Week 7 ends with a smash!

Well, things are looking up.

Sunday I did 3 miles on the treadmill. Nothing exciting there.

Monday was an off day.

Tuesday I did an 8K "test run". I really pushed my speed in order to have an idea of how fast I could run the race this weekend. I finished in 46:15, and I was totally thrilled! That broke my 8K PR by almost a minute.

Wednesday we did the hill workout at speed training. 200-200-200-hill-hill-hill-200, repeat. I did not time anything, but I completed three sets, even though the rest of my friends left after two sets. So, I was satisfied.

Thursday was an off day.

Friday I ran 5 miles in the morning. This time, it took me over 55 minutes. Not exactly on par with Tuesday, but I wasn't trying very hard either.

I took yesterday off to prepare for the race. I was glad for the reason not to run, because it was an awful snow/rain mix all day, with wind gusting to 35 mph. If the race had been yesterday, it would have been utter misery.

This morning didn't look much better when I first got up, but it had stopped raining by 8am, when I left my apartment. It was still cold and windy, but not ridiculously so. When I picked up my packet on Friday, I found out that I had been upgraded to Corral B, which meant I got to start in the first wave instead of waiting til 25 minutes after the gun to start.

It also meant I was in a corral with people who run much faster than me. This must have got my adrenaline pumping, because although I got passed a lot, I finished my first mile in 8:30! That's faster than I think I've ever done a mile repeat! I continued pretty strong until about the 5K mark, when I could feel myself start to fade a bit. I consciously tried to slow down a bit, so I wouldn't end up walking. I must have managed pretty well because I crossed the finish line at 44:05! That's under a 9-minute mile, on average. So, I definitely slowed down in the later miles, but not really by much. I'm so proud of my finish!

As an added bonus, my shins didn't bother me at all, during the race or since. Sometimes the reaction is delayed, but I remain hopeful that the worst is over.

Pictures of the race are on facebook, if anyone is interested.

So, now I go back to my regular training schedule. Here is the plan for this week:
Monday: off
Tuesday: 6 miles
Wednesday: speed work
Thursday: off
Friday: 5 miles
Saturday: 10 miles

Sheesh. The good news is, I'm not particularly concerned about speed in any of those runs.

Miles on my 2150s: 103
Miles on my foundations: 61