March 03, 2022

Return to Running Recap : Week 40


I had an amazing outdoor run today! My first outdoor run since--probably November?--maybe January. Anyway, I'm going to jump right into my four run summaries so that I can keep this post as short as possible.

Week 2, Day 3 of Relay Training: Run 2.25 miles

I chose to do this on the treadmill, as I have been for all of my runs lately. Not only because of the cold, but because I like being able to read my book on the treadmill.

I started running at the usual "easy" speed of 5.0 mph and I felt really good--the belt felt like it was going too slow!--so I stopped my Garmin and the treadmill and reset for 5.1 mph. Not a huge jump, but slightly faster than I've been going. I started running again and it wasn't until I was about halfway through that I realized I forgot to start my Garmin. I wasn't about to do it over again, so I just started my Garmin and adjusted it later. I felt good throughout!

(The reason I started it over was because I have my Garmin set for splits every 12 minutes; the Garmin distance is slightly off when I run on the treadmill, so having the splits every 12 minutes when I run at 5.0 means they are 1-mile splits.)

Summary: 2.25 miles at 11:47/mile pace. Average heart rate: 147 bpm.


Week 2, Day 4 of Relay Training: Long run of 3 miles

I never used to think of three miles as a "long run", but the last run of the week is the longest and will keep getting longer throughout training. Still, 3 miles seemed so much farther than the 2.5 miles last week.

I didn't do 5.1 mph this time; I went back to 5.0. One thing I really miss about being faster is that my runs didn't take nearly as long. I used to run 3 miles in 27-28 minutes for an "easy" pace; that's a big difference from the 36 minutes I've been doing! I don't mind being a slow runner, I just wish it didn't take so much longer, haha. Nothing really notable about this run; I just read my book on the treadmill.

Summary: 2.5 miles at 12:00/mile pace. Average heart rate: 151 bpm.


Week 3, Day 1 of Relay Training: Speed Work Intervals

Speed work day! I actually was kind of looking forward to this workout because the intervals are so short and it makes the time fly by.

Run 10 minutes easy (I did 5.0 mph)
Run 1 minute hard (I did 7.0 mph) then walk 2 minutes - Repeat for a total of 6 intervals.
Run 5 minutes easy (I did 5.0 mph)

I debated whether to do 6.5 or 7.0 mph for my intervals. Two weeks prior, I did the same workout only with 4 intervals instead of 6. For that workout, I did 7.0 for the first interval and realized it was too hard, so I did 6.5 for the rest. I thought I'd see how 7.0 felt now.

The purpose of short intervals like this is to run HARD. As hard as you can run while still being able to finish. I didn't want to aim too low, so I aimed high and hoped I could do it.

After the first one, I was really surprised at how good I felt. I even debated going a little higher than 7.0, but then decided not to so that I could be sure to do 6 intervals at that speed. Surprisingly, I made it through all 6 and I still felt good enough that I probably could have gone faster.

Summary: 2.58 miles at average of 12:48/mi (including the walking).
        Intervals (6): 60 seconds each at 8:34/mi; 2 minutes walking at 20:00/mi in between.



Week 3, Day 2: Run 2.5 miles

The snow has melted and the sun was shining, so it looked relatively warm outside. I thought maybe I should try running outside. I looked at the weather app on my phone and saw that it was 24 degrees with a "real feel" temp of 12. Soooo... I almost changed my mind, but I remember once upon a time when I *always* ran outside and I loved the cold weather runs! The treadmill doesn't give me the same feel-good satisfaction that outdoor runs do, so I went ahead and got dressed in warm running clothes.

Since this was just a regular easy run, I decided to cover my Garmin with my multiple layers of shirts and not even glance at my pace. I know distances throughout the nearby neighborhoods like the back of my hand, so I managed to mentally map out a 2.5 mile route--and interestingly, I hit the 2.51-mile mark when I got back to my driveway! I didn't expect to get *that* close, but now I know a good 2.5 mile route, should I need it.

The second I started running, I felt AMAZING. Being outside in the cold air actually felt really good. I tried to run at a slow, comfortable pace and just ignore all thoughts. I listened to Sword & Scale (a true crime podcast) and the episode happened to be about a crime that took place just a couple of miles from where I used to live. When I heard the host say "Brownstown, Michigan", I was a little stunned--it's a teeny tiny little suburb; I even knew the neighborhood where it took place. Anyway, that was really interesting to me, so I was able to focus on the podcast and just ignore the fact that I was running.

A mile in, I stopped at my parents' house to feed the squirrels, but that only took a couple of minutes. Then I continued on, mentally making up my route as I went, adding up what I thought the total mileage was. When I got to my neighbors' house, I finally looked at my Garmin and saw that I was spot-on with the distance. I was *very* surprised to see my average pace was 11:09/mi!

I felt SO good about that run--not just the pace, but the way I felt when I was running in the cold air.

Summary: 2.52 miles at an 11:08/mile pace. Average heart rate: 150 bpm.

Overall, it was a good week! I didn't have any awful runs where I just feel miserable or anxious. And the outdoor run was the highlight :)

1 comment:

  1. Lately, any time I get outside for a run, I shout "WE WENT OUTSIDE!" or something similar on Strava. Good work with the training. Go you!

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