This week’s plan had a slight reduction in total mileage for the week so over the weekend I decided to rest up and use this time to recover a bit. My total mileage ended up at around 15 miles with the few extra rest days I had. I decided to take the opportunity to get beyond my stubborn nature and pride and just let myself relax, rest and recover.
Monday
Started out solid on Monday with my new Garmin Heart Rate Monitor. However, after mile two I hit a bit of wind and slowed down. Mile 4 picked up a bit when the wind went away but 5 and 6 hit me and I slowed down again. Overall I hit a 9:35 average pace which, when I’m honest with myself, a 9:20-9:30 is probably where I should be for my easy runs but I have a tendency to go out at 9:00ish.
I did get some good data though and figured out how to sync it with Strava and see everything together. The heart rate data is close to the Fitbit Charge 2 in terms of (perceived) accuracy when walking around but when running the numbers were slightly different (like 5-6 bpm).
Tuesday…
Tuesday was supposed to be an easy 5 with some strides but I overslept and didn’t get the time for it. However, I didn’t beat myself over it and just used the extra time to rest and decided I’d make it up the next day!
Wednesday
Wednesday I started out at 9:00 once again and my next two miles were a hair under 9:00 pace. I was talking most of the time and the distraction kept me going. The last two I slowed myself down to 9:30 pace and hit 4x100m strides after. It was another good day with some pretty decent running conditions.
But the best part of the day was my new shoes came in! I ordered some Hoka One One Gaviota 2s and couldn’t wait to test them out the next day!
Thursday
Thursday I laced up my new shoes and hit out pretty quickly for an easy 4. Once again I started just a hair under 9:00 pace but slowed myself down to 9:20 for the rest of the run.
The new shoes were amazing. Previously I had my Mizuno Wave Inspire 13s, which are fine, but I have a wider foot and the Gaviota 2s in wide fit like a glove! It’s the best fit running shoe I’ve ever tried in the past 10 years.
Friday & Saturday
Friday I slept in! It felt great. I woke up in the middle of the night and my ankles were feeling a little sore anyway so I decided to go ahead and skip the run to promote recovery.
Saturday I continued with my routine of bodyweight exercises and yoga so that I wasn’t completely inactive. I also did some ankle exercises with a resistance band and iced my ankle for a bit. Hoping that tomorrow I can run just fine and not make things worse for myself!
Next Week
Starting tomorrow I’ll be back at it. This week calls for the first sets of speed work so I’m really excited to get out there and push myself after a week of rest. I’m also going to start a new yoga series tomorrow so that should be exciting as well! I’ve learned that having a plan really helps keep me commited.