Bayshore Half Training: week 4

I think I got back closer to the plan this week but I still moved workouts around quite a bit.  Recovery from the Groundhog Day Half Marathon was surprisingly easy (or maybe was easy because I took it so slow) and my runs this week went well.

Monday 2/4/13 - Plan: RUN easy 4 miles at 11:18 pace.  Did: SWIM - 1200 yards in about 33 minutes.  My foot was still pretty sore from Saturday's crazy half marathon so I figured a cross training day was my best bet.

Tuesday 2/5/13 - Plan: CROSS TRAIN.  Did: RUN/BIKE Brick - I had planned on running Monday's 4 miles, but 2 miles into the run (trying out my Newton Gravity shoes) I knew I wasn't ready to run 4 miles.  My foot started to hurt and I decided to play it safe.  I finished with 9 miles on the bike.  Total workout time was about 45 minutes.

Wednesday 2/6/13 - Plan: RUN Tempo 4 MI, inc w/u; 2 MI @ 9:33, c/d Did: RUN Tempo! I nailed this workout. I really hadn't planned on running since my run the day before was less than stellar, but the day was sunny and relatively warm, so I put on my Asics and headed out the door. Ran a mile w/u in 11:14 and then averaged a 9:25 pace for the 2 mile tempo. Finished with a 1 mile c/d in 10:56. Felt great the entire run - no pain other than some calf tightness.

Thursday 2/7/13 - Plan: BIKE/STRENGTH.  Did: BIKE - 13.8 miles in a hour.  Skipped the strength training.  Mentally I wasn't in a good place and it was a struggle just to get the bike ride done.

Friday 2/8/13 - REST. Did: STRENGTH/RUN - We had another snow day so I shoveled, then scooted over to the gym for a 45 min barefoot fitness class.  It was SO HARD but I loved it.  Tons of squats, lunges and balance activities.  Finished with a 1 mile run in my Newtons (10:10 pace).  I was surprised how good I felt today.

Saturday 2/9/13 - Plan: RUN "long" run of 5 miles at 11:18 pace.  Did: RUN - bitterly cold 5 mile run on the Butterworth hills.  These are a series of rollers that tend to make an appearance in every long race here.  Managed to stay pretty close to my training pace (ran the 5 in 54:55 - a 10:59 pace).  Had some calf tightness again but no real pain.  Finished the run looking like a girlier version of Frosty :)

Sunday 2/10/13 - Plan: REST  Did: REST  I threw in a little foam rolling and stretching.  Rest days are hard for me because I really value the calories I burn so I can eat more later.  When I don't have an activity like a run or bike ride, it makes eating during the day much more difficult.

I felt really good about this week.  Having that weird foot pain after last weekend's half definitely concerned me, but overall, I think I recovered quite nicely.

I'm still working to win a new medal display from Allied Medal Displays.  Could you please head over here and vote for my picture?  I'd really appreciate it.  (Last I checked I was in 2nd place and about 10 votes behind.) You can vote once a day! Thanks so much!