I'm Still Standing...

Hi, all!

I swear, I'm still alive. Things have gotten SO busy now that I'm a working woman again.

Source

Things are good, though! Time for some recapping!
So, the last time that I posted, I mentioned that I was taking the day off because I was feeling run down and my legs hurt. I didn't say either, but I was kind coughing a bit. Well, it turns out I was in the early stages of the flu! :( I kicked that off by passing out in the bathroom at work, which was rather embarrassing for the third day. I should have known better--I'm kind of sensitive to different cold medicines, and I had taken a dose of DayQuil before I left, which I think combined with the fact that I hadn't eaten enough that day, down I went. I wound up going home and spending the rest of that day and most of that weekend asleep either on the couch or in bed. It was not fun, but by Sunday night I was starting to feel human again.
Sadly, due to the flu, I missed my long run that week, and I rescheduled a shorter run for Monday to a different day just to make sure I was really good to go. So, missing those two runs, I ended up with a February mileage total of 69 miles. In my ongoing battle with perspective, I had to remind myself that while this was short of what was planned, that 69 miles was still a) more than I ran the month before, b) WAY more than I ran last year in February, and c) my 3rd biggest month ever (July 2010 was 69.4, and August 2010 was 70 miles). I should not be getting myself down about that number, I should be fist pumping all around my apartment about that number!
My new job is AWESOME. I'm learning SO much about shoes, foot biomechanics, running and triathlon apparel, and other gear. It can be a bit overwhelming at times, but it's going well. I'm also getting the chance to try on lots of shoes and other gear in the name of product research, and as a part of the job I'm asked to wear test some items and give my feedback to the owners. Pretty sweet deal, I'm not going to lie.
This is the part I'm most excited about-- the store also has a running team. Their philosophy is to have members who, regardless of ability, are active in races and the running community and would represent the team and the sport in a positive light. As a member of the staff, I have the option of being on the team. It really sounds like something perfect for me and like an incredible opportunity, and I'm thinking I'm going to go for it. :D So awesome. Again, the new gig is fantastic, and I'm so happy to be there.
March is off to a great start on the running front. Coming back from the flu was a bit rough initially. I felt sluggish and slow on my first run back, which was to be expected. Then, after that run, which was in the early evening, I tried running again the next morning. That was a disaster--I had no speed, my legs felt flat, and I just felt like garbage. I had to cut my 6 miler down to 5 because I felt so awful. I made up the missed mile on my next run 2 days later, and by that point I was starting to feel myself come back, and the next day I did my long run for the week (8 miles), and while it was a long and slow run, I felt great. :) Last week's total came to 22 miles.
This week, barring anything going wrong, will be the highest weekly mileage I've ever put down, 24 miles. I'm already at 10, and I have a 4 tomorrow and a 10 on Friday! I can't believe I'm already at double digit runs for this training!
So far this week:
Monday- 6 miles on the Y treadmill. I had to do 4 2:00 surges in this run, and I did those at an 8:34 pace, with the rest of at anywhere from a 9:15 to an 8:57 pace. I felt really strong in this workout, and I finished at 53:51.
Tuesday- 4 miles, again at the Y. I felt like I was wasting a beautiful day outside, but I wanted to do more of a tempo run, and right now it's easier for me to do things like that on the treadmill. I did a warm up 1/2 mile at 8:57 pace, and did 3.5 miles at an 8:27 pace. I originally meant to do just 3 at that pace and then cool down at the 8:57 again, but I felt so good that I just finished the run at that pace. My time was 34:07, my fastest 4 miler to date.

So, that's what's new over the last week and a half or so!
I hope you all are doing well. What's new and good with you? If you're in training, how is that going?


Have a great day, all!