Week 5 Recap, My New Addiciton and Happy Turkey Day!

Week Five Recap: My training continues to challenge me but I still doing my best to stick to it and not miss a workout unless I really have to. Other than this strange pain I am having in the back of my right leg near my knee, which I hope goes away, life is good in my running world. Here is what I was able to conquer this week:

Monday: XT#1: Ran 2.24 Miles to meet my 1000 Mile Goal and then did my 45 minutes on the Life Cycle (10.50 Miles).

Tuesday: XT#2: One hour Spin Class.  The regular instructor was back and the workout was much better. She tends to give us a lot of repeat intervals so I felt like I was doing the same thing over and over again but I was sweating!! I have yet to try out my cycling shoes that I scored a great deal on. For some reason I am afraid to try them in fear of not knowing how to use them. (Dumb, I know.)

Wednesday: Speed Workout: 6 miles.  I hit all of my target times but man was I tired.  My RI's were longer than they should have been so I cheated a little. Oh how I love speed work since I always end up with some kind of new ache and pain the day after!

  

Thursday: REST DAY

Friday: 6 Mile Tempo Run

Saturday: I was supposed to do my long run today but I put it off until Sunday knowing that there was a 60% chance of rain. I was just too lazy and spent the day doing all of my errands, some Christmas shopping, and eating of course. I knew I was going to pay for being a procrastinator!

Sunday: 18.11 Miles: The weather was great, 44-51 degrees, but I could have done without the rain for the first five miles. It wasn't raining that hard but more like a heavy drizzle. The drivers had their windshield wipers on so I guess there was enough falling to say it was raining and to justify all of the weird looks I was getting.  I wore my Brooks jacket that my husband gave me for Mother's Day for the first time and good thing I did because it kept me nice and dry :)  I thought about turning back at Mile 5 because it started coming down a bit harder and I was getting cold but the minute the thought crossed my mind, the rain stopped and sun was trying to peek through. I kept going and hoping for the best. The last 13 miles were great and I felt strong the whole time.  I love when I have a great run especially when it is a long run!

Total Mileage= 40.61 (30.11 of those miles were running) 

 My New Addiction:

I am a Starbucks fan all the way. I must have my venti, skinny Caramel Macchiato every morning, or close to that, especially when it is cold but it can be an expensive habit as you know!  Lately I have been making hot chocolate at home in my Mr. Coffee Cocomotion machine.  All you do is add milk, the hot chocolate mix and it does all of the work for you! It shuts itself off when it's done and the chocolate is so frothy and delicious! I am not a big fan of hot chocolate from Starbucks since it has more of a mocha taste to it so for now my new addition is hot chocolate from my house! 

I am so looking forward to my two Turkey Trots next week since i am skipping my speed workout.  I think it will be a good opportunity for me to see if my 5K performance is improving since incorporating speed work into my training plan. I am not so much focusing on my time but more on how I am feeling physically while running at a faster pace. My friend Shawna, who holds a smokin' PR of 23:01, will also be running the 5K.  I guess I will be eating her dust!!Good luck to everyone who is turkey trotting this week.  It seems like most of us are doing some kind of race so that we can eat ourselves into a food coma! Happy Turkey Day!!

Goals, Deals, Weekly Recap and a Thunder Shirt!

While I enjoy reading the "November Goals" posted on all of the great blogs that I follow, I haven't posted! Why?  Because I am so focused on my new training plan that I can't even begin to think of any other goals to set for myself.  The title of my blog really says it all for me...I want to run the Boston Marathon one day before I die!  I am very goal oriented but Boston occupies so much of my running goals that working towards it will remain my main goal until I finally get there. 

Super Great Deal:

I am excited to share that I scored another great deal this week!  A local mall near my house just opened a new Sports Authority so they sent $15 discount cards out to all of the local residents.  Well, I have been wanting to buy a hand held water bottle for a while now but just could not get myself to spend $20 on one.  I mean it's a plastic water bottle with a little piece of material on it!  When I saw this discount card, I headed down to Sports Authority to see if they had what I was looking for and they did so I finally have one and I paid $5.00 for it!!  Sometimes I don't feel like wearing my hydration belt and just want to carry water in my hand but water bottles are just too complicated to hold. 

  

Week Three Training Recap:

This week was a very productive week for me in terms of sticking to my planned workouts.  I was able to complete all of my workouts and meet all of my target paces.  I am still having some issues with sticking to the planned paces on my long runs because 9:30+ paces on long runs can take forever to complete.  I guess it's all part of building endurance so I have to get better at sticking to the plan.

Monday: REST DAY

Tuesday: Speed Work= 6 miles...these workouts are challenging the heck out of me but I am starting to kind of like it now. Beside the fact that I feel like passing out and calling 911 during the workout, I think speed work is going to make me a stronger and faster runner.

Wednesday: XT#1: 45 minutes on stationary bike (hills plus workout)= 12.3 Miles 

Thursday: Tempo Run=7.4 miles

Friday: XT#2: Spin Class-great workout and I was sweating like crazy!! I also did some weight training and focused on my arms and legs while waiting for the class to start.

Saturday: 17 miles= It was 44 degrees out there and I had to force myself out the door.  This was the first time I have needed to wear pants and a jacket on a run in a long time!

Sunday: MUCH NEEDED REST DAY/CUPCAKE DAY!

Total Mileage=42.7 (30.4 of those miles were running)

On Sunday I rewarded myself for a productive week and ate cupcakes!!  One of my favorite cupcakes is Vanilla Almond Salted Caramel and it is to die for!! These cupcakes are like heaven in your mouth and and I could live off of them!!  

My plans for next week include a 20 mile run and my first 10K so we will see how my 10K goes especially now that there is a 60% chance of rain in the forecast!  I have no goal in mind but just want to see where I stand at this distance so that I have a goal to work towards.  How should I dress for this race? Any advise?

The Thunder Shirt!

Totally unrelated to running but Buster is still living with us.  I have been told that I should buy him a "Thunder Shirt" to help him with his separation anxiety.  It is supposed to be like wearing a giant hug to relieve some of the anxiety that is associated with many types of disorders that dogs suffer from.  Has anyone ever tried a thunder shirt, as pictured above, on their dog?  I really want to help Buster before he destroys my entire house!  I don't have the heart to take him to the animal shelter because I am such an animal lover.

Did you have a great week?  Congratulations to everyone who was lucky enough to run the NYC Marathon!  Did you participate in any other races this weekend beside NYC?

Source

Vanilla Almond Salted Caramel Cupcakes!