Epicurious Runner

VCM Training: Week 6

Less than 12 weeks to go till Vermont City Marathon!!! This training cycle is flying by, it’s kind of scary. So far, this cycle isn’t taking over my life, which makes me very happy! Maybe my body is getting used to the distances and I am recovering faster? Either way, it’s nice to feel like I’m training, but not feel like training is my life.

I ran a FANTASTIC 18 miles this past weekend, but the way my schedule is set up, you will have to wait till next week to hear all about it.

Let’s recap this past week. Last weekend started with a run 4 mile race in Brooklyn, followed by lots of delicious food.

Saturday – 4 mile race (8:26 avg. pace) No PR, but ran without a watch, which was liberating, but I also was 13 seconds away from a PR, so maybe I would’ve pushed myself a bit more if I knew I was so close. Either way, it wasn’t an important race, so it doesn’t really matter. The company and the food were the real reasons I went!

Sunday – 16 miles (9:43 avg. pace) I ran with Carla through Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. A good run overall. It was tough, and I was struggling the last few miles, but I got it done and pretty happy with the pace.

Monday – Rest

Tuesday – 3 x 1600 (7:47, 7:46, 7:43) 6 miles total. These mile repeats were amazing! Seriously, I felt so awesome and good afterwards and even though they were tough, I felt strong enough to make it through all 3. This was the first time I did 3 sets of mile repeats at this pace.

Lululemon run club with Jen

Wednesday – 6 x 400, (Splits ranged from 1:38 – 1:52) 5.42 miles total. This was supposed to be an easy 5 miler, but I ended up meeting up with the Lululemon run group with Jen, Ashley, and Theodora and this is what they had on the schedule. I figured I might as well do the 400s and just take them a little easier than normal since I had just done speedwork the day prior. It was a fun group and it was nice to finally meet a few more Twitter/Blog friends.

I ordered some new Oiselle threads and got them in the mail on Thursday. I was so excited to wear them, so I wore my new violet long rogas on my Thursday night run. Like normal, they were insanely comfortable and felt like I was wearing nothing. I also got the new Poppy rogas and a Winona tank.

Thursday – 7 mile Tempo (8:57 avg. pace)  I met up with the Astoria run club and they always do a 10k on Thursdays, so I did a mile warmup on the track before we got started. The route for this is hilly as f**k. Seriously, you are never on any kind of flat ground. It’s a tough route, but I definitely pushed myself for my planned 4.5 miles of tempo pace. I didn’t actually make my prescribed paces, but it was a solid run that I felt great about afterwards. I plan on going to this every Thursday (if I can), so it will be interesting to see if I can actually start making my planned tempo paces on his hilly ass route.

Friday - Rest

Total: 38.42 miles

Cross training: 0

PS. The new Nuun flavors come out today! Cherry Limeade, Watermelon, and Lemonade. Yum, I can’t wait to  try them all. I will be placing my order at the end of the week for all three.