A few awesome things happened this week: I took my beagles, Autumn and Lucy on their first 5K training run and I ran an 8:30 mile at mile 4 of a run and didn't even realize it because it felt so easy!

Autumn and Lucy did awesome on their first training run! We did just under a mile run/walk around the neighborhood. I'm not entirely sure I'm going to keep Lucy going because she's nine and I don't want to put too much strain on her even though she's super athletic, loves to run, and is pretty fast (Autumn was lagging behind her). But I could tell her muscles were sore the next day. She's a big baby when she's in pain, and she lets us know in no uncertain terms. Autumn, on the other hand, is only four and now is a great time to get her out and running off that beagle fat.

As for that 8:30 mile...we ran the Mount Pleasant side of the Ravenel (aka, Cooper River) Bridge on Saturday, so I ran hills for the first time since January (and that was not a pretty run). This time was much different. I ran the entire run by perceived effort and didn't look at my pace. I really had no idea what to expect on the long incline at the bridge, but I surprised myself and ended up with my best postpartum run yet and my splits ended looking like this:

Mile 1: 10:33 (we used this as our warmup)
Mile 2: 10:37 (straight up the bridge)
Mile 3: 9:12 (partially up, partially down)
Mile 4: 8:30 (base of the bridge, but mostly flat)
Mile .67: 9:05 (flat)

Two other things I started this week were weekday morning quick workouts (started on Wednesday) - 10 minutes of core work using the Core Fusion Barre Basics DVD plus 10 minutes on the elliptical - and paying closer attention to what I'm eating.

I'm generally not a terrible eater and mostly prefer healthy foods, but I tend to be a grazer and end up eating more than I need to eat (and sometimes, not the best things). This week, I got myself on a nutrition plan and I'm feeling much better. Generally, I avoid processed carbs and only eat whole foods, but for my Saturday morning long runs, carbs in the form of whole wheat or grains don't always agree with my stomach, but I still need carbs for energy. So this Saturday, I tried a small serving of white rice topped with an egg and it made a huge difference in how I felt during the run. If I can get it together and have the time, maybe I'll start posting my nutrition here on the blog, too, since it's a huge part of proper training.

And those morning workouts? I have nothing but good things to say. They are an awesome way to kickstart my weekdays.

Things that weren't awesome this week: I'm doing a terrible job at conditioning/speed/hill work with this training cycle. It's not entirely my fault since our schedule doesn't always allow for me to get to those training sessions and I can't always bring Baby B along. B is still too little to go running with me and it's been too hot to bring him and just let him chill on the side of the track with the coaches. Although, the weather has been getting cooler, so hopefully soon! This week though, I could have gone, but the track session was canceled because of thunder and lightning.

The week in workouts

Sunday: Off
Monday: BodyFlow
Tuesday: Off (I was lazy. This should not have been a rest day, but after speedwork got canceled while I was in my car driving there, I just decided to go home and do nothing. It happens.)
Wednesday:
- AM workout: 10 minutes core work + 10 minutes elliptical (1.32 miles)
- PM workout: Neighborhood run - 2.44 miles/10:10 pace
Thursday:
- AM workout: 10 minutes core work + 10 minutes elliptical (1.41 miles)
- PM workout: Neighborhood run - 2.95 miles/9:52 pace
Friday:
- AM workout: 10 minutes core work + 10 minutes elliptical (1.39 miles)
- PM workout: Neighborhood run 2.07 miles/10:07 pace + .86 mile run/walk with the beagles/15:10 pace
Saturday: Group training run: 4.67 miles/9:38 pace

Total miles run: 12.99

Weekly workouts: 10K training week 4 (9/14-9/20)