Mill Race Training Week 8 - Hitting 50

I did it. I hit my goal of 50 miles this week.

It was another scorcher of  week with temperatures pushing 90+ everyday. Smotheringly humid too. On Tuesday things weren't looking too hot...er, well, it was actually too hot, but on Wednesday I made some decisions and pulled myself together.

Sunday 7/16 - Rest. Worked overnight on Saturday, slept in on Sunday, then went back in for the night shift again on Sunday night.

Monday 7/17 - 5 miles. Got home at 7:30 am and slept. Ended up running around the walking path at New Hope Church at 8 pm. I was proud of myself for actually running outdoors. It was still over 80 degrees at 8 pm but I had a good run.

Tuesday 7/18 - 2 miles. I had 10 miles on the schedule. Went to run club in the evening. It was a track workout. Basically ran 1.5 miles as a warm up, did 800 meters of the workout, then called it a night. It was almost 90 degrees and running on a black asphalt track was horrible. I felt like I was running in place. There was no difference between my sprinting pace and my recovery pace. It was pointless for me to continue. I walked back to my car and drove home.

I had intentions of either going to the fitness center to finish my miles indoors or see if it got any cooler later in the evening and try to run at the church again but it was 8 pm when I got home. Hubs was home, I was now shivering cause I had driven home an hour in sweat soaked clothes, and all I wanted was a shower and dry clothes so I bagged the rest of the miles.

Wednesday 7/19 - 20 miles.  I didn't even try to run outdoors today. Slept in, then went to the fitness center in the late afternoon. Banged out 20 miles on the hamster track. 20 miles is a lot of time to think about things. I decided I was building mileage this week. I'll worry about speed and heat later. Right now I want a nice solid mileage base. It doesn't matter if it's indoors. Miles are miles. That was my decision.

Thursday 7/20 - 5 miles. Legs felt a bit stiff and tired in the morning so this was a nice shake out run around the hamster track.

Friday 7/21 - 12 miles. Since I totally bagged my speed session on Tuesday I did my "treadmill intervals" today. One mile warm up around the hamster track. Three miles at 8:35 average pace on the treadmill (set it for 7.0 mph which are 8:34 miles). One mile recovery on the track. Another three miles on the treadmill, this time averaged 8:41 miles as I slowed mile 2 to 8:57 pace for awhile. Another recovery mile around the track. Hit the treadmill a third time but only did one mile in 8:34 before calling it a workout. Two mile cool down on the track. Overall felt like it was a pretty solid workout.

Now I find myself 6 miles short of 50 after 5 days of running. I had planned on resting on Saturday as I have to work from 9 am to 6 pm, then I'm going to a party after work. Plus, my legs are pretty tired... but I want 50. I had a huge internal debate about whether I just wanted the numbers to look pretty vs. do I need another run. I decided Tuesday really didn't amount to anything and I should run on Saturday.

Saturday 7/22 - 6 miles. Got up at the butt crack of dawn - 5 am. Rolled out of bed, put running clothes on and went out the door with a headlamp. It was still pitch black outside but 78 degrees already. Got it done. 6 miles.

50 miles for Week 8.

Woohoo!! Now it's off to work.
I am sleep in tomorrow morning.