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Gasparilla HM Training: Week 4: Picking Up the Pace

*This post was begun weeks ago, but I stopped about halfway through, got busy with life, and didn't post for the remainder of training.
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Last week was a great week of training. I did almost everything I wanted to, aside from Ashtanga on Sunday, but I also realized that I need to have a rest day. My body was asking for it. I hate to sacrifice that yoga class, but if I'm going to be in the kind of training shape I want to be in, it's a sacrifice that must be made.

 Week 4: 1/14/13 - 1/20/13
M: 3.1 mi (E)
T: 5 mi (P)
W: CrossBoot (XT)
R: 4 mi (E)
F: hot yoga (XT)
Sa: 8 mi (LSD)
Su: rest
Weekly mileage: 20.1

Key: (E) = Easy; (P) = Pace; (LSD) = Long Slow Distance; (XT) = Cross Training

 On Monday, right after work (or perhaps a teensy bit before the end of the work day), I left to meet my friend Cameron at Trout Creek for a trail run. I've been wanting to do more trails, and she was sort of familiar with this one and knew of an approximate 5k route we could do. I'd run in Trout Creek once before, without knowing where to go (which is kind of fun, if you have time to get lost), so I knew what the terrain would be like. It's pretty rooty and goes up and down slightly in elevation. There's also a berm above the wooded area that ran on for a while. On one side, we could see the traffic starting to jam up on I-75, and on the other, the peaceful woods that we would dip in and out of. The contrast was remarkable.

My best run was Tuesday night, when I ran with a faster friend who helped push my pace. We averaged a 9:10 pace, which is the best I've run since about June. I was very happy with this run, though I definitely felt the push. My shins were a little angry with me, but they settled down throughout the rest of the week.

CrossBoot was brutal this past week. We had a long and diverse workout, with lots of partner work. The partner I ended up with was new to CrossBoot, and she was small, so I figured I'd be okay. But she was a power house! She ended up motivating me more than I, her. 

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And that's where I stopped my last post and didn't continue for weeks. But for the purpose of keeping a record of my training, I'm posting this, with another post of the remaining weeks to follow.
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