Mile Markers: Love of Running
I know my body well enough to recognize the need to cutback weeks after a race. Speedwork takes more out of me than a long run or tempo run, so it almost didn’t surprise me that I needed some recovery after last week’s 10K race. My legs felt stale for most of the week, so I stuck to shorter, easy runs – and had a really fantastic week fo running.
Taking down time after a race spans beyond listening to my body: it’s keeping my long-term goals in mind, of getting faster, keeping the joy in running, and running well into my 60s and beyond. You can’t continue to progress without taking a step back – otherwise, you plateau.
I savor and relish these down weeks – I find they reconnect me with the pure and simple joy of running for the sake of running. These weeks are about ensuring that running stays fun, that burnout never rears its ugly head. Most importantly, this week, unlike most weeks, I was able to do every single run with Ryan and one or both of the pups. Ryan hit his highest mileage week ever (and so did Ollie, who becomes more and more of an endurance machine each week).
Monday: Rest day
Speedwork is harder on my body than long runs or threshold runs, so it should have been no surprise that I was sore after last week’s 10K race. I took the day off of formal exercise and instead took some long walks with Charlie and Ollie.
Tuesday: 4 mile easy run & 10 minutes core work
My legs felt a bit sluggish, as if they were still sapped of power. We ran 4 easy miles early in the morning, nice and easy to shake everything out. Later in the day, I did a quick core workout of tricep dips, pushups, planks, single leg bridges, and banded clamshells.
Wednesday: 4 mile easy run & 35 minutes strength training
Another easy 4 mile morning run! I honestly can’t recall much about this run other than it was really enjoyable and felt good.
My strength training workout was challenging. Stability ball pikes are so difficult to do and every muscle in my body quakes by the final repetition.
2 x 20 lateral band walks
2 x 15 banded squats with dumbbell overhead press
2 x 10 med ball single leg deadlift to reverse lunge with twist combo (like in this workout here)
2 x 15 bent over row
2 x 15 hamstring ball curls
2 x 10 stability ball pikes
2 x 10 stability ball deadbugs
Thursday: 4 mile easy run
Ryan and I took both Charlie and Ollie on this run. Running both dogs together is a hilarious experience because they will attempt to race each other. At one point, Charlie tried to play with Ollie while running – either that, or he was trying to tackle Ollie so he could win their imaginary race.
Friday: 5 mile easy run & 10 minutes core work
Once May arrives, the sun rises early in Seattle – which makes it easier to run further in the early pre-work hours. I usually run after Ryan leaves for work, but I love being able to check off my run before 7 AM when the weather and training plan permit. After the run, I did a short Pilates workout followed by some forearm and side planks.
Saturday: 8 mile run
I didn’t want to run the full 8 miles, which sounds really pathetic but it is true. I simply wasn’t feeling it. But that’s why discipline matters more than motivation: I just needed to get started, because once I started running, I would feel better. Ryan, Ollie, and I ran 8 miles along some gently rolling hills and finished with the last couple miles in the low 8:00s. Finally, my legs felt back to normal!
After our run, I made these blueberry teff pancakes. They are so delicious!
Sunday: Rest day
A rest day only in the sense of no formal exercise: we deep cleaned our apartment and bathed the dogs (which might as well be a full strength training session when you wrange a 50 pound wiggling dog into a tub).
This week marks the longest that either Ryan or I have lived somewhere in a long time, at least since college. We’ve been in the same apartment in the Seattle area for two years now, with no plans to move soon. It’s a wonderful feeling to be settled in someplace so beautiful – and somewhere that is a mild 55 degrees in May.
[Tweet “Reconnecting with the joy pure and simple running via @thisrunrecipes #running #runchat #weeklyworkouts”]
How was your week in running?
How do you stay connected to your love of running?
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23 Responses
We moved right around the same time as you, so have also been living here for 2 years. We were in our last apartment for 5 years, which was the longest since living with my parents. Its definitely a good feeling to be settled and now worry about moving! Looks like you had a great week. Its nice to have relaxing weeks of running like that right after a race.
Congrats on two years in your house! And thank you so much – the relaxing week was really nice!
Casual, for the love of running and movement, weeks are the best. I need those often just to remember that it’s why I do it all. And wrangling a dog for a bath definitely counts as a workout!!
Those weeks make such a difference! I’d burn out if I was always, always training.
I had a rest week last week as well and, even though I was really sick one day, it definitely felt good to do some slower paces in all my workouts! This week, it’s back to the grind…
Congrats on being settled…for now. It’s definitely a good feeling 🙂
Thank you! It does feel nice to be settled, especially because it makes a huge difference in how our apartment looks…it looks more homey the longer we stay. I really hope you figure out the allergies and have a strong week of training this week!
When I want to reconnect with my love of running, a bit of running every day does just that. And omg your pancakes and spatula. AWESOME
Williams-Sonoma made Star Wars spatulas years ago and I’ve had it since then…the quality is, as with anything WS, really good and it does the job well! Plus it’s a Storm Trooper so you can’t beat that.
Love the storm trooper spatula! Dan would love that. Sounds like a great way to ease back into running, and that trail looks so beautiful.
I got it at Williams-Sonoma years ago! I don’t know if they still make them but this one has stood the test of time and lots and lots of cooking.
Those pancakes look tasty and I love your spatula ;). Looks like you had a great week of running and being restful, recovering after the awesome 10K. I don’t blame you to take a recovery week, plus you got a lot done with cleaning the apartment. The weather there sounds gorgeous too… 55 degrees? AWESOME!
Thank you! The temperatures here have been nice, but it’s been overcast and drizzly – although we have had a few days of sun! May in Seattle always feels weird because it’s never as summer-like as it is in the rest of the country. We still have snow in the mountains!
we were in the 50’s for the last week but this week I saw we are heading up to high 80’s out of nowhere! summer here we come lol.
Lol that would be too hot for me! But I bet the warmer weather is a welcome change!
Glad you had such a nice, easy, enjoyable week of running. When do you start training again?
Thank you! I won’t be training for CIM until August – and until then, I’m just taking some time to enjoy running and build my fitness up a bit.
Sounds like the ideal recovery week. I always enjoy those cut back weeks too- leaving my watch and home and running what I feel like. You’re bouncing back well!
Thank you so much! It is nice how quick the recovery is after shorter races!
I love the mild May weather too! I ran in the South last week… Let’s just say I may or may not be doing that again.
I love your trails. They’d be so good for stroller miles! Our trails are quite rocky and so they’re a bit too bumpy to push kids along in a stroller. Such a shame! Great recovery week last week, and I’m glad you got to spend extra time with Ryan and the doggies. Congrats to Ryan on his highest mileage week!
It is so easy to skip over the rest and easy running after a big race as we get ready to move onto the next goal. Happy to hear you are enjoying running for the sake of running!
I used to be a team sports player and only found my love for running a few years ago…. what I love most is when I am looking forward to a run. Like, literally get giddy to lace up and go outside. I never had that feeling before and it’s great that this happens for me.
That’s awesome that you have that feeling about running!