Napa Training Week 10... Some Unexpected Cross-Country

After all the holiday mayhem Week 9, this week it was time to buckle down and get my miles in. I ended up getting everything in, but not without some effort and some unexpected off road running.

Sunday - 5 miles.

Monday - 9 miles. This was my pace run. I really worked on controlling myself better in the beginning and tried not to go out too fast. I don't think there are any pace groups at Napa so, ultimately, I will be responsible for myself. I also told myself that there will be slow miles and there will be fast miles so don't freak out if one of my miles is too slow; just keep your head as there are plenty of miles to make up time.

I'm still going out a hair fast. Plus, I swear there must be some GPS dead spot where I run mile 4. My Garmin always says I'm running WAY slow the first half mile of it when I feel like I'm running the same pace but I end up picking it up and then when I hit the mile mark I'm always fast.

I was originally suppose to run 11 miles. 7.5 miles into it I was about to go down a big hill when I realized I wouldn't make it home before dark if I did. I was running on a hilly shoulderless county road with cars going 50 mph. Even in the daylight the cars can't see me until they crest the hills. I decided to turn around. Half a mile later it was pitch dark and the only scrap of anything reflective on me was the Nike symbol on my jacket. I knew for a fact the cars couldn't see me.

The last mile ended up being a hairy cross-country run through the edge of farm fields and people's lawns with blinding headlights coming at me. After I made it home I thought about driving to the old Westgrove school to finish the other 2 miles but then decided I'd just make up the miles later in the week.

Tuesday - 22 miles. This was my long slow run. All I had to do was finish.

I had my Garmin hidden under my jacket sleeve so I just head the beeps as the miles went by. Towards the end I had to walk some of the uphills because I could feel my heartrate skyrocketing. This felt much harder than the 20 I ran in Week 8. When I finally looked at my watch though I realized I had run 22 miles in 10 minutes less than I had run 20 two weeks ago so that's probably why it felt so much harder. Overall very pleased with my run.

I went and celebrated Christmas with my in-laws after my run.

Wednesday - Rest. I spent the whole day at work then went to a New Year's Eve party after work. Finally got to bed around 2 am (I know, what else is new?)

Thursday - 6 miles. I ran the Run for Literacy 5K and got my second unexpected off road run of the week. I showed up and found out it was a cross-country race...

It was cold. It was windy. It was my second speed workout of the week. Enough said. I did a 3 mile warm down afterwards on pavement that was about as fast as my race. I did manage a first place age group finish. Then I had to go to work.

Friday - Rest.

Saturday - 12 miles. It's freakin' raining again. I'm beginning to think it rains every Saturday. I hit the hamster track again.

Week 10 Total Miles: 54 miles
5 good days, 2 rest days