Another week (well actually 2) done and training is feeling really good.   🙂  This past weekend I had my first race of the season and it went way better than expected, which is just what I needed to keep me motivated to keep putting in the work day in and day out.

On a non-training update, JMR and I bought a new mattress!  We’ve been talking about getting a new one for well over a year, but lately JMR has been having back issues and we are overdue for a new mattress, so we pulled the trigger yesterday.  I did some online research before we headed to the store so I at least had an idea of what we were looking for and in what price range.  After trying a few different styles, we settled on a standard mattress with a foam pillow top.  I had thought I would like a memory foam mattress, since those seem to be the most popular, but I HATED them… the odd slowly sinking feeling for several minutes after you laid down felt strange and getting up was a bit tough too.  I envisioned trying to get out of bed in the middle of the night to pee after having run a long run that day and then having issues getting out, the horror! 🙂  JMR was indifferent so it was an easy decision to go with the standard mattress.  We ended up getting the floor model, which at first I was 100% ‘no way’ before we tried it out, but after seeing the huge price savings and how much more we liked it over beds in the similar price range, I caved and gave JMR the thumbs up.  At least no one has slept on it, right? They also threw in a waterproof mattress protector, so that added a little more reassurance.  Fingers crossed we like it, it arrives Saturday!  Ok, on to the past two weeks training:

Week 10: 3/5-3/11

Monday – 2300y with timed 2100y swim test.   The 2100y was a tad slower than I had hoped, but still decent time (for me).  Yoga after work

Tuesday – Speedwork-800 warmup, 10×400, 800 cooldown

Wednesday – 2050y swim in the am, 1 hr trainer ride after work

Thursday – 5.5 miles in the am which included 8 hill repeats, weights/core after work

Friday – 2600y swim in the am

Saturday – 10 mile run- 1 mi warmup, 2 miles at marathon pace (around 9:30ish for me), 6 at half marathon pace (sub 8:30) and 1 mile cooldown.  Overall it felt pretty good, and I’m getting excited to race and see what I’ve got!

Sunday – 1:30 trainer ride followed by 1 mile run

Total Training Hours: 9:15

Week 10: 3/12-3/18

Monday – 3000y swim in the am, yoga after work

Tuesday – Speedwork-800 warmup, 6×400, 800 cooldown

Wednesday – 1500y swim in the am, 1 hr trainer ride/2mi run after work

Thursday – Easy 5 mi run in the am, weights/core after work

Friday – 1800y swim in the am

Saturday – Saint Patrick’s Day 5 Mile Race, aka, RACE DAY!!  My pre-race routine went smoothly, I got up early, ate, we were parked in plenty of time, 1.5mi warmup, took my gel and lined up.

Once the gun went off I tried to settle into a not super crazy fast pace, which is tough since the first .5 miles are downhill.  I was able to reign in the pace and hit mile one at 7:24 (compared to last year which was a 7:05, waaaay too fast), the second mile was 7:25 and I was still feeling good, but also a little worried that maybe I was going a little too fast, the third mile consists of a huuuge uphill (almost .5 miles) and that split was 7:49 (the year before it was in the 8’s). I was starting to feel fatigued but kept on trucking knowing that the last two miles were mostly downhill or flat. Mile 4 was 7:23 and then I pushed it the best I could until the finish, ending around a 7:23 pace for the last mile.  My final time was 37:39 with an avg pace of 7:32 (I ran an extra .05 so my mile splits were a little off), which I was THRILLED about.  I couldn’t believe it actually… my best time for this race was 38:27 in 2012 and I was just hoping to dip into the 38’s this year, with around a 7:40/50 average pace. So to go sub 38 made me very very happy!

Now I’m REALLY excited for the Go! Half since I now know I really have gotten speedier  after consistently putting in the work (and I’m sure the 8lbs I have lost since the beginning of the year has helped also) 🙂

Sunday – 1:30 recovery trainer ride followed by a very easy 3 mile run

Total Training Hours: 9:00

So that’s a wrap!  Happy Monday 🙂