Week one of Taper is Complete!

I knew it was going to have some hard workouts, but this week was harder than I was expecting.  Why?

1. I was coming off a 22+ mile long run on Sunday and a 70 mile week last week.
2. I was super busy at work and with my personal life.
3. I had 3 really hard quality workouts.
4. My mileage during the work week was the same volume and intensity as last week.
5. I ran almost 55 miles

The point that surprises me the most is the last one.  55 miles is definitely higher than I normally run during taper - even the first week.  Usually I cut back into the mid to upper 40s.  But I had to trust in my coach and fit it all in.  Although I admit that due to time constraints, I did cut one easy run short by a little more than 20 minutes, so I *should* have actually run a couple more miles.  

Here's how it looked:

Monday is my rest day.  I was definitely feeling my 22 miler though.  I did loosen up my legs a bit at Girls on the Run Monday evening and I felt pretty good.

Tuesday I had strength intervals on deck.  One hour thirty minutes with 6 x mile repeats at 7:23 pace; .5 recoveries.  Despite being pretty tired, I nailed them.  In fact, I was a bit ahead of pace for every one.  (7:15, 7:20, 7:20, 7:20, 7:18, 7:18).  The run was a HUGE confidence builder since I was coming off such a heavy week and I was unable to hit my strength intervals last week.

Wednesday I was scheduled for 75 minutes easy.  But John had to go in super early for work and I had to make sure the boys got ready for school.  The only way I'd be able to fit in 75 minutes was if I got up before 5.  I wasn't going to do that since I was feeling really exhausted and I know I need to focus on rest.  So I logged 53 minutes - 5.9 miles (9:03 pace).  I was tired and dragging.

Thursday my freaking Garmin died.  Yes, it is the second 610 I've gotten (first one also had problems) and I've had it less than 3 weeks.  It would not reset, it would not charge at all.  Damn.  I was scheduled for 75 minutes again - which I knew would be around 8.5 miles.  I have a route that is that long, so I ran it sans watch.  Not sure of my exact pace, but I felt swift and if I were guessing, I'd say it was closer to 8:45 than 9.

This is definitely not good.

Friday I thankfully was able to get my Garmin working.  I kept fiddling with it until it finally came back to life and started charging.  Clearly there was an issue with either the charger or the watch itself.  But I needed it as I had a tough workout on deck: 10 minute warmup; 9 miles at goal marathon pace (8:40); 10 minute cool down.  Whew - it was hard.  Those miles definitely felt harder than marathon pace.  But no worries - I reminded myself I am still in hard training mode and it isn't supposed to feel easy.  Got in a total of 11.4 miles (7:56 pace).

Saturday my Garmin was totally dead again.  I had 45 minutes on tap, so I ran 3 miles with John, then 2 more on my own.  No idea of pace, but I'm sure I was in my easy range (8:45-9).

Sunday was my third killer workout.  I only had an hour and forty five minutes, but I was supposed to run the first 45 minutes at 8:45 pace; then the second hour at 7:30 pace.  Fortunately my awesome friend Michelle let me borrow her Garmin.  I took off and the first 45 minutes were super easy.  I was even a bit ahead of pace.  But those 7:30s were a different story.  It was windy and hard.  So after 5 miles, I called it quits and just ran at a harder (but not as hard pace - 8:20s and 8:30s).  Ended up with 13 miles (8:13 average pace).

That brought me to just a hair under 55 miles (5 hours; 40 minutes).