This week had been pencilled in as something of a rest week, following on from the completion of my winter season and the first lot of my targeted Spring races.
I must admit to feeling more than ready for some respite after a challenging few weeks both physically and mentally after a few recent set backs. Hopefully the little mini break in training will allow me to attack the following period of training and races with a renewed confidence and on recharged batteries.
I had a total of three days off through the week - including not running for the full weekend, the first time I have taken back to back days off since the turn of the year. Typically on the first day off I twinges my back so would have been unable to run anyway! It must have been my body's way of telling me I was ready for the rest!
Despite taking a few days off, I made sure that the days that I did still run saw me putting in some quality sessions. I tried to make sure that I took something away from every run that I managed throughout the week - and this reflected in my average pace at the end of the weeks training.
On the Monday I did a steady hour of running, totalling 9.5 miles. Tuesday saw me do a solo session down on the track, and as something slightly different, I decided to do 60 seconds of 'effort' off 60 seconds jog recovery. I did 15 sets of repetitions and maintained a good rhythm and regular pace throughout. Wednesday was my first rest day of the week, followed by ten miles on Thursday, with 8 miles of a progressive tempo run built into it. The average pace for the run equalled 5:50 pace, having started at 6:40 pace and gradually cranking it up through the run. Friday saw me run for 20 minutes in the morning and 35 minutes in the evening as I struggled to fit some mileage in around work before my planned weekend off.
Despite knowing that I was ready for the rest, I still felt guilty for taking the time out of training and itching to run. I have got that used to banging out the miles every day now, that it just seems normal to go out and train every day - having days off - and especially more than one in a week(!) - almost feels like cheating although I know it will do me good in the longer term.
The break in training did have its benefits, as it coincided with a weekend away in Silverdale for a get-together with Molly's family and allowed us to spend lots of quality time together and enjoy a few drinks and lots of food!
Total mileage for the week: 38
Average pace for the week (m/pm): 6:16
Total mileage for the month (April): 278
Total mileage so far 2016: 1218
Average miles per day 2016: 10.06
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