Week 1 Recap

These recap posts are really just for me to track my training. This week flew by, and I felt pretty good during most of my workouts.

Monday
Cross training day. Went to spin class, 45 minutes. My spin class uses RealRyde bikes, which are stationary bikes that twist and turn, similar to real bikes. There's a lot more core work involved just to balance on these bikes, and the instructors usually make us do all sorts of turns. It's a great workout.

Tuesday
4 miles, easy. Pre-work morning run, rather uneventful.

Wednesday 
4.43 miles 
For months, I've been planning to attend the Speedy Demons track workout that my TNT coach, Coach Al, holds on Wednesdays at 6 am. And for months, I came up with one excuse after another to avoid going. I didn't want to be the slowest person, and getting up at 5 am is never fun. This week, I finally did it. And, it wasn't so bad. It was even a little bit fun. We did 4x800s with negative splits, and then ran a mile with 4 sets of steep stair repeats after each 1/4 mile. The stairs were not the fun part. I'm committing to attend this track workout every Wednesday for this training cycle. 

Thursday
A last minute work trip had me departing SFO at 8 am and returning around 8 pm. I decided that I'd take  Friday's planned rest day on Thursday.

Friday
Realized that I did not account for Wednesday's mileage in my weekly total when creating the schedule, and since my weekend runs involved runs with other people, I ended up with a second non-running day on Friday. I did some stretching and core work instead.

Saturday
5.5 miles
Joined the TNT Ultra-Marathon team for a run in Marin. The hilly course took us up into the Marin Headlands with amazing views of the ocean down below. Photos courtesy of Brian and May!

Sunday
10 miles.
Several of my friends were running the Nike+ virtual half at Lake Merritt, and I joined them for 3 loops of the lake. I ran with my friend Sammie who kept me moving at a sub-10 minute mile pace. My legs were tired from Saturday's hilly run, so I really appreciated having someone else set the pace. I am sure I would have been slower on my own. I got to enjoy a post-run brunch with some wonderful running peeps afterwards, which always makes for a great run!

Week one down...17 more to go until Pittsburgh!