I went for a nice long run on Sunday (12 miles), averaging just under 8 min/mile pace. Very easy effort, no pains and generally felt really good. Even my heart rate was surprisingly low (132). All in all it was a really good training week, racking up 41 miles for the first time in over 2 years.
I have a non-traditional approach to training: I don't really pre-plan any runs. For example, I don't do tempo runs every Tuesday or long runs every Sunday. I do have a rough goal to get in 2 quality runs per week plus a long run but I don't tie myself to any particular days. All my running is based on how I feel a particular day and what type of training I did the previous day. I won't do back to back hard days, for instance. I do tend to do my long runs on weekends though, mostly for convenience sake.
I've been doing my quality workouts (tempo runs, hill repeats) at the gym on the treadmill. Although I've never been a big fan of the treadmill, I started using it more over the last year as a way to reduce the pounding on my legs/knees. I then started using the training programs provided and found it a much easier way to run fast or hard at a constant speed or effort.
Today is a rest day. I have my 1st race of the year on Sunday (1/2 marathon) so I plan to have a fairly easy week of running. I'll probably do a nice tempo run about mid week and a few easy days of running in between.
