I picked up the mileage this week, unfortunately it came with a price. A huge lack of cross training. No biking, no swimming, no Jillian Michaels. Well that’s a lie. I did one other thing. 50 chair leg step ups per leg that 5 days later I am still whining about a lot, a bit.
I did do some shopping though!
It’s a Jamis Ventura Race from EMS. My prior hybrid is also a Jamis from EMS, so I guess I’m a loyal customer at this point. I found a review of it and maybe once comfortable I might upgrade, but I don’t expect to be the next Lance Armstrong, so I think I’ll be okay. Unfortunately, especially the lower end of the market, road bikes are not designed well for petite females. I tested a few models and besides there being a limited amount of good bikes in 48cm to begin with, my options were slim to none that ended up hitting my crotch more often than I would like a stop. Yes, crotch beating is not what I want from cycling. If only more bike companies would listen.
Through a mix up, I also got 100 gear bucks on a purchase of $150 so I purchased some bike shoes, and my first pair of bike shorts with the padded butt! Now I’m waiting for my pedals to arrive. I ordered these shimano pedals from amazon. I know, they’re not the fastest, but I’m not sure I’m ready to commit to 100% clip-in style.
Anyways, enough gear ramble… I’ll resume once I get myself more situated. Last week:
Monday – 7 Miles
8:19 Pace Incline 3
Tuesday – 8 Miles
7:47 pace Incline 2, my fastest run on the workmill yet.
Wednesday – 13.2 Miles
This run ended up on an average 7:57 pace. It was just one of those perfect nights where the weather finally cooled off to perfection. I did one thing different. I reversed my path a little. Started on flat 5 miles before adding a hill that I usually start with. I need to remember to warm up, not race straight out, my runs are always better that way even if the first few miles feel boring.
Thursday 7 Miles
8:08 Pace on incline 2. I was only going to do 5 miles, but legs felt happy so I added two more.
Friday – Rest
I wanted to run, but decided it was best to rest up my legs before my weekend long run.
Saturday – 6 Miles
6 Trail miles 13:09 pace at the Fells with a great group of TARC friends. We even had a picnic.
Sunday – 16 Miles
Sunday was a reminder that I’m mentally stronger than I think I am. I waited too long to run (bad sleep, lack of food, lazy) and before i knew it, it was too hot to run. So instead I decided I will run in the evening. Well at 5:30 as soon as I stepped outside, it poured rain. I’m like okay, I’ve run marathons in the rain, I can do this. I kept running, then I heard thunder and decided not to wait for the lightning. How far did I get? .7 miles.
Okay, maybe I could do some miles in my basement treadmill with no AC. I put on a fan, slowed my pace down a lot and got to 11 miles total before I couldn’t bear to be sweating so much anymore. By the time I crawled out of my womanhole, I noticed the weather looked perfect outside! I chugged some orange juice with a strawberry banana GU (yea not a bright a idea) and was on my way. The last 5 miles were pure suffering of lets just get through this. I was running 9:05s on a path I’ve run 7:30s on and can usually run at 8 without much of an effort. None the less, I came home smiling. You know what, I put one foot in front of the other and while I wasn’t getting the pace I wanted, I got my 16 miles done.
Average pace, not counting my break was around 8:37. However I did take a 5-10 minute break after the basement to cool off and hydrate.
It’s amazing that even with a history of so many miles behind me, no run is ever guaranteed. There will be days when 5 miles or 20 miles will be struggle; however, I just need to remind myself, one foot in front of the other and it will get done, even if it’s slower than expected.
How was your training last week?
holy crap that is a lot of miles… nicely done!
Nice job Liana, I could do well to remember its just one foot in front of the other! Have a great rest of your week.
Nice pace. It definitely takes a lot of mental strength to get through the long run. Good luck with your training this year.
I don’t know how you can rack up those miles girl. I ran 10 last night and it was one of the longest weekday runs I have ran in a long time. It is tough to find the time during the week. I applaud you immensely!
Love the new bike too!