Bumps in the road...Monday: 5 + 7 miles Tuesday: 6 (MP) + 11 miles (Tempo) Wednesday: 5 miles

Monday:

AM: 5 miles, easy/moderate
PM: 7 miles, easy/moderate, 48:49 overall, 6:58/pace

I was certainly feeling my previous high mileage week.  I ended up finishing decently strong, still fighting through some snow which slowed me down.

Tuesday: the running day from hell

AM: 6 miles with 3 @ marathon pace.  I did this run on a 1.5 mile loop near Johns Hopkins Hospital.  I actually ran it with another runner who was looking for someone to train with on workout days.  We stuck to the road to avoid all the black ice on the sidewalks and for the most part, stayed out of the way of all the traffic.  This run was a bit tough despite being "only" marathon pace.

Splits: 9:25, 9:11 for 18:36 overall.  Average 6:12/mile, first loop was at 6:17, second loop at 6:07.

I actually felt better on the second lap and probably could have banged out at least another.

PM: 11 miles total with 6 @ tempo pace.  This was a continuous 6 as opposed to the 2x3 mile pattern I had been doing.  This was also done in Patterson Park instead of Druid Hill Park which meant a pretty big hill in the middle of my 2 mile loop which I had to run up 3 times.  Thankfully, it was not raining, and the inside of the park was actually clear.

I felt quite terrible for most of this run though it was not the usual dull ache that I experience in high mileage.  Instead it was a tired feeling I could not shake.  My pace was slower, though more in line with what I should be doing tempo runs at...

2 mile splits: 12:06 (6:03 pace); 11:49 (5:55 pace); 11:48 (5:55 pace).

Despite feeling initially, I started bouncing back towards the middle of the run.  I kept pushing and eventually, that tired feeling disappeared.


Wednesday:

5 miles easy on a cold and rainy morning.  I was expecting more suffering but instead ended up with a pretty decent run.  My legs felt relatively fresh at the end.  They are a bit sore now, but I think I'll be able to handle my next workout tomorrow.  I really feel like my struggles are more mental than physical.  The toll of running 7 days a week is tough to get used to.  However, this run still felt like a break for me like off days once did.  I think I'm ready to bounce back strong.

Day at a time!!!