Earlier on in the season, Joanna told me to see if I could find a 5K here or there to trick myself into tempo running. Lo and behold there was a pretty popular one going on one night after work while I was in Minneapolis, so back in May or June I’d already registered myself for my first non-half marathon race in who knows how long. Here goes nothing. 🙂

#SeaKatyWheeze: Week 8 Recap

Day 50 – Sunday 7/15

Rest Day + One-Way Work Walk

In my second full week I came to accept the fact that training every other day was going to be about the best that I could maintain without losing my composure, which is totally what happened last year. Sunday I had dinner plans with one of my local friends, and work started too early to get a 7-miler done in the morning.

Day 51 – Monday 7/16

Run 7.5mi + Round Trip Work Walk

My work schedule and the availability of daylight simply did NOT jive with the original 10 milers I should have run on Saturday.

Monday I managed to scrap together 7.5 miles before it got too close to Wednesday’s race. The miles went fairly well, given that it was a toasty one outside. Okay so maybe looking back on my splits the first couple of miles went well… then fizzle time. Heh.

I miscalculated the distance on this one, meant to hit 7 miles total, but I hit 7 while I was still a half mile away from my hotel, and had to run another half back on top of this. Oops.

Day 52 – Tuesday 7/17

Rest Day + Round Trip Work Walk

Tuesday’s rest day was with good reason, the next day was RACE DAY! Wooo 🙂

Day 53 – Wednesday 7/18

5K Race + Round Trip Work Walk

While it wasn’t an all-time PR, this race was the first sanctioned 5K I’d run in years. I really didn’t know what to expect. I used to race this distance more before I started CrossFitting, so little 2012 Katy set an intimidating time of 25:42 (8:16/mi) once upon a time and I spent all week worrying if I would even be able to finish this thing under 30:00.

Like a Nervous Nelly I forgot to grab my water on the way out to the start line about a mile away from my hotel… which resulted in dry-mouthed anxiety leading up to the start. Tons of stretching and fidgeting later, we were off. All I knew that there were aid stations at 1 and 2 miles and I’d get a drink soon, just don’t go out too hot.

I went out hot anyway (thanks adrenaline), and did whatever I could to blast my music and hang on. I hardly looked at my watch during the race because I didn’t really want to know. I went 8:30/9:04/9:14 for a finishing time well under my goal of a pace starting with a 9 and finish starting with a 2.

Ready, set… unflattering race photos! (Courtesy of Athlinks)

Clearly all my two chins cared about at the finish line was making sure the Garmin was on top of the whole data thing. Grilled Cheezus my stride is short. I have got to work on that.

Day 54 – Thursday 7/19

Rest Day + Work Walk

Running faster than you think you can for longer than you think you can sure takes a lot out of you. Gave me a new boost of confidence though. It rained on Thursday anyway, so no sleep lost on the fact that I didn’t run.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BlbqofWBYJ5/

Side note: my Aether Apparel backpack held up nicely in its first legit rainfall. I know it’s a bit more tactical and less ‘cute’ than the gear I usually focus on in my content, but that pack is pretty badass and I’m loving it.

Day 55 – Friday 7/20

Run 5mi HR <145 + Round Trip Work Walk

The weather was being a jerk on Friday. The sky was looking ominous after work, and so I reluctantly found myself in the hotel gym. After 2 miles, it cleared up and I could NOT bear the idea of going horribly slow on the treadmill for 30+ more minutes, so I went upstairs, dropped my phone off and took the rest of my run outside.

Day 56 – Saturday 7/21

Run 11mi + Round Trip Work Walk

Minneapolis was such a wonderful reprieve from the oppressive heat & humidity I’d left behind on the east coast. With the every other day training schedule and the earlier-than usual distance drop on long run day, it had been a solid 2 weeks since kicking my rear end with a LONG run.

Saturday morning I set out with the mindset of ‘get comfortable, you’re going to be running for the next 2 hours’, and off I went along the Mississippi River on a perfectly sunny Saturday morning. It all felt like fun and games until about 9.5 miles in, then it felt like the usual molasses.

I tried Clif Shot Bloks (margarita w extra sodium) and I don’t feel like they hurt or helped my cause as far as refueling goes. They made me a bit thirsty after the third one, so I didn’t bother finishing the pack. I prefer the Pro-Bolt pink lemonade chews I tried a few weeks back over the Shot Bloks at this point in time.

Let’s all pause to get grossed out by the crust of salt that was on my face after this one. Then I hoofed it to work and did that whole thing until 10:30p. Let’s just say that the whole walk to work with a heavy backpack thing didn’t seem as easy as it usually does.

At the end of the day, I somehow managed to haul myself 17 miles on foot. Woof.

#SeaKatyWheeze Cumulative Stats

THIS WEEK

Miles Run: 27.25
WODs Done: 0
Calories Burned: 3247
Miles Traveled: 0
Nights on the Road: 7

OVERALL

Miles Run: 165.5
WODs Done: 10
Calories Burned: 22349
Miles Traveled: 15541
Nights on the Road: 26