The past week was another mixed bag for me. I was coming off my first "race" of the season, a
4th Place showing at Indy Winter XC. The next day, feeling remarkable good with very little soreness, I ran 13 miles at a solid pace. Then came Monday. I should probably first point out that this was my first full week of work since before my school's Christmas Break (not holiday break, not winter break...it's for CHRISTMAS). I hadn't worked a 5 day week since mid-December, so as the week went on, I was understandably tired.
The week started out with a comfortable 6 miles during practice while my kids ran their mileage. My legs were tired, but it was a pretty comfortable run. Tuesday was one of those days I regretted immediately. I had a faculty meeting after school, and instead of going straight outside and running afterward, I caught the end of practice and headed home. The end result was I took the day off, and I was mad at myself because of it.
Wednesday I decided to give myself my first real test in several weeks. While I was unclear of the specifics of the workout going in, I knew it was to be a longer workout, at 95% of half marathon effort. I originally wanted to see how far I could go at that pace, but once I started, the workout began to change in my mind. Originally it was going to be 2 miles, 1.5 mile, 1 mile and 1/2 mile at that pace, or getting gradually faster. Then it was going to be 3 miles, 2 miles, 1 mile (I immediately rejected this idea), and finally, I settled on a 5k tempo, followed by 4x400 meters at a faster pace, then 4x200 meters even faster.
The tempo run went great. I ran almost dead even splits on the track, and my miles were all exactly 5:45. I have always been a good pacer, and this was just another example of me getting into a rhythm and just going with it. I didn't feel great but it wasn't terrible either. I hit the 5k in 17:57. Some of my runners decided to watch me on my last mile, and when I told them my 5k split, they got somewhat frustrated, as it was faster than all of their PR's. But they know they are on track to get much faster so I was able to give them a little bit of a hard time about this.
I followed up the 5k with 4x400 with 200 meters jog recovery. I shockingly hit the first in 71 seconds, even though I felt I was running in slow motion. Apparently this took a lot out of me, because I hit the next in 79, before finally settling in at 76 for the last 2. On the final 400 I felt a pretty bad pulling in my calf, and while my stubborn mind initially said to do the 200's, I decided it was in my best interests to skip them today and save them for another time. I finished with a little over a mile cooldown to give myself 8 for the day.
The next two days are when the wheels fell off. I did an easy 5 for recovery on Thursday after almost taking the day off (again), and my legs were VERY tight, especially the calves. This caused some shin aches, so I really focused after practice and that night stretching and using the foam roller. I did this run late at night, after a friend at work emailed me and told me my encouragement had gotten her to run for this first time in several months. I knew I couldn't take the day off, so I got out the door at 9:30 for my run. Friday was more of the same, and I eventually ended up calling my run off at 2 miles because the pain was so bad. I slept in compression socks Friday night...and that seemed to help.
Saturday was a day that somehow almost led to me taking the day off. I get distracted throughout the day, and with the memory of my failed 2 miles the day before fresh in my mind, I was content to not run. Then I got a text from Neal asking to run later...and my mind was made up. Just before the run (later at night) I used the foam roller and did some self application of Graston (I'll get into this at a future date). That was a huge help and the run went off with no pain at all. A bonus was the near 60 degree weather, so we were able to run in shorts and short sleeves.
The nice weather didn't hold because Super Bowl Sunday rolled around cold and dreary. Neal and I decided to do our long run late afternoon, and by the time we started the snow had begun to fall. We got out the door on roads that were already beginning to become slick and started on our goal of 14 miles. My legs were still pretty tired, but the fatigue never got much worse after the first mile or two. My main problem was I immediately noticed I was dehydrated from not drinking much water all day. We had to stop at a water fountain that was thankfully still on at about 3.5 miles, but after that we didn't stop at all, running a roundabout loop that took us through neighborhoods and parks, and even eventually running about 1/2 mile on a major road into oncoming traffic. That was a smart move.
I noticed about halfway that my left hamstring was getting tight, so we stopped for a second for both of us to stretch, and that seemed to get rid of the problem. The snow, which had let up for most of the run, really picked up after about 70 minutes and we were running in a heavy snow shower. At one point we hit a train track and had to make the decision of whether or not to dart across and beat the oncoming train (we decided to play it safe) and I led us on a loop that crossed the same tracks about 7 minutes later, after the train had passed. We finished the run on sidewalks that by now had become completely covered. With literally probably 150 feet left in the run my hamstring began to clench up entirely and I had to limp in. This brought back bad memories of my first marathon experience in Pittsburgh in 2010, where the same thing happened at 25.5 miles. This time, fortunately, I was able to put weight on it and finish my run (I ended up finishing in Pittsburgh, as well, but that's a story for another time).
The run was a great success: 14.25 miles in 1:38, or 6:53 pace. My longest run since September. I then went inside for a big dinner and watched the final 3 quarters of the Super Bowl...that was a waste of my time. I think my dog's level of interest sums up most peoples' feelings about the game.
In summary:
Monday- 6 miles 41:20
Tuesday: OFF
Wednesday: 8 miles with 5k tempo and 4x400 meters
Thursday: 5 miles in 35:00
Friday: 2 miles in 14:00
Saturday: 5 miles in 34:50
Sunday: 14.25 miles in 1:38
Total: 40.25 miles
Not a bad week, but it could have been much better if it hadn't been for the day off and the miserable 2 miles on Friday. One thing of note is that this was my best January since 2010. I hit 161 miles, which was short of my goal but still not bad.
So with that in mind, I'm going to skip the Derby Festival Half Marathon and focus on my favorite distances. My 5k PR stands at 15:18 from 2006. The closest I've come to that time in the last 7 years was a 15:43 in 2011. I really think that time can come down, even at the age of 32. As I mentioned before, my winter has not been good but it's still been better than most years, meaning I am in better shape to start doing 5k specific workouts now than I have been in several years. 
