Weekly workouts: Race week (3/31-4/5)

Weekly Recap

11 Apr

Other than my ill-fated, crash and burn half marathon, last week was pretty uneventful. I didn't do a ton of workouts or longer runs because I was exhausted.

Looking back over the past few months, I'm starting to put some pieces together as to why I'm having bad runs when I'm having them, and why I'm so exhausted at certain times that have nothing to do with having an infant. And it's beginning to point to what I think may be PMDD.

Obviously I don't want to self-diagnose and I need to get to a doctor, but the symptoms (and the amount of symptoms) I'm having seem to support this hypothesis. From body aches to extreme fatigue to scary-ass mood swings, and a host of other symptoms all of which lead to dysfunction in my daily life, and then disappear as quickly as they came, it's just all coming together as a possibility. And at Skidaway, I was at the peak of symptoms, so it's no wonder in addition to all of my other stuff, that I just couldn't run a good run.

That said, I don't think the timing of Nashville will have me hitting any of that fun stuff, so I might actually have a decent run. Not necessarily a PR run because it's probably going to be hot and humid (and hilly), but a fun, low-pressure run. At this point, I'm leaning toward still running it, and doing so without any major time or PR goals. It was always meant to be a long weekend and a fun run spent with friends from Charlotte and that's what it still should be. PRs can wait until the fall.

And as for the rest of April, my theme is "easy." No hard running workouts. Just easy runs at whatever distance and pace easy means at the time. No speedwork, no hill repeats, no tempo or progressive runs, no long runs over 8 miles (except Nashville). Just short, easy miles. I've just come off two back-to-back half marathon training cycles in less than 9 months post-baby. I'd say that's an accomplishment in itself and I deserve (and probably need) the break.

The week in workouts: