I still can’t shake an annoying Covid cough, so I was thankful that this was a “recovery” training week, even though I wasn’t recovering from high mileage. Although the miles dropped back, they were really building me up to get back on track. In 3 short weeks, I have a Dopey-light practice at Disney since I’ve signed up for the 5k, 10k, and half marathon at Disney’s Wine and Dine Weekend. Mentally, a long run of 9.5 miles pre-COVID seems a long way away from 13.1.
So on Monday, I did 4 miles and on Wednesday, I did 4.5. I still haven’t gotten back to a quicker/lower effort pace, but I wasn’t as tired as I was the week prior. Sam reminded me that the Atlanta 10 Miler was coming up, but with everything going on, signing up had slipped my mind. So I decided to make this weekend a mini-practice, too. On Friday, I ran 3 miles instead of the 3.5 miles on the training plan. On Saturday, I ran 5 miles instead of the 7.5 that was on the schedule. And on Sunday, I tackled the PNC Atlanta 10 Miler instead of the 0 miles that was on the agenda!
I felt surprisingly okay on Sunday morning. The weather was perfect, and I was never too hot or too cold for the whole race. The race itself is soooo hilly. The first two miles are mostly downhill with adrenaline carrying you through the uphills, then the last 8 are up and down the whole way. Disney is comparatively flat. Garmin had 623 feet of incline in these 10 miles, but only 98 feet of incline at the 13.1 miles I did at Disney in January!
But I hung in there and finished with a 14:12 overall pace. It was my slowest Atlanta 10 Miler in the 6 years I've ran it, but I had to remind myself I had a different goal this year. Instead of building up for one race and taking a few days off before running it, my goal was to get used to running on tired legs and pacing myself so I still had juice left in the tank at the end. Miles 1, 2, 10, and 3 were my fastest at sub-13:30 miles, and no single mile was over the 16-minute Disney pace requirement. In fact, only one mile started with a 15 and it was especially uphill.
The best part was that I recovered pretty well. I stretched, napped, foam rolled, massage gunned, and hydrated enough on Sunday, that I felt okay on Monday. I could have run (although I gave myself a day off) and been okay. Nothing hurt during the race. Sore, yes, but no pain. And no pain the next morning which is usually when I feel it! If I can do 18 miles over 3 days this weekend, I can do 22.4 over 3 days in 3 weeks! I’m happy to be back on track, that’s for sure!
Week 12: Run 26.81 miles + Walk .71 miles = 27.52 total miles
Cumulative: Run 187.15 miles + Walk 16.53 miles = 203.68 cumulative miles
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