Week in Review

55 Miles
8.2M with 15 x 1 min on/off
16M long run with 8M via 622, 622, 609, 618, 613, 606, 606, 559, 620, 633, 652 (cool down)
4 days in Plano
1 Day on a plane
1 Day in Amsterdam

What a whirlwind of a week!  I flew to Dallas to sort out stuff with my tech team.   I barely survived the humidity in Texas, and I barely got myself out of bed every morning to get a run in (it's soooo hard to wake up when the time difference makes it feel like 430AM cali time!).  Did I mention that I absolutely despise Plano?  I'm sure the people who live there are very nice.  But it's just so....vanilla?  Hot?  Boring?  Regardless, I get so much work done when I'm there since I'm able to bug the heck out of my tech partners to get answers quickly around features we're building for Erica.

While in Texas, I did 15 x 1 min on the 2 mile loop I found, with minimal traffic stops and just four sharp turns.  I felt like total garbage for the last 5 intervals and really fought off every inclination to cut the workout short.  However, I perservered and finished 15, which was the number that coach had outlined for me to do.  I didn't actually cool down because I was running behind getting in to the office (again, that damn time change) and basically finished the last interval and walked into the hotel.

After 4 long days in Plano, I prepped for a Friday long run with Jonah.  We were supposed to do 8 miles at 630 pace, but instead we were hovering around 615 pace so I figured, screw it, let's keep the pace honest and push even harder.  I am glad that we did this together, especially before I head out to Europe!

Week in Review

55 Miles
1 Day off
10M with 6x1000m repeats at 336, 332, 333, 333, 331, 329 with 60s jog rest
12M MLR
10M with 3.5M via 601/604/601/251, 5:00 jog, 1M in 5:48 of 30s on/off
4 days in Charlotte

Thank god for Billy Shue.  Such a trusty little running buddy while I was in Charlotte for a 4-day heads-down-no-windows-only-laptop-screens kind of meeting for work.  This trip to the Queen City was a bit different than ones in the past in that I basically only saw John, Aaron and Billy because I was exhausted from work and also because no one seemed to be running from the Dowd except for Billy.  I didn't mind though.  Instead of seeing tons of people at a brewery and not getting to spend any quality time going below the surface in conversation, I was able to spend really focused time with some of my dearest friends.

After 4 days of fun in CLT, I headed back to California with hopes of hearing good news via email from my attorney, saying that I was divorced!  The one year separation mark came and went, but I was foolishly ignorant and assumed that everything would be done on that day.  It doesn't work that way. Quite honestly, I don't even know at this point when the divorce will be finalized, but ultimately it doesn't change how I'm already living.  The only thing it will change is the last name on my work email, which is ABSOLUTELY annoying the crap out of me.  Other than that, I get to go about my day-to-day as though I'm Caitlin Chrisman.

Anyways, back to my return to Mountain View.  California welcomed me with it's typical perfect weather and I immediately jumped right back into my routine with my running buddies, with a Saturday community run at Whole Foods and a long run field trip (thanks to Tom for chauffeuring me) at Sawyer Camp.  Overall, I was really pleased with the workouts this week and am looking forward to finally getting a race under my belt!

Week in Review

55 miles
12M MLR
13M with 2 x 4 miles with 1M moderate recovery in 605/603//601/602 (635) 606/601/557/552
12.7M MLR with 5 miles progression at 627, 623, 611, 608, 601

Just one more week until I toe the line at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon!  After taking my easy runs SUPER easy, my legs finally felt decent again in a workout!  I was thrilled to hit the times in the 2 x 4 mile workout and I finally feel recovered from being sick and running pretty hard through it.  I'm ready to get there already!!

Week in Review

57 Miles
6 Runs
16M with last 10 miles at 650, 637, 624, 612, 607, 556, 554, 558, 602, 601, 633
2 Days off
2 Days camping in Yosemite

This week I did something that in the past I probably would have never done: I didn't run for two days because I wanted to camp instead.  I'm so much more balanced now and making decisions based on if they make me feel happy and SO alive.  The past six weeks of great training and a busy social life is finally catching up with me, both mentally and physically.  My legs were really tired on Thursday, and I mentally didn't have the capacity to process doing 8 x 1 mile repeats.  So instead I decided to knock out my long run and turned it into a progression run based on feel.  I was really happy with how fast I was able to close out the run, especially considering that for the last five days, I've really been struggling with some GI issues.  My stomach has been absolutely killing me, so much that I questioned if I have Crohn's disease like my brother.  My stomach finally calmed down once we got to Yosemite (thank god!).

The rest of the weekend Peter and I backcountry camped at Yosemite, with our tent overlooking Half Dome.  It was the first time I've ever camped at Yosemite and it was even more wonderful than I could have imagined! We didn't see anyone but one person on the hike out to the campground.  We also go a wilderness permit so we could camp wherever we wanted. It was awesome!

Week in Review

55 Miles
10k race in 34:56, 4th place, $300
6 Runs
1 Day Off
1 Bum Knee

A lot happened this week.  Garrett decided that out of the three schools he got into that Duke Physical Therapy was the right fit for him.  This means that on July 1, we will be relocating to Durham to be close to the Duke campus as Garrett pursues his DPT for three years there.  I will keep my job at Bank of America, but work remotely from my house and come into the office every couple of days.  In my spare time, I’ve been doing my Duke MBA pre-homework and also looking up houses to rent in Durham.

Between all of that, after a great workout on Tuesday and an easy run on Wednesday night with Jordan, my knee randomly started hurting.  I went out to eat at Bad Daddy’s with Jordan and the Wilmore crew, and when I got up from the booth, the top of my knee was throbbing with pain when I stood up, went down stairs, or sat down.  The next day, Thursday, I felt it with every step I took at work, so I iced the heck out of it and hoped that I had just hit it on a chair and was not an overuse injury.  Fortunately, Friday came along and I was able to run without any feeling of the knee whatsoever, so I knew that the 10k race plan in Greenville, SC with my crew was still on.

On Saturday, Laurie, Eric and I all drove to Greenville for the Reedy River 10k, where we eventually met Aaron, Dalena and Michelle who were also racing with us.  Long story short, Laurie, Eric and I ran together through 4.75 miles (along with a Clemson girl who had two male escorts).  By 4.75 miles, Laurie fell off a bit, and by 5 miles, I fell off the Clemson girl while Eric charged ahead of all of us to destroy the entirely uphill 6th mile.  I finished in 34:56, which is the exact same time I ran in October at the HFFA 10k race with John.  Charlotte swept 5 of the top 7 prize money spots.  Pezz was 1st, I was 4th, Laurie 5th, Dalena 6th, and Michelle 7th.  We all left with money in our pocket and most of us had PRs or were really close to them.

Sunday was highlighted with the runners’ sunday brunch at Eric’s house.  Since I’ve got four more months left in this city that I’ve come to call home, I’ve vowed to spend as much time with my close friends as possible...hence why I started the runners’s brunch.  Plus, I do love anything that has to do with food.

Week in Review

56 Miles
6 Runs
1 Day Off
4 Mile Tempo in 23:48
14 Mile Long Run

While I had hoped for more miles this week, around 65 instead of 55, I listened to my body instead.  My left glute/hamstring has been bothering me a little bit--nothing painful, but more of an annoyance.  I felt it during what was supposed to be a 5 mile tempo and cut it short at 4 miles and immediately made a massage appointment with Adrienne.  I'm not too worried about it, but it definitely is something I need to monitor.  Stuff like this makes me want to bang my head against the wall because I should have been doing the lifting routine that Garrett made for me specifically.  Alas, there is nothing I can do now except get my butt in gear for the next training cycle and actually stick to the weight plan!

There wasn't much else to report from this week.  I haven't seen Garrett in approximately 6 weeks, not that I'm counting or anything, but I am going to change that in just two weeks!  I found a really good flight deal to fly into Montreal, so I'm going from June 29-July 4 to visit him and see him pitch in a game! I typically only get to see Garrett pitch once a season, so I'm truly looking forward to see him in action on the mound.  One week until the half champs and two weeks until I see my husband!