Training: 77 miles, 5k PR and Flower Cannons

36 Comments

 Training:

Monday: Easy run
Tuesday: Easy run
Wednesday: 6.5-mile tempo (average 6:33)
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Easy Run
Saturday: 11 mile Progression Run
Sunday: Run into Spring 5k (18:13 PR)
 Total:  77 miles

Where to begin?

My easy runs are just that, easy.  Since easy runs make up the bulk of my running, there is never a whole heck of a lot to say.  I barely run with a watch, and I don’t care about the pace. Due to the weather last week, I didn’t race.  I didn’t substitute a race for treadmill workout either.  This left me with no workouts for an entire week.  It left me with a week of easy running and honestly it felt nice.

Workout Wednesday: 4-mile cooldown, 6.5-mile tempo (6:33 pace), 5-mile cooldown

The workout couldn’t have gone better.  My neighborhood is hilly, so my first mile was 6:54.  The rest of the miles were between 6:20-6:35 and the average was 6:33.  I felt smooth the entire time, and I felt as if I could have gone much longer.  It’s my fastest tempo on that route.  I haven’t done a tempo run in a few weeks, and it was fun to see an improvement.

wednesday workout

Insert boring rest on Thursday and easy running on Friday. 

Saturday:

I had a longer progression 11 run on Saturday.  The first 5 miles were easy, and the last six slowly began dropping the pace.  I started between 9-9:30 pace and dropped down to 7:00.  I felt great and, to be honest, felt as if I could keep going!  One thing I need to work on is fast finishes in races, so I am starting to add progression runs into training.

Sunday’s race:

I signed up for the Flower Show 5k for a few reasons.  The weather was nice last weekend, I like flowers and on the race registration said: “flower cannons would be shot every mile”.  Unfortunately, that did not happen, and there were no flower cannons.  I had been excited for the “flower cannon” all week, and I don’t know why there were none.  It was disappointing!  The race itself went well.  I was pleasantly surprised to PR because of my mini workout the day before.  It was one of best-executed 5ks split races, and I ran 5:52, 5:57 and 5:52.  A 10 second PR is awesome, let alone for a 5k!

I even won flowers
This looks like a bad prom pose….ha

Thoughts:

My mileage lately has had a bump.  Two months ago, I was running 65 miles per week, and now I’m above 70.  This week was higher than normal, but my body feels as though it’s finally able to handle added speed workout and progressions into SOME (not all) easy runs.  My workouts and race were both executed perfectly so I would call it a successful week.  I call anything injury free success, though 😉

Questions for you:
What is your favorite running workout? 
How was your weekend?

36 Comments

    1. I think the problem was they said in the race registration they would be there so I had the expectations as well as the curiosity of what a flower cannon even is!

  4. Amazing job Hollie! That’s so awesome that you got another new PR. So impressed with your progress the last few months! Boo on the flower cannon though…I would ask for a refund for false advertising lol!

  5. Congrats on the PR! I am looking forward to the RR. I’m disappointed about the missing flower cannons, too.

    1. I think the problem was they promised they would be there and then they weren’t. It was more false advertising than anything!

  7. Congrats!! That’s awesome you PR’d, but really sad about the flower canons. Maybe you were running faster to find them somewhere along the race? 🙂

  8. Congratulations Hollie! 10 seconds is huge for a 5k, especially for someone as fast as you are! I can’t believe you set another 5k PR so shortly after your January PR. Your training has really been paying off!

  10. I’ve never heard of a flower cannon so I would be disappointed too, just bc I don’t know what it is and would want to see it shot ;). Congratulations on your PR, 10 seconds is really outstanding in a 5K, especially at your already-fast level. The speed work and increased mileage are definitely helping and it’s neat that you got flowers for a prize!

  11. Wow!! What an awesome week of training and HUGE congrats on the PR!

  12. Wow! Nice job on the PR! Your running is going so well lately… it’s super exciting, even though I’m just following along!

  13. Congrats on the PR! That is seriously incredible, especially with your recent increase in mileage. It’s really fun to see you progress so much in the past couple months.

  14. Congrats on the PR, how awesome! I love the emphasis you put on easy miles because I think a lot of new runners always feel the need to go out and make every run faster than the last and they burn out so easily. Once you accept going easy on yourself, the whole running game changes and it becomes much more enjoyable.

  15. Fab tempo run (with the 9 mile warm up and cool down, that is pretty epic,) and well done on the PB, sorry – PR! I love the tempo sessions (when I manage to complete them that is) but they sure do hurt at times! My weekend sucked as I was supposed to do a long run that finished fast, but my heart (and legs, lungs and stomach) just weren’t in it and I bailed out four miles early. Boo!

  16. So darn excited for you speedy!!!! Congrats on a big PR. You are in sub 18 territory now! Sorry there were no flower cannons. I would have been disappointed too.

  17. I can’t believe how fast you’re getting! Unreal! Congrats on an incredible race. As far as tempo runs go, I hit 6:30 for my first mile yesterday and then fell apart when I turned into the wind. I hate running against the wind! You amaze me, Hollie!

  18. Ahhhh congrats on a PR! That’s so exciting! I love progression runs and fartleks. I don’t mind 400s either.

  20. Congratulations! All miles under 6 is awesome. Congratulations. So fun to see. Next target – sub 18?? 🙂

  22. I love progression runs! They are easily my favorite workout, especially when they feel really good – they just make you feel awesome at the end! Congrats on your new PR! Woohoo! You’ll be breaking 18 soon!! Have a great week Hollie!

  23. Congrats on the new PR, Hollie! You are getting so close to the sub-18 mark. Progression runs are my favorite, and they are very effective for not having to push your body too hard. I hope you have another great week of training!

  25. 77 miles?! That’s like crazy beastmode! You go girl!

    The long runs are my favorite, but I understand and appreciate all the various types of workouts that go into my training.

    Way to go with your PR!

  26. Your speed workouts (and that progression run) are seriously so impressive. You know how disappointed I am for you about the lack of flower cannons. That is not acceptable. I would take a 10-second PR over flowers any day, though! One type of “workout” run I really like is a fast 5K averaging around 7:20/mile pace followed by another easy 5K cool-down. I think doing that workout each week really helped me get in good shape for the Run the Bridge 10K.

  27. Wow, congrats on the PR!!! All your hard work is really paying off. Glad you’re also really enjoying your easy runs with building your mileage. I love those runs where you just go out and not worry about pace!

  30. Nice!!!! I wish I had someone like you to train with! I’ve been STRUGGLING with 7 min pace! Congrats on the PR, you’re on fire!

  31. Awesome race! Congrats! I love that feeling when you know you can keep going during your runs. I have gotten so much better at fast finishes during my runs so I am hoping to see it happen in my next race, whenever that is! lol

  32. Congrats on the PR! Now I really want to know more about flower cannons…

    I’m pretty sure my body would fall apart if I ran that kind of mileage!

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