GCM training week 6 recap & how far would you go?

• Training for: Glass City Marathon, April 28th Toledo OH
• Miles run: 41

Another week in the books… and this has been a looooong one! Because I moved my long run to Sunday last week, I did not get a day of rest for 7 days. I would have taken a rest day if needed, and I’m happy to report I didn’t need one! I broke 40 miles this week too. woot!

Monday – 5 easy miles, treadmill.  This run started out pretty stiff feeling, but by the end I had loosened up and was glad I did this.  It was a good recovery run!

Tuesday – 6 miles, intervals. We mixed it up with 1000 x 2, 800 x 2 and 600 x 2 this week. 1 min of rest again, so with proper rest, I got it done! This was on the treadmill and I’m keep up with Celebrity Big Brother viewing too. Winning!

Wednesday – 5 more easy miles on the treadmill. Nothing to see here 🙂

Thursday – 7 miles, speedwork. Today was a pretty great day. It started with a challenging tempo run which alternated race pace (8:50) and threshold pace (8:30). I did it! Then I hit that 7 mile mark and practically passed out. PHEW!!! Run done. It was slightly drizzly out, and I used the power of my Boston jacket to get me through this one.

Next, it was a trip to the gym for “leg day”. I’m trying to be more consistent with my strength training for this training cycle.

Then I joined a friend who was celebrating his birthday… by running his year in miles! He’s 45. That’s a lot of miles!! I did not run with him, but joined him for lunch. Shared a burger with my husband. Looks delish, no?

Despite the chilly temps and constant rain, Chris finished his miles. Friends joined him along the way. As a side note, he is an ultra runner, so maybe this is “just another day” for him? I’m sticking with my 5.1 mile plan for 51 years in April! That’s Chris on the left (and JP on the right, who ran 32 miles with him!! wow!). I think he was about half way done when we met up with him for lunch. Happy Birthday Chris, you are a beast!

Friday – 4 easy miles on the treadmill. What, my day off work and I’m on the treadmill again?? Did I mention the winds were around 25 mph outside! If there’s 5 things I don’t like about running outside it’s: wind, rain, sub zero temps, humidity, and ice. haha!! (oh wait, make that 6. I don’t like the dark either. I’m so spoiled!). 6 consecutive days of running and I’m still hanging in there!

I did make it out to the gym on Friday (twice this week!). Kind of a date with Alan 🙂

Saturday – 14 mile long run. After last week’s exhausting long run with Alan, I decided to reset and find a new running partner for this week. I joined the Dave’s MIT group. There were a LOT of people there!

I stayed with the group that I will be sub coaching for next week. This not only kept me on pace, but I also got to meet the people in the group and get to know them better. I met a lot of people that swear by this running group to get them through their miles, and now I know why. This run felt really good and it went by pretty quick with our conversations! 14 miles completed at an overall 9:56 pace. My glutes/hamstrings were ready to be done after 11 miles, but hey, that’s progress.

Here’s a great tip for the cold weather running – wear a Buff around your cheeks. The extra layer keeps your head warm too, and it moves around easily based on the how you’re feeling! Buffs are so versatile!

Here’s a shocker… I grabbed a donut on my way home. The perfect post run treat 🙂 I know it looks like a hamburger, but it was really a Bavarian cream!

Sunday – Rest day! Finally!! 🙂 I dd my full PT exercises and also did a 30 min Restorative Yoga class on YouTube. Note to self, I need to find a 15 min video because I have the attention span of a goldfish. I got so bored!!

Need more inspiration? Check out these other blogs in the Weekly Wrap hosted by HoHo Runs and Wendy (Taking the long way home). Thanks for hosting!!

Q: Do you think you could run your age in miles? Would you rather run smaller miles (5.1), or maybe kilometers??

I’m sticking with those smaller miles!

Q: Do you ever wear a Buff?

I also wore that same one at Mohican (sweaty hot trail trail race) with ice tucked in it around my neck.

Q: Do you prefer Bavarian cream, or regular cream filled donuts?

Why choose? Eat both!! yummmmmm