Head for the hills!

I'll admit, my training hasn't been that great now that I'm back at school.  I really do aim for at least four runs a week, but I'd actually like to do more.  Generally I don't like having more than two off days in a week because I start to feel lazy.  But, last week was one of those weeks where running just didn't work out. Do you ever have a week like that after a really good run? I was so pumped about my super half marathon but then I felt like the rest of my runs were sub-par all week.  Who knows, maybe it was just my imagination.  After all, I didn't get much in anyways.  Sunday I ran with Ryan and did some toe running, which made my calf muscles burn for days.  Monday I took an off day. Tuesday I did speed work and boxing.  Wednesday I had planned to go for four - five miles, but got stuck at work later than planned and ended up only doing 2 before boxing.  Thursday was an off day and then I did 7 on Friday.  I'm ok with Friday's run because I went through Nahant to get in some hill work, and I most definitely did that.  As tough as hills are, I'll admit, I love doing them.  No, not because I get to go downhill, I just really like the challenge of getting up to the top.

Link to my 7 miler through Nahant: enjoy this picture of my beautiful Hoka's instead of a picture of my running map in the meantime.


After that though, I knew the chances of running Saturday and Sunday were slim.  We went to Vermont on Saturday and stayed overnight and then I had a family party on Sunday.  By the time everything was over, I was just too tired to run.  We did manage to walk about 2.5 miles on Sunday, so not all was lost. Even though I was planning on running on Monday, I ended up not having time between school, meetings, and boxing.  But at least I got in a workout, so I felt ok.  Today I did speed work on the treadmill at Title before doing the power hour. It wasn't terrible, but I still hate the treadmill.  Wednesday and Thursday this week I have crazy work meetings and so I'm going to have to tough it out and run between the end of the regular school day and the beginning of the meetings. I'm determined to get in at least 5 miles tomorrow and another long run by Friday night.  Saturday I have class all day, so that's probably going to be my off day this week.  Hopefully Sunday will set everything right again, and I can go back to long run Sundays and hills, speed, and short runs during the week!

Frozen Shamrock

Remember that race from February that was postponed?  Today was the reschedule.  Even though it wasn't quite so frozen anymore, it was a nice race.  To be honest, I wasn't even really looking forward to running today.  I know I had too, but it was just one of those days.  But, I went out and did it anyways, which was necessary, because you know, if you spend the money, you might as well make it to the race right?  Anyways, I've been trying to do some speed training, which is as miserable as it sounds.  Basically, I take my normal pace and run down the beach.  At random intervals, usually between two telephone poles, I sprint, or at least, attempt to.  The theory is that speeding up for random intervals will increase lung power and endurance, overall making your running faster.  Supposedly running up and down large hills 5/6 times during a run will do the same.  Neither option is ideal, lets be serious.  But, I've been hoping to get my time down under 9 minutes, since I feel like I've been stuck there for a few months, so I've been out there doing it.  Not often, maybe once a week, which is not as often as I want to do it.  I'm hoping that combined with long runs, it will all pay off. (It sort of did last week in an unrelated note.  I went to the beach to run and happened to stumble into the new David O. Russell film being shot.  That's right, Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and some others were filming across the street from where I was running.  BONUS!)
Well, anyways, the gist of it is that I've been working on increasing my speed and decreasing my time.  Here's the good news.  Today I ran the 5K in 24:40.  Yes, that's right.  From 27/28 down to 24.  That's at least a minute off each mile.  Before you ask, it wasn't totally flat.  There was a nice hill right after the first mile.  Here's my official stats, according to coolrunning.

 191  14/81   F2029   ALLISON RUNYAN   24:37.9  8:13    8:19.0   16:16.4   24:44.1 

That's 191 overall, out of over 700 people, 14 of 81 people in my age group. My time is 24:37, gun time is 24:44.   Basically, a fantastic run.  The best I've had so far.  I am super pumped for this new time, but a little worried about it too. Now I expect myself to run any 5K at that speed so if I don't, I will be disappointed in myself.  Anyways, that's my brag for the day.  Here are some pictures from the race.  Ryan was loving enough to come with me and wait for me at the finish line, so he took the pictures too.