A 3 Day Weekend and 3 Workouts to Fry Your Legs

Hey there! How are things going for you? Who doesn't love a three day weekend? 

Three days off and three serious workouts that fried my legs. 

Saturday:

 My half marathon training plan called for a 4 mile "pace" run. As much as I love to run outside, I had to get to be by the gym for clients starting at 8 AM, so I decided it'd be best to get there early and knock it out on the treadmill. 

I warmed up with the first mile in 9 minutes, then ran the next 4 miles at an 8:00 pace. This didn't feel too hard physically, but mentally, it sucked. I am one of those people who are constantly changing the pace or incline on the treadmill to keep myself entertained....... 5 miles with an average pace of 8:12. Done and done.

After my run, I worked on some balance/core/stabilization exercises and foam rolled for about 30 minutes before cleaning up for my 8 AM client. 

I refueled that night with some awesome, homemade chicken tortilla soup.

Some people may consider 1/2 an avocado too much, but I don't think they know what they're talking about.

Sunday: 

I woke up around 8 AM and quickly threw some food in my belly so I could get my long run in.

Oatmeal squares, sliced banana, Sun Butter and milk. 

Before I knew it I was cleaning the house and doing errands......and I decided that I'd rather do my long run on Monday since I was off of work and was craving a good trail run. 

Instead of totally bailing on my workout though, I popped in my headphones, cranked the "Rise Against" station on Pandora, and picked the "Magnum" workout on the Nike Training App. At first glance the workout didn't seem too bad, but after 3 sets of squats, side lunges with rotation, single-leg deadlifts, and around-the world lunges these old legs were definitely starting to feel it. (There were other moves as well, but these were the leg killers.)

Monday: 

I woke up determined to get this long run done. I lounged around for an hour eating breakfast and sucking down a couple cups of coffee....

Whole wheat english muffin w/grape jelly and two runny eggs (smothered in Siracha before consumption) and an apple sprinkled in cinnamon

before heading to the good old state of VA. 

I had to go to Woodbridge anyways, so I thought it best to take advantage of it and go to one of my favorite places to run, Burke Lake Park. 

It's a wonderfully maintained 4.7 mile loop around Burke Lake. 

Unfortunately, the 9 miles (which turned into 9.4) didn't fly by as quickly as I'd hoped they would. My hips were tight from the "Magnum" workout (Haha. Sounds so wrong....) and I just couldn't find my groove. It didn't help that my Nike App was lying to me and telling me I was going terribly slow (Apparently, GPS devices don't tend to work too well on winding trails in the woods. How relieved was I to find it it miscalculated by an entire mile?!). 9.4 miles with an average pace of 8:40.

Long run for the week, done.

Stiffness in my legs, increasing by the hour.

Have a good week!

Have you ever done a "pace" run? Do you do them outside or on a treadmill?

How do you keep yourself entertained on the treadmill?

What is your favorite pre or post run meal/snack?

How was your long run this week?