Wine & Dine: Week 4

Tough week is over -- felt pretty off this week, even on the days I did run. I'm glad that for the most part, I stuck with it and got the miles in, but I just didn't feel like my head was in the game. It happens, I just that it happened so early in this training plan!

Sunday: Cross-Train
1.54 mi/14:26/9:22 pace
Since I was still in California until Sunday afternoon, I didn't have access to my gym. Being that I was sitting on a plane all afternoon, I figured it'd be better to get some road time in since cross-training wasn't in my cards for the day. Set off on a super quick, albeit short, tempo run around my neighborhood. Felt good -- beautiful morning in Southern California. Can't wait to run my marathon here in February! Nothing like running on your own turf -- in non-humid weather.

Leaving on a jet plane ... my favorite part of flying out of LAX.

Monday: 3.5 miles
Rest
Super tired from Sunday and feeling generally blah. Considering changing up my schedule so Mondays are rest days intentionally, because I feel like the last few weeks have been, but not on purpose. We'll see how this goes.


Tuesday: 35 min tempo
1.68 mi / 15:27 / 9:13 pace

I feel like I barely made this run count. I did run in the evening, so knowing me, I probably did it right after work, wasn't feeling super hot... and regretted that decision! Ah well, at least I got out for a little bit, right?

Look what came in today! Sporting my tank as we speak & planning on rocking it at Ragnar this upcoming week. Who's excited? Meeeeeeeeeeee!

The card is my favorite: Kicking Ass is Best Done in Pretty Shoes.

 Wednesday: 3 miles + strength
2.22 mi / 20:26 / 9:14 pace
Well, I guess the good thing about this run (and Tuesday's) is building up that consistency in my running paces. Now I just need to work on building endurance over long distances so I can bust out a 9:13 for a 10K or something, because that would just be amazing. I guess my upcoming second leg on Ragnar will be a great test for that! *wink*

And todayyyyy I got

These are my new babies, the Brooks PureConnects. I  love my Saucony Kinvaras, and am saving to get an other pair that I can rotate with these guys, but I wanted to also try a new shoe as well to see what fit was like. They're kinda funky, as they have more of an arch compared to the Kinvaras, but so far they've contributed to some decent runs. Trying to break them in prior to Ragnar!

Thursday:  Rest
Rest
Again, being that my head just wasn't in the game this week, I was totally okay with it. Such is life.


Friday: 3 miles
2.62 mi / 24:42 / 9:25 pace
Happy way to start my Friday - and I think the kick-start I needed ... you know, to end the week. Better late than never, and at least I got those miles in. Hoping this rough week is almost over and I can move on to a better, happier week!

Oh, and these came in on Friday! Thanks so much Sparkly Soul! I am so excited to represent next week at Ragnar... and forever. <3

Saturday: 3 miles am + 4 miles pm (Ragnar training)
5.57 mi/ 57:37 / 10:20 pace
First off, I was not mentally prepared for this run, whether I did it in two parts or one. I set out to do one 7-miler. I'm realizing more and more how much the mental game really plays into how you do on a run. Really. I felt alright until mile 2.5 or so -- when the dreaded runner tummy issues kicked in. I walked to try and calm my body down, and from there went downhill. Ran to RiteAid (thank you for being open at 8 am on a Saturday) and then tried to get back into it but just couldn't. Check out those lousy paces... I'm glad this running week is over and I can move on!

So overall, a rough week. Hoping the excitement of Ragnar can get me pumped for next week and get in the mindset of getting in some quality runs! Here's to hoping!

Do you have anything getting you pumped soon? What's upcoming on your race calendar? How do you deal with difficult weeks?