Broken Pool, New Treadmill and 15k Training

This was quite a fun and busy week.  My husband and I celebrated our 8 year anniversary on Monday.  I had some great runs and I also continued to stay dedicated with my participation in the Runners Love Yoga Challenge.  I took a much needed extra rest day in preparation for my 15k on Sunday (I will recap that in another blog), and finally got my knee and foot/shin feeling better with some foam rolling.  I will do a brief recap of the week and in my next post, focus on my race.

Monday: Taught spinning as usual and worked legs.  I have a slightly embarrassing admission to make here...I have been trying so hard to grow a booty.  Genetics as well as distance running make it a constant struggle, but I have been hitting leg day harder now that I am not marathon training and I am starting to see a little progress.  A Kardashian I am not, but I'm hoping not to embarrass myself in my bikini here in a couple of weeks when we go on our beach vacation.  With all that being said, the harder leg days make for interesting runs during the week...

RLY Challenge Warrior III

Tuesday: Yey for a new to me treadmill!  A client of mine was moving and downsizing so we took her huge, commercial treadmill off her hands.  I actually like running on a treadmill.  It became a necessary evil after I had the kiddos, they would come with me to the gym so I could knock out training miles.  It is also comes in handy during those insanely hot summer months.  So on Tuesday, I shot downstairs while the kids were still asleep and banged out 5 speed work miles.  Woozers my legs were sore from leg day, but once I got going on my intervals, they loosened up some.  I didn't want to go too crazy with speed work since it was race week, so it was 8x400 @ 6:15 avg. pace, with a warm up and cool down.

RYL Challenge Bound Side Angle

Wednesday: I got a quick lift in at my gym, but wanted to conserve my legs and some energy for the pub run later that night.  I don't get to the Fleet Feet runs as much as I'd like to, but I try to make an effort to get the their pub run every other month or so.  We usually have a good turn out of Moms Run This Town ladies and it's so fun to catch up with them.  My friend who I have been running with to help her get ready for her first half was going, so I wanted to run with her and catch up over some beers.  We did a little under 4 miles and had a great time at World of Beer afterwards!

Always fun times running with my girl Kim, can't wait to pace her through her first half next weekend!

Thursday: So Thursday, yeah, Thursday.  Well, I had already decided I wasn't going to run that day.  I ran Tuesday and Wednesday and not only was I still feeling leg day, but my knee and shin where acting up.  So I figured Thursday would be the perfect day for a swim.  LA Fitness had other plans for me however, since they had yet to fix their pool that had broken several days prior.  In fact it will be another week before I can swim there, ugh!  I thought about heading down to the springs for an open water swim practice, but we were expecting storms, so much for that.  With my knee and shin pain, the stepmill didn't seem like a good idea and there were no yoga classes going on during my free time.  So I took this as the perfect opportunity to do some foam rolling and work on mobility and core.  Best decision ever!  I managed to work out whatever was going on with my foot and shin.  My knee was doing better and the time off from running made me legs (and probably mind) feel refreshed and ready to go!

RYL Challenge Bird of Paradise

Friday: Just a quick upper body lift to hopefully have my arms looking nice for my race photos that weekend, hehe!  Yes, I know it sounds obnoxious but who doesn't like to have nice looking race photos?  I swear all of mine are always scary.  Of all the races I do, I maybe get one in every 50 shots where I look human and not like some Ursula from The Little Mermaid.  Plus, with our beach trip about 5 weeks away, I am really focusing on leaning out and cutting up.  I want to look my best at the beach and pool!

Saturday: My original plan for Saturday since I would not be running to rest up for my race, was to swim.  But since the pool was still closed, I planned to go in to foam roll and work core.  I spent probably close to 30 minutes or so doing foam rolling and some active stretching.  I was so glad I did, I sure needed it!  The rest of Saturday was spent heading out to packet pick up and hanging out with the family.  It was raining that day so went to Chuck-e-Cheese to let the boys burn off their crazy, then it was family cuddles on the couch watching the Final Four.  Went to be around 11ish for my 5am race wake up call.

Next up on the blog, Riverside Dash 15k race recap!