Week 8: Frozen

Halfway through training - how and when did THAT happen?! These first 8 weeks have been tough and I have no doubt that the next 8 will be even tougher (hello, 20 mile runs!). That said, I think I've had 8 solid weeks of training. I'm keeping up my strength, either in classes or on my own, I'm getting in most runs, and most importantly, I'm listening to my body.

Here's a look at this past week's workouts (Feb. 3-9):
Monday: Off - check!
Tuesday: Run - check! Tempo Tuesday
Wednesday: Spin class at Studio 360 - check!
Thursday: Run - nope. Took a rest day
Friday: RIP Ride at Revolve - nope. Ran instead (speed workout).
Saturday: Run - check! Long run in sub-freezing temps!
Sunday: Candlelit Flow at Yoga Vida - nope. Did Barry's Bootcamp instead (aka opposite of yoga!)

Tempo:
I was nervous for this run (mostly for the 3 tempo miles at 8:00 pace) but made it happen and was so happy that I did! 2 mi warm up, 3 mi at 7.5, 1 mi cool down. In the last half-mile of the last tempo mile, I brought it up to 7.6 for fun :) I love that this pace is becoming more comfortable for me! I ran 6 miles in 49:49!

Speed: 
Done on a Friday night after quite a week! I had two sets of 6 x 400m at 8.5, with 1:30 off between 400s and 2:30 off between sets. This sounded like a scary run, but I told myself that these would FLY by - I mean, each 400 was me running for 1:46, which adds up to being less than 24 minutes of hard work, which is totally doable. Plus, the Olympic opening ceremonies were on, which totally distracted me.

How I do speed work - PostIts with my plan!

Long:
Uhhh brr? This run was definitely a toughie. It was 26*/feels like 19*. I wasn't crazy about running in this weather, but I couldn't do the run indoors. I suited up in fleece-lined tights, UA ColdGear base layer, UA fleece-lined top, a jacket, gloves, and ear warmer. My hands and feet were OK for the run, but my face got SO COLD. 

Forcing a smile in frigid temps!

Snowy path to Freedom Tower.

Never seen the Hudson River like this!

On top of being freezing, my Garmin was totally not working, so served as a glorified timer. It said it had satellites, and sometimes even showed a pace, but never showed a distance. So lame. I used my RunKeeper app for the run, but then my phone died...I think because of the cold temps. I used MapMyRun later, and discovered I ran about 14.2 miles. I was "supposed" to run 15 miles, but just couldn't do it. I got too cold. My face felt sooooo frozen. As soon as I got back to Dan's, I demanded hot water, which helped me get back to feeling normal again :) I'm so proud of how far I went in the frigid temps!

Barry's Bootcamp: 
OMG Barry's Bootcamp led by BARRY JAY!!! He was a really great instructor. The class was HARD and probably wasn't a great idea since I ran 14 miles yesterday, but when I saw Barry himself was teaching, I couldn't pass it up. Plus, I needed more strength work this week! So glad I went!

And here's my plan for this week (Feb. 10-16):
Monday: Well-deserved rest day!
Tuesday: Run
Wednesday: Pure Barre
Thursday: Run
Friday: Uplift Sculpt Fusion
Saturday: Run
Sunday: Body Ride at Revolve (might cancel this)

Have a great week!