Marathon Training Week 4/ Brickyard Race Recap

I finished this week feeling like I'm getting back into the groove.  My breathing is easier and I feel stronger.  Running five days a week is no longer feeling like the impossible feat that it seemed to me a few weeks ago.  

Here's how this week of training went...

I started the week right attending an awesome yoga class.  We worked a lot on leg strength, but most importantly, I left with a sense of peace.  I also did two other beginner yoga classes with my favorite instructor, Dave, on Tuesday and Sunday. I taught my classes on Wednesday morning and evening.  Monday was canceled due to storms.  Our new location is so gorgeous!

Our July classroom for "Yogahh" classes

I finished the week with 21 running miles: 3 on Tuesday at a 10:02 pace (negative splits without trying!! Woo hoo!), 3.1 on Wednesday at a 9:24 pace, 2 miles Thursday at 10:13, a 5 mile race on Friday, and a 7.76 long run on Sunday.

My view from Whihala Beach during my long run

The Brickyard 5 Miler went well.  I tried thinking of it as a training run since my mid-week run was 5 miles.  I promised myself I would take it at an easy pace and not worry about racing.  I ran comfortably.  I was pleasantly surprised that my pace was about a minute faster than I thought, but I felt good.  I finished in 46:00, nice and steady with no pain, so it was a great race. 

Brickyard 5 Miler with Running Peeps

Week 5 is a recovery week.  So far so good with my number one goal to stay injury free.