, 5:37. I felt really good at this point, and after running hard until the 15 minutes were up, I was happy to see that I made it out 4.66 miles. The way back was tough, because it started on a long gradual uphill, then rolled the rest of the way back to the starting point. The pace was still pretty quick on the way back, and we finished in 1:00:25.
The pace for the entire workout averaged out 6:29/mi for 9.33 miles. As soon as I was done, I felt how tight my legs were, almost of the verge of cramping up, so I ran super easy on the one mile cool down. I was really happy having completed my highest mileage day ever!
Thursday: 6 miles, easy, 7:35/mi
I woke up with my legs feeling a bit tight, but overall feeling better than expected after the tough workout yesterday! My legs were definitely tired, but I was still able to enjoy the run by keeping a very easy pace. After the run, I did strides. Later, I did dynamic stretching and about 15 minutes of core work.
Friday: 8.5 miles, hill repeats
I LOVE HILL REPEATS! I think that they are so satisfying to run. Our team met at a nearby trail for practice, and the hill we ran was long with a very steep section. I ran the same hill workout multiple times throughout the summer to build strength: running up the hill hard, then using the remaining part of the (about) 1200m loop as recovery. With it having been a few weeks since I ran the repeats, I was excited to see how I would feel and how my times would compare. After a two-mile warmup, I started the workout. During the summer, I had always done five repeats, but this time I was going to do six. I focused on my form going up the hills and made sure to stay relaxed so that I could try to make each repeat faster than the last. I felt very strong, and the time it took me to crest each hill progressed well! I ran a two mile cool down to finish out the day.
Saturday: 5.5 miles, easy
After a tough week, I was glad to end with an easy run. I made a point to not look at my at watch during my run so that I could completely go off of feel. The run didn't feel great, but it was a beautiful day, and I was happy to be out enjoying it! I did strides afterward, then enjoyed the last Saturday of summer at a get-together with my XC team!
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Total Mileage: 43 miles
Reflection: In my last week of summer training, I was so thankful to have such a great week where I ran my highest weekly mileage ever! I was very happy with how I felt in all of my workouts. Once again, they made me so excited to race! I'm not as excited for school to start, but I'm ready for the fall season (my favorite!) to start up.
