Workout Windup: Need for Speed

Happy Tuesday! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend, I know I sure did. After my long run on Saturday, I met up with my family! My mom surprised my step-dad with a trip to the city for his birthday, and my brother came over from Pennsylvania to celebrate too. We did a lot of sight-seeing and just spending time together, which I absolutely adore. I was exhausted by the end of the weekend, but it was well, well worth it. I’m hoping they come back for another visit soon!

But don’t you worry, I still managed to sneak in all of my workouts! That’s right, every single one of ‘em! Here’s what I did:

• Run four miles and upper body exercises on Monday at 10 a.m. (Woohoo, day off!)
• Cross-train and lift on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
• Run 1 mile warm-up, 4×800′s (with 400m jog in between) on Wednesday at 6:30 a.m. p.m.
• Rest Thursday
• Run 1 mile, maintenance, upper body, [add lift] exercises on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
• Run 12 miles on Saturday [add: 4 hours of walking around city with family]
• Run 4 miles on Sunday [add: 4 hours of walking around city with family]

I was most proud of my speed work on Wednesday. I don’t do it that often unless I’m told, and I really am starting to like it. It’s difficult, but I know I’m doing it for a reason. I left that run feeling really accomplished – and incredibly sweaty. Best part? I banged it out fairly quickly. Run and done.

Here’s this week’s schedule:

• Rest on Monday
• Run 5 miles: 1 mile warm-up, 2 @ marathon pace, 2 @ half-marathon pace (I should figure out what that pace is…) on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.
• Run 1 mile, maintenance and upper-body exercises on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
• Flywheel class on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and lift at 6:30 p.m.
• Rest on Friday
• Run 15 miles on Saturday (PDR!!)
• Run 4 miles on Sunday

I’m really hoping for a solid long run on Saturday. My knee is still giving me issues, which is incredibly annoying. I’ve become great friends with the foam roller and stretch wayyyy more than I used to. I elevate and ice after every run, and take naproxen for the pain, if necessary. I’m also the proud owner of a new pair of hot pink compression socks to help increase the blood flow in my left leg (where the pain is) – I have a varicose vein from my blood disorder, so I should have been wearing them already. If it still doesn’t subside, I’m also looking into buying a knee sleeve.

If anyone else has suggestions, throw ‘em at me! I’m dealing with an acute case of tendonitis and built-up scar tissue.

I also really need to get back into yoga. I’ve been feeling very lethargic lately, and am working the kinks out with my coach so that I can drag my booty out of bed for a morning dose of sweat. Otherwise, I end up running out of time. It’s hard to fit it all in!

Now it’s your turn: tell me your workouts! What are you looking forward to? Dreading? Favorite way to sweat?