Week 13; Power Down

I'm not much of a flower person, but Boyfriend brought home some beauts the other week.

Saturday:  4 miles @ 9:52 pace, 8x hill sprints

Sunday:  7.2 miles including 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 2:00, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 ladder intervals with equal recovery (average 7:17 pace);  Brought my average pick-up pace down a few seconds from a few weeks ago.  Win.  But my legs are tired.  During the recoveries I felt like a machine powering way, way down (insert stereotypical power down sound here).  After this run all I could think was that taper came at just the right time.

Monday:  6 miles @ 8:54 pace

Tuesday:  4 miles @ 9:43 pace, 10x hill sprints, Bikram Yoga.

Wednesday: 10.5 miles @ 8:40 pace, including 2x 4 miles @ MP (8:26, 8:25 pace); I am still debating what I think a realistic MP is for me right now.  Being in the mid-8:20's feels like MP so I went with it.

Thursday:  Bikram Yoga;  This class was so hot and miserable.  At the end the instructor congratulated us on not leaving the room and the studio erupted into applause for ourselves.  I would have joined in, but I was meditating too hard on not dying.  Seriously.  I go to a night class just once a week and it is always far more humid and hot than the day classes I attend.  I've decided these super hot classes aren't really worth it.  When I'm suffering so much from the heat I only half-ass the poses. 

Friday:  13 miles @ 9:39 pace; Last double-digit run before the marathon.  I felt pretty sluggy the entire run and it wasn't quite the way I'd like to say goodbye to double-digits before the race.  I thought I hydrated well after the hot class the night before but that along with the sunny, "warm" SF weather may have been the downfall of this run.  Still, pulled out the easy pace I was looking for, so won't linger too long on this one.

I have one more quality run next week, but my main focus is recovery for the race.  The last week before a race my mantra is, "Don't be a hero!"  Also hoping to get in 3-4 more Bikram sessions before the race.  I've definitely been slacking in the Bikram department lately.  However, this means I'll probably have to go back to the dreaded night class.

I've entered that awesome point of the training cycle where I am officially a germophobe.  To add to my neurosis, the 10 day forecast finally includes race day.  I know 10 days out is practically like asking a Magic 8 ball, but right now it is saying high of 65, low of 38 (swoon!!) and 60% chance of showers.  Me likey.