Buffalo Creek Training Week 6

Happy week 6!  Now that I'm past the halfway point of training, the race feels really real right now.  So, I took my long run on the road and ran on the race course!  I'm starting to feel more and more prepared, and I can't wait to see if all of this hard work pays off on race day.

Monday

5 miles / 9:33 pace

I had to wake up super early this morning so I just went on my run before the sun went up. Loved the weather, even if it was kind of dark and foggy, so I was getting spooky vibes!

Tuesday

Stand-up Paddleboard / 2 hours

It was a beautiful day, so I took out my paddleboard to the lake.  I didn't do anything too strenuous, but it felt great to be out on the water.

Wednesday

6.25 miles / 8:24 pace

Speed workout day!  This was the "switchblade"- 1 mile warm up, 2x2 miles, 1 mile cool down. Goal for the 2 miles was first mile at 10 seconds over HMP, second mile at 10 seconds under HMP. My goal is 8:10 pace, and I ended up going way faster than that...8:13, 7:40, 7:56, 7:30.  Felt great this entire run!  Luckily for me, there's a gravel path about a mile long that goes near this track, so I got to do part of my speed work on the track and part on the trail to mix things up.  Doing loop after loop on the track can get boring!

Thursday

4 miles + 10 minutes rower

My gym got a bunch of new machines, so I ran 4 miles on the treadmill (cute view, right??) then did 10 minutes of rowing.

Friday

4 miles + 10 minutes rower

I liked this workout a lot, so I did it again!  The rower really seemed to help stretch and strengthen my shoulder (which still feels weak from when I hurt it earlier this year) so I think I'm going to start adding this in weekly!

Saturday

11 miles / 9:20 pace

I headed a bit out of town to do my long run on the race course.  The race is on a crushed limestone trail that runs from Butler down to Freeport.  There were lots of bikers out, a few runners, and a couple people walking dogs.  The trail itself is nice and shady and pretty much flat.  I really liked it and it got me excited for my upcoming race!  My goal for this run was to run 5 miles at race pace, which I nailed. I felt great the entire time and hit my paces (even a little fast with an 8:07 average).  After I finished the fifth mile though, I just completely lost all motivation and didn't even feel like jogging back to the car.  It was pretty warm out and I ran out of water, so I just walk/ran back.  I don't know what really happened- I just felt like I mentally lost it which doesn't usually happen to me!  

Sunday

Rest Day!

I was still pretty tired out from my run, so I just took the day off.

Do you like to run on your race course before the actual race?

Favorite kind of cross training?