Monday: I started my week off right with an easy run with my favorite running buddy. It was her first time out since she ran the Chicago Marathon, as well as the first time we'd been able to get together since her trip, so I enjoyed hearing her thoughts about the race. I also picked her running-coach brain about whether I should run a 5k over the weekend. She said I could if I could hold myself to a little faster than tempo pace, and reschedule my long run for earlier in the week. 6.1 miles at 9:21 pace.
Tuesday: It was chilly and lightly raining when I woke up Tuesday morning. The rain let up a few miles into my run, and I really enjoyed the novelty of running in that weather compared to the hot, wet weather we had most of this training cycle. 7.2 easy miles at 9:36 pace.
Thursday: I got my long run out of the way. It was slow getting started before the sun came up, and it took several miles to get motivated. My plan called for 14-16 miles at an easy pace. I ran 14.65 at 9:37 pace and felt fine.
Saturday: Normally I run a rowdy local Halloween 5k this weekend, but I opted for a more low-key event this year, running a small 5k that was a fundraiser for my boss's daughter's school. Everyone in my office participated. I originally planned to run it all out, but then scaled back my plans when my friend advised me to run it as a tempo run "unless of course you are in the lead and neck-and-neck with someone". There was a little confusion about the starting time and my son had a screaming fit when he couldn't come with me, so in my haste I accidentally left my Garmin at home, meaning I had to run by feel. It was a beautiful morning, and we ran a beautiful route out-and-back with beach views for most of the race. From the beginning, I was the lead female and quickly settled into 4th place overall. My effort felt slightly more difficult than tempo pace, and I felt great. Going through the turnaround, I realized there was another woman pretty close behind me. I did not want to lose my lead, so I pushed a little harder. I didn't look back until right around mile 3, and I could see that she was starting to pick up her pace, so I pushed harder and managed to hold her off until the end. I was the first female finisher and only three men beat me. I think my time was about 24:30, a little faster than the 25:00 tempo run I had planned. The course length was questionable -- a few people told me they measured it at 3.26 miles instead of 3.1, so I actually might have run it faster, potentially my fastest 5k. This was a personally rewarding run. I've never won a race before. My only complaint was that they only gave out age-group awards, so I didn't get any recognition for winning overall. I could have taken a much easier run and still won my age group. However, the personal satisfaction and the incredible post-race goodies more than made up for it. So this was either 3.1 miles at 7:54 pace or 3.26 miles at 7:30 pace.
Sunday: Another big day. I knew that I would hit 1,000 miles for 2013 at mile 3 of this run, so I went out for an easy 4-mile run. It was just so enjoyable, and the motion made my sore legs feel much better, so I kept on going past 4. I didn't hit 1,000 miles until Christmas morning last year, and I started 2013 recovering from an injury, so it was a sweet accomplishment to hit this milestone earlier in the year on healthy legs. I ran 6.3 miles at 9:31 pace.
Overall for the week: 37.35 miles, followed by a 3-mile Sunday afternoon hike with my smallest running buddies.
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