Back in the swing of things and on a regimented training plan again, the week didn’t start out so hot.  I woke Monday morning with the kind of clogged sore throat that always seems to be the prelude to a cold for me.  I was determined to get my 40 miles in, though so I just took it day by day:

Monday AM: 2 miles treadmill (8:28 avg pace), upper and lower strength training

Monday PM: 4 miles Easy (7:46 avg pace)

Tuesday AM: 6 miles Easy (8:04 avg pace)

Tuesday PM: 4 miles Easy (7:55 avg pace)

Wednesday AM: 2 miles treadmill (8:28 avg pace), upper and lower strength training

Thursday AM: 6 miles Easy (8:16 avg pace)

Thursday PM: 4 miles Easy (7:52 avg pace)

Friday AM: 2 miles treadmill (7:15 avg pace)

Saturday AM: 10 mile long run (8:25 avg pace)

Total: 40 miles

On Saturday I got out of bed at 5:30.  I had forgotten how much I love running before sunrise.  I was really worried about Saturday’s run because my endurance has been pretty bad lately and I haven’t done anything more than 8 miles in a single workout for a couple of months.  The  air was cool and peaceful and I was relaxed.  I took the first 2 miles relatively slow (9:15 pace), then stayed steady at my prescribed easy pace until about mile 6 when I sped up.  I gained back most of my time during miles 7 and 8, then finished off the last two miles slightly faster than my easy pace.  I was very happy with it.

I’ve still got the cold.  It’s just migrated from throat to nose to chest.  It’s pretty mild, though.  Hopefully I’m on the mend and next week will be another good week.  It’s onward and upward to 46 miles!  My afternoon runs will probably be slower, though since Alice is returning from 2 weeks in St. Louis and I’ll be running with her again.