Paging Debbie Downer........its been a tough week

Woof, am I glad it's Friday! I have been a bit quiet on the running-front this week.  Granted I had other things to talk about, but I also have been having a tough week with my workouts mentally.  I was going into this week thinking "great!  its a low mileage week (only 30 miles with 1 day of cross training), this should be easy-peasy and I will feel awesome".  Well, this hasn't been the case at all.  I cant tell you how much I'm looking forward to getting back to 40+ mile weeks!  I'm not sure if its been the complete lack of sun, the fact that I am SO over the cold/winter, and the icy streets, but I struggled to stay positive during my workouts.  I'll do a quick recap and try to end this on a high note!

Monday - 8.5 miles total
                1.5 WU&CD
               5x800 I pace ( 2:30 recovery jog)
               4x400 R pace ( 3:00 recovery jog)

Paces:
800's                                     400's
1. 3:22                                  1. 1:39
2. 3:40                                  2. 1:42
3. 3:38                                  3. 1:38
4. 3:40                                  4. 1:36
5. 3:39                                  

I am super happy that I hit my new paces that Nichole set for me, but this was such a stressful run.  I had planned to do this at the track, but when Jake and I drove up there it was iced over, so we went to a flat stretch of road to do them on.  We did our warm up and my stomach was feeling off ( no surprise since I are pizza and cheesecake for my b-day the night before!), so I had to make a bathroom stop right away, not good.  Then we started the repeats.  The road was super slick, so we pretty much had to run in the middle of the road, and there were spots where I had NO traction with my shoes.  It was also getting dark and the cars didn't seem to see us ( there were street lights and I was wearing bright blue clothes).  I was freaked out and stressed out the whole time.  I was basically just trying to get the workout over with so I could get off the street.  I was frustrated and mad at myself for getting so worked up.  Needless to say, there was no "runner's high" on this one.

Tuesday - Cross Training
                 20 min. elliptical, 10 min. row, 15 min. bike
                30 min. strength circuit

Cross training is boring.  I thought it would be nice to have a break, but all I wanted to do was run!  I got so stir crazy so I just jumped around to different machines.  How people can workout for an hour on an elliptical is beyond me.  I also don't get that super accomplished feeling like I do after a run when I have to do a different type of work out, so again, it put me in a mentally negative place.

Wednesday - 4 miles easy (9+pace)
                     avg. pace 8:50  TM run, incline 1%

Easy run, but it felt hard, especially for that slow of a pace.  I did this on the t-mill cause I didn't want to bother with going outside.  My legs felt dead on this run, and my shins continued to bother me.  Nothing too bad, but enough to make me annoyed.  I'm planning on getting some compression sleeves/socks this weekend so hopefully those will help my calves/shins. Some people swear by them others cant tell a difference so we will see how they work for me.  If anyone has an opinion on them PLEASE chime in :)

Thursday - 6 miles total
                  1 WU&CD
                  sets of (2 min hard, 1 min easy, 1 min hard, 30 sec. easy, 30 sec hard)
                  ran on TM, incline 1%
                  30 min. strength circut
With the way the week has been going, I knew I wanted to be conservative on this run.  Nichole gave me the option to skip it and do a 3-4 mile hard effort run instead, but I really wanted to do this again since last time it didn't go so great.  Jake joined me, we got the warm up done and then got to work.  I started out probably a little to slow for the first set at 8 min. pace, but then continued to bump up the pace each set and ended with my last 2 sets sub 7 min pace, with my last one being 6:40-6:30.  Like I said, I know I could have gone faster at the beginning, but this was finally a good run.  I felt strong during my sets and excited that I can probably go faster than what I think - I just need to push myself.  It was a nice mental boost.  So even though it wasn't as fast as I should have gone, it was good for the ol' noggin :)

Today is a rest day, and even though I am itching to run some higher miles, I know this week is a learning experience.  I need to work on getting out of my head and staying positive especially when things are out of my control.  On a happy note, I did get a chance to see a chiropractor on Tuesday about my knee.  He concluded that its due to  my left foot ( I guess it pronates pretty bad), and my hips are out of alignment, so its causing my left side to put pressure on the inside of that knee.  He cracked and popped some things and let me tell you, the different I felt was SO COOL!  I don't know a lot about the human body, but this guy sure does, plus he's neat to talk to.  He gave me some exercises to work on and to see him again next week.  Since then I haven't had trouble with my knee (knock on wood), so he could really be a lifesaver.  I had never been to a chiropractor before, but if it keeps me healthy, I'm definitely a believer :)

So, sorry for the sad-sack post, but I'm just telling it like it is.  Some days/weeks arent going to be so great, and I'm sure this isnt the last one.  I'm looking forward to my runs this weekend and then getting back at it next week. 15 weeks to Fargo!