Not my #typical week...

Hey everyone!  I'm participating in an awesome Blog Hop with many other fabulous bloggers (thank you, Kristy, from Runaway Bridal Planner, for all of your efforts in making this happen!). Monday is my day to shine (so to speak), so I'm gonna rock the boat a bit and do my Weekly Wrap a tad bit different this week.....

In order to introduce myself (and my blog) to the new peeps, I thought I'd summarize my previous week, and do a compare/contrast on how it accurately (or not so much) reflects a typical week in my life. Sound good? Here we go....

First of all, let me say that running is my sport-of-choice, but it in no way dictates my every hour/minute/second of existence. I also have a husband (we celebrated 26 years of married bliss in August), three kids (ages 22, 19, and almost 17), a dog, and a life outside of my house (I have worked the past 10 years for a local architectual signage company).

I am also a self-proclaimed art geek, which often gets played out in my clothing (color, anyone?). I love all things artsy-fartsy...drawing, painting, funky patterns, knitting, and writing.

So, here's what went down this past week:

Monday...was a day of active rest & recovery (on the heels of having ran the Mercy Live Up Loop 5-Mile Run and IMT Des Moines Half Marathon) over the weekend. Funny how one can run a great race, and feel like a million dollars the next morning. Then, the afternoon hits, you lace up the shoes and head out for an easy #nevermissaMonday run...and feel like a train wreck. Holy Yikes, Batman! That "easy" run (only a mile this week; lately the Monday runs have been five miles) went really slow because the feet, back, and hips were NOT feeling like leaving the house.

at least the sunshine was beautiful for Monday's run...

Running two races on the same weekend has happened several times before (so that's typical). The half marathon distance is my favorite kind of race (so that's typical as well). I have been doing a #nevermissaMonday run every week in 2016, (also a typical thing). Feeling like my body was not gonna make it back home...that was not typical (UGH!).

Tuesday, I had an "easy" five miles on the training plan. No big deal. I met up with my friend, Barb, at 5:00AM (yes, 5:00 AM...in the wee dark hours prior to sunrise) and we got the miles done. Thankfully, my body felt better recovered, and the run went well. It even felt like summer again! I got to dig out a tank top and shorts!

Score! Back in a tank and shorts!

Typically, these easy runs have been happening on Mondays, but my training plan had a bit of a twist this week (due to the previous weekend's races, and the fact that my marathon taper is looming in the not-too-distant-future).It is pretty typical for me to rise and shine (even without the sun) and run in the early morning, and my friend, Barb, does a lot of the same races as I do (so we do a lot of our training runs together).

Wednesday, there was a challenging workout on deck. A warm-up mile, the three miles of hill repeats, followed by two additional miles (at "faster" paces). Holy Lightning! My speed perception is so whacked, the hill repeats went faster than I could have ever imagined (the three sets of 800 meters were 4:17, 4:22, 4:20...what the WHAT???). Then, the next two miles? I pushed myself (because I thought my tired legs were going slow)...but it turns out they actually were going even faster than they had on those hill repeats. ((gulp))

Pondering (under the pines) about my messed up speed perception

Was this typical? Not even close. Well, the hill repeats and speed training have been a constant thing with my training this cycle...I'm working with a running coach (for the first time) and she has me doing all kinds of things I never thought possible. But the speed of this week's workouts totally took me by surprise. I'm an "average" runner, NOT gifted with speed, and these hill repeats happened on hills (duh!) on a hot day with substantial wind...and I ran them at a speed I normally could have (maybe) mustered for a short race (with a tail wind). #mindblown

Thursday was another day of active rest and recovery, and I certainly needed it after Wednesday's sprint fest. I did post a #TBT pic of a jack o'lantern from three years ago. I had run my first marathon, the Quad Cities Marathon (recap HERE), a month prior and went a little crazy telling (and showing) everyone. (I told you I was an #artgeek)

Halloween 2013

Friday, I had another speed workout on the agenda, and my body was still feeling a tad bit fatigued from Wednesday. Without going into too many details, for the first time in this training cycle, I almost bailed after the first mile (coincidentally, that was just the "easy" warm-up mile LOL). I felt tired, it was windy, and my head just wasn't into the run. I decided to do the second mile... I did need to get back to my house, after all (if I was indeed gonna call it quits). Then, I decided to do another 2-mile loop (and make a feeble attempt to hit the prescribed pace). I actually wound up hitting those paces (even slightly faster) and finished the final two miles at an "effort" pace as well. This was one of those runs where the mind and body had a major disconnect....even though my mind had checked out after that first mile, my body was present and did what was expected of it. #mindblown #again

Yikes! What just happened on that run???

This also was NOT a typical workout for me. If I wasn't under the direction of a coach, I would have not even left the house. Or, I would have bailed and headed back home...long before the warm-up mile was complete.

Saturday was a beautiful day in Iowa...sunshine and perfect temps. With my long run on the roster for the next day, I was supposed to only do three easy miles. Mission accomplished. There's a small lake in our town that has a 1-mile perimeter on a trail. I had not been there in several months, so I drove over and ran my three laps and left the watch at home.

I love running at Arbor Lake

This was the kind of run I had been craving after the tough week. This is more my style...running just for running's sake...no time limits, no paces to hit, and no gadgets dictating my performance. Just running. #perfection

Finally, Sunday arrived.Typically, I prefer to do my long runs on Saturdays, but as mentioned, things are changing in these final weeks of training. My mileage is crazy high (for me) and I am starting to feel the effects of it (and my sleep schedule is not helping). Also, doing my long runs on Sundays gives me the added obligation to not procrastinate because our family has church at 10:00.

I had 16 miles on the plan, and Barb agreed to run her long run with me. We met at 5:15AM. We did a 5-mile jaunt, and paused for a potty break in a park. Next, we ran a 3.5-mile segment and stopped at my house briefly (I needed to shed a layer of clothing). We headed back out and finished the remaining 7.5 miles. We had moderate temps (49-degrees when we started), but there was a wicked wind out of the South/South-East. The final three miles were a struggle for me, but we got it done. It felt great to have that run finished!

Whew! That got tough towards the end...

All said, I ran 37 miles this week, bringing my October miles to 129. #gulp  Rest assured, that is NOT typical for me either. The miles seem crazy (well, they are crazy!) because I'm just about to my taper for the Route 66 Marathon (November 20, Tulsa OK).

In other news...

My #Fridayfashion post was a hit on Instagram ! Do you ever do a #Fridayfashion post? Tag me, and I'll play along!

flannel, jeans, boots, and a puffer vest for the win!

And, #sigh. This is probably the last bloom of my rose bush for 2016. 

I love my flowers!

In case you were wondering, I can get a little crazy with #hashtags. Care to know more about me? This post goes into a bit more detail about me and my so-called life as a runner (and otherwise).... Me and my #hashtags.

So, answer me this...Do you use #hashtags? Have you ever had crazy mileage weeks (or months)? Favorite distance to race? 

As IS typical, I'm linking up with the ever-lovely ladies, Holly and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap. Do head over and check out the numerous blogs and see what everyone's been doing this week!