Weeks 4 and 5

Week 4, my recovery week, coincided with our vacation to the Bahamas. My training plan called for three 6-mile runs at an easy 10:12 pace. Cliff and I managed to do two runs. My first run (Wednesday) was 3.35 miles at 9:23 pace (31:25 total time), and I really exerted myself. The heat and humidity got to me, and it seemed like quite a big workout for only 3.35 miles. The second run (Thursday) was 2.93 miles at 9:27 pace (27:42 total time), where I ran 2.53 miles and then tacked on another 0.4 miles when I ran to the liquor store (obviously you can tell where my priorities are on vacation!). I also did a short (17:05) open water swim on Tuesday, and Cliff and I walked along the beach for 20 minutes. That was the extent of my exercise during my recovery/vacation week, but it was worth it. I needed time to relax with my hubby and enjoy myself. I'm glad I squeezed in my 14-mile long run the day before we left! I still need to write my Trip Advisor review and update my blog with some pictures.

This week...
My training plan has an easy 2-mile run, a 6-mile tempo run (with the middle 4 miles at 8:38 pace), and a 16-mile long run. I ended up tacking on a bit more (post-vacation guilt), resulting in 30.65 miles for the week.

Run #1: 4.10 miles at 9:46 (40:02) - Ran with Kit at lunch time, and the humidity made it more difficult than we were expecting.
Run #2: 6-mile tempo run (10:09, 8:59, 8:59, 8:55, 8:53, 10:07) - I missed the 8:38 goal, but I was happy with the slight descending of my splits and staying under goal marathon pace (9:09).
Run #3: 4.55 miles at 9:53 (45:00) on the treadmill - I felt horrible when I woke up, but this run started my day off on a good note, and I burned a fraction of the calories I ate the previous night at Cattleman's.
Run #4: 16 miles at 10:04 (2:41:09) - Derek, Christie, Shawna, and I met a big group at the Will Rogers stadium, and we ran the new Cowtown half marathon course and tacked on a few miles at the end. My mile splits were 9:25, 9:43, 10:16, 9:39, 10:03, 10:28, 10:16, 10:19, 10:02, 10:50, 9:53, 9:50, 9:56, 10:02, 10:17, and 10:02. There was a bit of fluctuation due to the hills (for example, the big hill on Main heading into downtown resulted in the 10:50 split). It was a nice change to run a new course that I wasn't familiar with, and it was good to practice running on the pavement (instead of the Trinity Trail, which is much more forgiving).

Other Workouts:
Weights and abs (42:17)
30 min on the elliptical machine
Walked Gus 3.75 miles

I'm still trying to decide on whether I want to try the Heels and Hills and Him Half Marathon next weekend (since I haven't raced in awhile) or stick to my training plan and do an 18-mile long run. I need to focus on my nutrition and cut back on the alcohol after adding on some pounds from the Bahamas vacation, El Paso work trip, and TCU tailgate.