Return to Running Recap: Week 43

This has been such a fun week for running! (Yes, you read that correctly.) I got a new Garmin Forerunner (running watch) and I was so excited to try it out--not only outside, but on the treadmill. I could write an entire post about the watch, so I'm going to save that talk for Sunday or Monday, and I'll just stick to my running recaps today.

I had another three-day running week (instead of four). I wanted to do my Friday run (3.5 miles) after I got my new Garmin (which was supposed to arrive Friday from Amazon). Well, I waited and waited and it didn't show up until 8:30 Friday night. So, I decided to run it on Saturday instead. Then my knee was hurting again on Sunday, so I took an extra day off this week, which I'll get to.

Saturday (Long Run - 4.5 miles)

Saturday was not supposed to be a long run. I was supposed to run 3.5 miles on Friday, rest on Saturday, then run 4.5 miles--my long run--on Sunday. Since I skipped Friday, I headed out relatively early on Saturday to run 3.5 miles. I've really liked getting my runs done in the mornings again. And it was drizzly and overcast without being insanely cold or windy, so it was nice!

Since 3.5 miles is a distance I rarely run, I didn't have a route in mind. I just started running and added a little here and there to a three-mile route. Well, I discovered that I'd overshot--big time. I reached 3.5 miles while I was still half a mile from home. I figured I could either run an extra 0.5 miles for the day or I could add an extra 0.5 to that and turn it into my long run of 4.5 miles.

I was feeling good, so that's what I did. I turned here and there on the streets and then made it home right at the 4.5-mile mark. It was a really good run! And my heart rate (from my wrist, not with my chest strap) seemed to be very accurate.

On the left is the overall summary and on the right are my one-mile splits (the fifth one was the last half mile). I was very surprised to see a 10:54/mile pace for 4.5 miles! I actually felt really good, too--good enough to choose to run an extra half-mile to make it my long run for the week.

Tuesday (15-minute Tempo)

I was VERY curious to see how the Garmin would work on the treadmill. As you know, I love to complain about the inaccuracy of the Garmin when I run on the 'mill. I'll explain more about that on my post about the Garmin itself, though.

Tuesday's speed work was a tempo run: Run 5 minutes easy, run 15 minutes at tempo pace, and then run 5 minutes easy. While I was just sitting and drinking tea in the morning, I looked at the clock and realized that since it was only a 25-minute workout, I had enough time to get it done before I had to drive Eli to school. So I actually got this one started at 6:12 AM!

I varied my speed a little and I can't remember the exact speeds I used. But the numbers here look faster than you would expect because the new Garmin is super accurate on the treadmill. I've been running faster than I thought this whole time! (Again, I'll explain this in another post.)

The splits for this one aren't one mile each; they are just the warm-up, the tempo, and the cool down. I ran the tempo portion at a 9:19/mile pace!

Thursday (Easy run - 3 miles)

Today, I wasn't very much in the mood to run, but my knee was feeling fine and I had no reason not to do it. I like the drizzly overcast weather for running, so I took advantage of it this morning. I chose to do one of my old favorite three-mile routes. I used to do this route a lot when I was training super hard for my 10K--I ran many super fast intervals on that route! Haha.

I consciously tried to focus on going slower/easier. Since I have to run four miles tomorrow, I was worried about my knee again. I kept my watch underneath my shirt sleeve the whole time so that I wouldn't see my pace. I just ran by feel; I knew I was probably going too fast, though, so I kept slowing down; then I'd realize I was going too fast again and it was just a cycle of that.

Anyway, it was a good run! It felt really long, but I liked running the familiar old route. (Although, someone who was looking at their phone while driving drifted onto the shoulder and nearly hit me! Stay off the phone when driving, pretty please.)

I'm happy with how the week went! It was super fun playing with the new Garmin (they've come a long way in the last nine years, hahaha). Here is a (Amazon affiliate) link to the Garmin Forerunner 245 that I bought; but if you're interested in one, I'd wait until I write more about it this weekend to see if it's what you're looking for. Or you can read DC Rainmaker's review--it's SUPER in-depth and that's how I make most of my decisions about stuff like this. His review is for the 245 + music; mine is the same watch only without the music option.

Weekly Summary: I ran 10.18 miles in 1:47:34 (10:34/mile average pace); average heart rate of 153 bpm.

Here is today's random fact of the day:

This one wasn't really of interest to me, but maybe it will be to someone else! ;)