End Training week 6

I know I haven't updated much this week. I've been busy. I promise to do better.

So this week wasn't so great.
Guess that tells you what 70 mpw does to me.
Didn't help that I was PMS's. (See I can write about that because my Mom says she doesn't read my running posts, they bore her. Talking about your period embarrasses Mom.)
I didn't realize PMS was actually a factor until I started my period--right on time, though, of course. I keep hoping I'll drop my body fat so low that I'll be one of those athletic girls who naturally abstains from their monthly. However, I've had my body fat checked as low as 15% and still gotten my period so I don't think it is going to happen for me. Apparently it takes a lot for mine to abstain seeing how the only times I've ever missed I was either pregnant or nursing. And neither of those are states I wish to repeat. Been there done that.

Good news is that I will not be PMS's for the marathon. Will be in my taper though so I am sure that will be a really fun week for me:
Less Running = Less Endorphins + Evil Hormones = Extreme Bitchiness and Self Doubt

So here is how my week went:
Sunday: A well deserved rest day since I rocked my 24+ miler the day before. In retrospect though I probably should have saved my rest day for Monday since I tend to feel the after run soreness and fatigue 48-72 hours after my run.

Monday: Sunday night I noticed my calves were swollen. Monday they were worse but I wasn't having any real soreness so I went out planning to do 6 miles. Well I only managed about a mile and a half. I guess because of the swelling in my lower leg it hurt when my calf muscle flexed and in turn caused shooting pain in the back of my knee. I consulted with a friend who is a running coach and he said tight calf muscles were the cause.
Later in the afternoon I went to the gym and did 30 minutes cross training, 35 minutes full body weights and then ran a 7 minute mile on the treadmill. I ended with about 10 or so minutes of stretching.

Tuesday: I was really tired in the morning so I skipped my run. I went to the gym in the afternoon and ran a dismal 4 miles on the treadmill. My pace was just shy of a 9 minute mile.

Wednesday: I woke up feeling stronger and ran a good 8 miles at just under an 8:30 pace.

Thursday: I ran 17 miles. Felt pretty good. Finished at 2 hours 32 minutes~8:57 pace.

Friday: I was again tired in the morning. Compounded with that I had no one to watch Beau I wasn't terribly motivated about running on the treadmill. I had originally planned to do a fast 10k but instead ended up doing 4 miles at an 8:40 pace and 15 minutes on the elliptical. Sucked. I left the gym feeling very sour. Beau and I sought retail therapy. New skirt and shirts made me happy.

Saturday: It was rough starting. I didn't get very good sleep last night and was not feeling too great. I probably should have done myself a favor and popped a Motrin for my cramps but since I've had some mild muscle and joint discomfort from my recent long runs I felt it was important to actually feel that discomfort rather than run hard and turn a mild achiness into a serious injury.

I needed to do at least a 10 miler today. And it needed to be at marathon pace. I went the wrong way going out so I hit the hills in a bad way. My average pace for the first 4 miles was around a 9:20 pace. But after that point the course leveled out a bit and I started to feel better. At the 6 mile point I had brought the average pace down to 8:55. I kept pushing the pace down and by the time I got back into the hills I was feeling stronger and could tackle them better all the while running well under an eight minute pace, sometimes under a seven. The run was 11 miles and I finished in one hour and 32 minutes. Around an 8:20 pace. A negative split. Perfect.
Total mileage: 46
Items found: Some humble pie.