Our last update in late January had us just completing a tough 4x2 miles at half marathon race pace a little over two weeks before our test at Myrtle Beach. Just for fun and a change of scenery we did our medium long run that weekend with Jenn at Umstead and felt very strong on the hills. As we approached the half I wasn't going to have us do a full taper but keep training for the BQ so with a little less than two weeks to go we did a step down pace workout of 4 miles at MP, 2 miles at HMP and finished with a mile at about 10k ace, or 7:25. Yeah, it hurt but I told Amy we were doing just in case we needed to do that in the last mile of the race. This was after a pretty hard run the day before on House Creek when I had to remind Amy to save a little for the next days real workout. She is so eager to do well when she feels good and I could tell she was about to put the hammer down the last mile.
The week heading up to the race I had one more workout in the bag of tricks. we did 8 x 400 at tempo pace and then took a mini taper the remainder of the week. Obviously everything is going well because we shattered her pr again by another 6.5 minutes and exceeded our goal by 1.5 minutes at Myrtle Beach.
This past week has been a recovery week and we didn't get a chance to run any together. I put in some decent mileage, 38 for the week with 2 days off, all at an easy pace. Glad I could get in a run with my other Angels Karla and Lisa on Thursday.
We have a big week of training coming up and then we will taper the last two weeks but there will still be some hard workouts in there, just at a bit lower volume and intensity.
Another thing that is going well as we get close is that my weight has come down to within 2 miles of my pr weight of 2006. I have carried normally around 145 pounds the past 6 years or so but had crept up to about 148 last year. The only thing I have done differently ios keep my hands out of the snack box in my car and eat smaller portions of the snacks when i do. Otherwise my diet has stayed the same. Running consistent mileage and a lot more of it at a higher intensity these few months along with starting back with some core and strength work last November has really made a difference not only in the weight loss but how I feel.
So, with 3 weeks until the big attempt I am thrilled to be in my best shape in 7 years and even more thrilled to see Amy doing so well. I can't express just how proud and amazed I am at her determination and hard work with not just the running but with yoga and circuit training which helps her handle the hard work.
Stay tuned, it won;t be long now !
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