You guys, I ran 5 times this week! I have no idea when the last time I did that was, but probably over a year ago. And I've never been a regular 5-days-a-week runner. Normally, I max out at 4 days, but I'm trying to get into the 5 day a week habit, and this week was a great start!

And - and! - one of those run days was a speed session. It's been months (maybe more than a year) since I did one of those. And my weekly mileage was over 20 miles. It's been months since that happened, too. 

It was, in short, a good week (for running at least). After two years of awful, awful running (that got worse and worse) because of being sick , it was nice to be out there without having asthma attacks or feeling like my legs had bowling balls attached to them. 

I also posted about my recent experience with low iron and Vitamin D deficiencies. Check it out if you missed it. 

Workout summary

• Monday: Bike ride - 4 miles
• Tuesday:  Run - 4.16 miles (8:40 pace)
• Wednesday: Off
• Thursday: Run - Speedwork 5.01 miles (9:01 pace - .4 miles fast, recovery, repeat 5 times)
• Friday: Run - 3.16 miles (8:43 pace) + 4 mile bike ride
• Saturday: Run - 3 miles (9:27 pace) + 9 mile bike ride
• Sunday: Run - 6.02 miles  (9:16 pace) + 1.5 mile bike ride

Yoga/barre: 0
Runs: 5 (!!!!!)
Bike: 4
Total miles:  21.35 miles
Total workouts: 9

The week in workouts

Tuesday I set out for an easy run and ended up with just over 4 miles and negative splits - 9:12, 8:58, 8:09, 7:48 (last .16). To say I was pleased after the awfulness I've been through is an understatement. 

Thursday was my speedwork session and after Tuesday's run, I was feeling a little more confident. However, the weather was ridiculous. 80 degrees, sunny, humid. Welcome back to speedwork. Anyway, the workout was .4 miles fast (6:45 as the target pace) and recovery pace on the rest of the mile, repeat 5 times. I missed my target pace and my recoveries were slogs, but considering the heat and that it was my first speed session in a really long time (and after going through sickness), I was happy. 

Friday was another short, negative split run - 3.16 miles and splits at 9:10, 8:50, 8:12, 7:29 (last .16). And it was hot again, so I was happy with those paces.

And, I'm back in my Brooks Launches again. It's been a long time since I wore those. With all of the aches and pains I was dealing with, the Launches just weren't working for me. I'm glad to be back in them! 

Saturday I met up with a friend and we ran 3 miles together and then breakfast/brunch smoothies afterwards. It's always nice to change things up by running with someone else. 

Sunday my schedule called for a "long" run of 6 miles. By the time I managed to get out on the road, it was already hot, the humidity was soaring, and it was sunny. Thank goodness for a light breeze. That at least helped a little.

D came along again this week on his bike with B in the trailer. Company and conversation makes those hot, long runs much more tolerable. Plus, he can bring extra water along. It wasn't my speediest run, but considering the workouts preceding it (speedwork Thursday, run + bike Friday, run + bike Saturday), I think it was pretty decent, and I still felt good out there (other than boiling in my own sweat). 

I'm so happy with this week's workouts, even though I did miss barre and yoga. I'll figure out how to get things balanced soon, but right now I'm glad to be rebuilding with running.

This week's life highlights (and lowlights) 

Poor Meadow continues to have random issues. In addition to going through treatment for nasal cancer (and currently in remission), then fighting back from the sibling rivalry Christmas Eve spat, this week she had surgery for a mammary tumor. We're hoping the pathology report comes back benign.

The good news is, she seems to be feeling great. She's bright eyed, hungry (always hungry!), and running around like normal. She's such a sweet little dog and it breaks my heart that she's had such a rough time. 

Our Easter weekend was relaxing and low key. We didn't have any family in town, so we didn't do anything special other than give B an Easter basket and dye some Easter eggs.

We spent time outdoors by the water and on Sunday we headed to the South Carolina Aquarium. We have an annual membership and it's totally worth it since B regularly asks to see the sharks, otters, and sea turtles. He loves it there!

This week was rough for me since D was out of town and B has been a bit of a terror at bedtime. It takes several hours to get him down and by the time I'm done, I'm exhausted myself. It left little time for relaxing or doing things other than work (which also continues to be extremely busy). 

Next week, I'm hoping to get in those 5 runs again, but I also to squeeze in at least one, maybe two, barre or yoga classes. 

Overall? A good week for workouts. A little bit on the stressful side for life in general. But that's life, right? 

How was your week?

This week I'm linking up with HoHoRuns and MissSippi Piddlin'  for their Weekly Wrap post.