Postpartum 10K Training Week 5

I binged on podcasts about the Olympic Marathon Trials in anticipation of the race. I listened to the Morning Shakeout and Road to the Trials, devouring the stories of Peter Bromka, Lindsey Crouse, and others. The excitement of the trials and the inspiring stories of the qualifiers motivated me through another week of treadmill running and cold weather workouts. 

This was one of those weeks where I felt my fitness coming back. I’m not to the point I was in 2018 when I ran a big half marathon PR, but I feel like I’m back to the point I was back in 2016 and 2017, when I still ran some pretty decent times. 

Monday: 5.25 mile run

This was an easy Monday morning run to shake out the legs and start the week! 

Tuesday: 10 mile run

10 miles! I had not run 10 miles since before I broke my foot in October 2018. 

I briefly debated running outside. However, with an outdoor run, I have to be home by 6:45 AM…while with a treadmill run, I have until 7:45 to run. Right now, more volume is winning out over outside runs. I wanted to try doing my long run during the workweek, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to do so. 

I mapped out a route for entertainment on the treadmill. The route was mostly flat, so the treadmill lightly varied the incline (-2% to 2% for most of the run). I maintained a comfortable 9:15/mile pace for most of the run, with 2-min surges to 7.5 mph at the start of each mile for seven of the middle miles. This run felt good. Honestly, the time passed quicker than I anticipated for 90 minutes on the treadmill. 

Wednesday: Strength training

After a week off, I resumed the week of ReCore2 from the week before I had the flu. The set of exercises is seemingly simple but definitely challenging, especially the bear crawl holds and plank saws!

Thursday: 6 mile progression run

Another good run! I kept most of the run at an easy pace, until the final mile. I felt good so I picked up the pace in the final mile to a moderate effort, just under an 8:00/mile pace. 

Friday: 3.9 mile easy run & strength training

I maintained a light, easy pace and flat incline on the treadmill to recover from the previous days run. 

Saturday: Rest day

It was so bitterly cold – a wind chill of 3 degrees! – that I opted to do my workout in better conditions. 

Sunday: 4 mile tempo (7.2 miles total) 

The conditions were not optimal for this run. It was still cold (windchill in the teens with a 16 mph wind), icy patches were scattered along the path, I had indulged a bit the day prior, and I opted to take Ollie with me since he needed exercise. Despite all that, this run went very well! I warmed up for 15 minutes before starting a 30-minute tempo run. I ran 4 miles in those 30 minutes (plus a couple stops for Ollie) and felt good! If anything, I was holding back slightly for Ollie. After the tempo, we cooled down with a 1.5 mile run home. 

Linking up with Weekly Rundown! 

How was your week in running?
What podcasts are you listening to lately?