Week 6 complete enough

Well, I did my scheduled 4 miles outside on Sunday without any problems. I even took some pretty pictures of the sunrise in the process, which are on my facebook page.

Things went downhill from there.

Monday was an off day, so I didn't run. Even so, my shins hurt all day. I still do not fear any stress fractures or anything, as the pain was diffuse and kept moving around. But it was still disheartening and irritating, because I just have no idea what triggers this.

Tuesday was not as bad, but they were still bothering me, so I skipped my scheduled 6 miles. I REALLY hate skipping, but I knew I needed to.

The pain was not completely gone on Wednesday, but it was a lot better. So, I wore my shin sleeves but I went to speed work. I was sooo glad I went -- the weather was beautiful, I met some more new people, and I felt almost no pain. We did 800-400-400s: run 800 m out, take a recovery, run 400 m back, take a recovery, then run the final 400m back. I did three sets of those. All of my 800s were in about 4:10, and all of the 400s were under 2 minutes. So, that's averaging about an 8-minute mile pace, which is great for me.

Thursday was an off day, without many shin issues.

Friday I did the 5-mile hill workout from Week 3 again. This time I didn't have to slow the pace from 6.0 at all, so that's great. Shins did hurt some during it though, and on and off the rest of the day.

This morning I got up and my legs felt fine, but it was raining with 15 mph winds, and the temperature was in the low 40s. So, I waited for a break in the rain, but eventually set out on my 9 miler. Truthfully, I expected it to be a lot more miserable than it was. By then it was only sprinkling a bit, and the wind was not that bad. I did 9 miles in 1:35:08 -- a 10:34 pace. Not too shabby.

So far my shins are ok. I'm icing right now. There were only a couple brief periods when I felt anything. If they still feel ok tonight and tomorrow, I'll be really happy.

So, I end this week 6 miles short of what I was supposed to run. However, I think I'm prouder of skipping that run than I would have been for finishing it, because I'm finally starting to make smarter choices. According to Wii Fit, my weight has barely changed in the last two weeks, and I was just able to comfortably complete a 9-mile run, so I clearly have not suffered aerobically. Skipping that run was the right thing to do. So good for me.

My running friends (who are all far more experienced than me) told me that there are lots of people (some of my friends included) that train for marathons by running 4 day a week instead of 5. So, they say if my shins keep bothering me, I should cut one run out of each week. In that spirit, I think I might stop running on Sundays. At least until my legs feel better.

I also think I might stick to my 2150s this week, as I have a vague suspicion that the foundations might be doing more harm than good.

Here's next week's plan, slightly altered because I am running my first race next weekend:
Sunday: 3 miles (or not, depending on how I feel tomorrow)
Monday: off
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: speed workout
Thursday: off
Friday: 5 miles
Saturday: off (Race day the next day! It's the Shamrock Shuffle 8K.)

Miles on my 2150s: 79
Miles on my foundations: 61