Only 4 weeks to go until the Crawlin’ Crab Shell Yeah Challenge and I am having very mixed emotions.  On the one hand, I’m still very excited because I just simply loved this race last year.  On top of that, my mom; my cousin, Paul; and Paul’s wife, Missy have decided to run the 5k.  Yay!!  On the other hand, I just don’t feel so great about my training.  I wish I would have started training back when I was supposed to during the summer.  I was still getting some runs in, but they weren’t consistent and I definitely slacked on any long runs.

I did have some good runs this week, but I also had some really tough runs.

Tuesday –I ran 4.5 miles on the treadmill.  I was able to run a 9:33 average pace.  I’ve found a Netflix show that I am really enjoying (Stranger Things), which has helped me get through my runs this week.  Sam also showed up towards the end of my run and grabbed the treadmill next to me.  It was really nice having her to chat with!  I ended up walking another 20 minutes after my run because we were gabbing away!

Wednesday –I ran a 40 minute tempo run.  I ran on the treadmill again, and covered 4.10 miles, which averaged out to a 9:45 average pace.

Thursday – I forgot to mention that on Wednesday evening, I felt a pain right below my knee while running.  After a bit of research, I think it may be my IT band, but I’m not positive.  It was just a quick pain, but afterwards when I walked, I could feel it again.  Then nothing all day Thursday.  I was kind of hesitant about whether or not I should run Thursday night.  I finally decided to go, but to take it easy and I promised myself I would end my treadmill session if it started hurting.  I ran my 3 miles with no pain, but afterwards, when I walked to cool down, I felt it again.  Only it was a little worse than the day before.  Not excruciating, but enough to make me worry a bit.  I do not want to deal with an injury!!  I got 3 miles in with an average pace of 10:00.  Friday was my scheduled rest day anyway so it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Saturday – Saturday was my day to push my pace and luckily, my knee had been just fine since Thursday night so I felt okay with pushing it.  I ran on the treadmill, and I had Stranger Things to keep me occupied or I probably would have slowed down by mile 2.  I was able to push out 5 miles at a 9:06 average pace and I was very happy with that.

Monday – Sunday should have been my long run day, but since this was a holiday weekend with Monday off, Steven and I decided on a last minute trip to Luray Caverns with the girls and Grammy.  So, I decided to push my run to Monday.  Last weekend, I ran 6 miles on the treadmill and my goal for this weekend was 7.5 miles (that’s what happens when you neglect your long runs, you end up having the up your mileage quicker than usual).  It. Was. Not. Fun.  While I generally prefer running outdoors most of the year, it’s been hard for me to make the transition from treadmill to pavement this time.  I’ve been using a treadmill for most of my runs this summer so I’ve gotten used to it.  I’m not used to having to pace myself…the machine does it for me at the gym!  Hopefully after a few more runs, I will be feeling better about it.  Here’s how today went:

I woke up an hour later than I planned.  I ate a bagel, got myself together, and then headed for one of my favorite 6 mile loops.  I started running around 9 a.m.  The weather seemed to be perfect for running.  My first couple of miles were challenging, but I also knew I was pushing my pace.  I was trying to tell myself to throttle back, but it just kept creeping back up on me.  I knew there was no way I’d be able to sustain the pace.  At mile 2, I decided to take a walk break and it pretty much all went downhill from there.  And not literally.  In fact, just around the corner was a hill.  WHAT ARE THOSE?  It’s been ages since I had actually run a real hill.  So, I decided to walk it.  Afterwards, I’d end up pushing my pace for a bit (not on purpose) and then end up needing a walk break again.  I felt like I walked almost as much as I ran.  And then there is the weather that I am not used to dealing with.  While it was a beautiful morning to be outside, the wind kind of surprised me a bit.  It was nice when it was at my back, but running against it was pretty tough.  And then once I made it about half way through the 6 mile loop, I was no longer in the shade and the sun was really strong.  Sheeewwww…it was hot.  I brought a Gu with me, which I was planning to eat around mile 4, but I didn’t even try.  I knew I’d never get it down.  It seems like my body has decided it can’t tolerate Gu’s once again.  I’m going to have to try something else next week.  It could be because I ate an Arby’s Beef N Cheddar sandwich and fries around 9:30 the night before (not recommended).  It could also be because I only had about 10 ounces of water the entire day before.  And speaking of water, I ran out during my run!!!  I filled both bottles up on my fuel belt and it still wasn’t enough.  I’m not usually a huge drinker during my runs, but I finished off about 18 oz. by mile 6.  Clearly, I did not prepare for this long run like I should have.  I definitely need to get back into the right mindset and actually prepare better.

I want to make a time goal for the Crawlin’ Crab half marathon, but I think it’s still early to set a realistic goal.  I know I’m not as strong as I was last year when I ran it, so I think a PR is highly unlikely.  I really hope to come close though.  I will set a goal within the next week or two.

This week, I am supposed to run Tues, Wed, Thurs, Sat & Sun, but since I just ran my long run today, I think I am going to rest tomorrow and just run Wed, Thurs, Sat &  Sun.  Let’s do this!!!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend and hope you have a great week!