Finishing up my final long run and getting my biggest workouts behind me as me feeling like this….
I also kind of feel like this….
I am really excited, it’s so close I can taste it. For the most part, the hay is in the barn. Not a whole lot of fitness can be gained at this point. Focus shifts to maintenance and recovery. So that I can, hopefully, perform at my best on race day. Beginning to really narrow down my goals and think about pacing strategies.
I had a goal in mind, and began to wonder if I could push that a bit. I was certain my coach 
was going to tell me my goal was too aggressive, or at least it was risky. I think I kind of got the opposite, he agreed with my goal time and thought that I could possible go under that time a tad. I got similar reaction from 1-2 other running friends. It’s pretty nice to have others believe in you, but I’m not sure I am really ready to believe it myself. It’s scary. It’s a good thing thought, I think your goals should scare you a bit.
Here is my weekly Recap
Monday-7.01 miles at 8:04 pace, total time 56:32
Easy run, I got some of the early miles in with my track kiddos and then finished up the second half of my run through the neighborhood. I thought my legs might still feel a tad tired from Saturdays progressive run, but luckily they did not.
Tuesday- Track workout, prescribed 2 mile warmup+ 4 x 1.5 miles @ 5:55 to 6:00 pace(2 minutes recover) +2 mile cooldown
I felt good this workout, I was nervous going into it. When I saw it loaded, I was pretty certain coach was trying to kill me. Luckily it was that perfect balance. I was pushed, but comfortable. I was tired, but my running was smooth and so was my breathing. I finished confident I could complete 1-2 more reps.
Wednesday-7 miles at 7:55 pace, total time 55:30
Easy/recovery run. I ran most of this run through the grass as my track kiddos played their favorite game “infected.” I am really lucky to have such an enthusiastic bunch this year, it makes coaching fun. I finished off my run through the neighborhood again.
Thursday- Workout, prescribed 2 mile warmup + 3 sets of (600m, 600m, 400m) at 5:40 pace (no faster) 45 sec rests.3 minutes rest between sets. + 2 mile cooldown jog.
Squeezed in another workout this week, I wasn’t sure if my legs would be dead going into it. I don’t this they were. Higher intensity than Tuesdays, but super short. It almost felt like we had skipped part of the workout or misread it when we were done.
Friday-4.52 miles at 8:13 pace, total time 37:07
Easy run today, I had 5 on the schedule and got 4.5 done with the track kiddos. It was a long work week and I let myself skip the last half mile of the run so I could head home.
Saturday- 22 miles at 7:31 pace, total time 2:45:39
This was it, the big one! The weather was pretty decent and I met a friend at a trail that I don’t run very often so it was a nice change in scenery. The biggest challenge of this run, was boredom the last couple of miles. It’s all down-hill from here.
Sunday- Scheduled Rest Day
Its hurry up and wait time, luckily to ease my pre-race jitters, my students start state testing (MAP testing) this week. I’m not sure what I am more stressed about. 
