Week in Review

96 Miles
10 Runs
~ 23 Mile Long Run @ 7:00 pace (2:40)
2 Workouts

The highlight of this week?  Definitely the long run!  Laurie, Megan and I have continued our tradition of running long together in the dark, early morning hours from McAlpine and each run has gotten better and better.  By next week, I'll be finishing at 6:00 pace!  Of course, we are always surrounded by our entourage of male escorts, who ensure our safety from any stray animals or pranks from Billy Shue.  After 11 miles, we grabbed Alana in the parking lot, and somehow split from the main group once again.  It was after this point in which I was able to capture some of our mile splits by the markers and saw 6:40 and 6:50 pretty consistently.  I would say that we hovered around 7:00-7:10 for the first half of the run and then around 6:40-6:50 for the last half.  Greenapple's treatment showed its healing powers because I didn't feel my hamstring whatsoever, which most likely lead to the increase in pace.  My view on long runs is that if you feel like going faster, then do it.  Vice versa, if you feel like going slower, then do it.  Perhaps since my other workouts aren't as stellar as I'd like, I'm able to really shine on my long runs, so I'm not complaining!

The other really cool thing about this week is that I felt good about doing this mileage and came to it pretty much unplanned.  I approached this week differently than I ever have in the past, which typically consisted of planning out my doubles and workouts down to the exact minute of the day.  This time, I didn't double if I didn't feel like it.  I doubled when I wanted to (different than when I had time), and I didn't lay out exactly how I do my weekly mileage.  The end result was that I was happy doing it.  It felt easier than 6 weeks ago when I ran 100 miles because I just didn't think about it.  I let the runs come naturally, I listened to my body when it told me that it could go a couple more miles, and I also happened to get in my longest run ever.

Just when I thought it seemed most reasonable to turn my back on Philly, things are really starting to look up.  I'll make a decision probably after Army to see what is best for my own wellbeing, but right now, I'm feeling pretty optimistic!