Week two of training is in the books! I got all the workouts done, even though I had pace problems a couple of times. I wonder if the paces I’m targeting are too ambitious for me, or if I’ll simply begin to improve and find them easier as time and miles go by.

This week, I got a new pair of shoes – Newton Distance S III, which are lightweight stability trainers for speed work and racing, pictured in the header photo – and I tried using the virtual pacer on my new Garmin Forerunner 10, which was a Christmas present from my husband. I love both. Hooray for awesome new gear!

Monday: Cross Training. Betty Rocker Days 10 & 12. One 15-minute workout was full-body interval training; the other was a 1-12-1 pattern of box jumps and ab work. The ab work was substituted in for pushups, which I still can’t do on my bad shoulder.

Tuesday: Speedwork, 4×400 (4 miles total). I took this run to the gym treadmill and dialed in my target pace for the 400s, which was exactly 8:00. It wasn’t easy, but it was doable.

Wednesday: Rest & Shoulder Rehab.

Thursday: Tempo Run, 4 Miles (5 miles total). I took this tempo run to the streets in order to see how well I could do without the help of the treadmill. The first three miles clicked by at my target pace (9:06, 9:05, 9:05), but the fourth mile pretty much fell apart and I came in at 9:18. I also have to admit I paused for a few seconds between each mile — just long enough to cross the street, or something, but still. Not ideal. These training paces are not easy! I hate to think how easy they would have been two or three years ago, before my hip injury saga and when I was 10 pounds lighter. But I can’t turn back time, so I’d better work with the body I have now.

Friday: Cross Training. Betty Rocker Days 13, 15, & 16. One full-body tabata, one pilates, and one longer stretching workout for a total of 60 minutes. I am pretty tired of these, to be honest. Looking forward to getting in some “Real” cross training, e.g. cycling.

Saturday: Long Run, 8 Miles. First off, I did not at all hit my target pace on this run. I had decided to head out to the race course and get some practice on the hilliest part — which includes a stretch of road about a mile long that consists of varying gradual and steep inclines and which I know to be KILLER. I kind of told myself I didn’t need to hit the pace because I’d be focusing on hills, and maybe I let that give me an easy way out. The run sure as hell did not feel easy, though. My legs felt heavy and tired and it was honestly a slog. In good news, not only did I not need to walk on the killer hill (in fact, I never even considered it), I somehow kept my pace consistent. Okay, then.

Sunday: Rest & Rehab.

I ran a total of 17 miles for the week and completed 5 Betty Rocker workouts (having skipped her upper-body routines in favor of my own shoulder rehab). Not too shabby. I am really enjoying the training cycle so far, even though my fervent wish is that I’ll have a certain tiny reason (ahem) to back off. Conflicted.