Holy Record Running Week, Batman!

Major progress this week! I hit milestone after milestone, and the taper has only just begun! 

Four out of the five runs this week were all under a 10 min/mi average. Which is INSANE because this week was also the very first run that I've averaged under a 10 min/mi. I don't know what my body is on, but I like it. 

Tuesday's run was a teensy tiny four miler. It was a 9:56 average. Wednesday was a 10 miler, which was a 9:44 average. Thursday was hill day, and I did over 700 feet of elevation in 8 miles, and that was a 10:35 average. 

That run in particular was still a huge leap for me, considering the last hill day 8 miler I did exactly one month ago was just over 600 feet and 24 seconds slower per mile. 

February 19th

March 19th

Saturday's run was 16 miles. Even though it is significantly shorter than my previous long runs, my legs were still tired and revolting against going since I've been going so much faster. I still managed a 9:51 average, and broke my half marathon PR (2:08:44) since starting MAF. And then this morning's 10 miler I snuck in just under 10 mins with a 9:58 average, but that also included the two hills at Coyote Pointe. NOT TOO SHABBY.

Sorry to be so braggy, but after four months that required EXTREME patience, it feels amazing to finally reach my goal of hitting under a 10 min mile average at my MAF heart rate (149). I feel like screaming it from the rooftops! My goal for this whole thing was to hit a 10:30 min mile by the time the 50 miler came up, so I'm quite thrilled. 

Speaking of which...it's only 12 days away. I am officially done with long runs, and the longest one to do now is only ten miles. It's starting to hit me. EEK.

My legs are surprisingly tired after this week, I think because of the pace increase. While my heart rate is remaining the same, it's really difficult to convince my legs to move faster. This is one of the downsides of MAF, you lose your speed. While before I would think that moving at a 9:45 pace would be beyond easy, now it's a bit of a struggle to get that spring back in my legs. I'll take it though. People that do MAF need to realize that the speed will go away but you can earn it back with hard work and elbow grease. :) 

Aside from the great running week, I have been experimenting with some paleo baking. To satisfy my sweet tooth I made some Double Chocolate zucchini cupcakes. They are incredible!!! Plus it's pretty cool that I snuck in a whole cup of grated zucchini and they taste absolutely sinful. In all the recipes I cut down the honey by about half since I am a bit sensitive to overly sweet foods now.

I also made some banana bread with some old bananas we had sitting on our kitchen table. Jon LOVES banana bread, and now that he's trying to eat healthier, he can indulge in these paleo slices instead. I threw some walnuts in there, and you can't even tell that it's good for you. 

Lastly I made some Lemon Poppyseed Mini Muffins, made with fresh lemons from our neighbor's tree! They are so cute and tiny, and perfect for when you want a bite of something mildly sweet. 

Other than all the baking and running, I've been spending a lot of time in the garden. I'm taking it seriously this year. Yesterday we spent a couple of hours at the SF Flower and Garden Show, and my mind was blown. Talk about a gardening heaven! However after several hours of standing and walking after my 16 mile run, I was EXHAUSTED. Seriously, I think walking slowly for four hours is worse than running a marathon. But I did buy these little guys to brighten up my garden and office space.

Speaking of gardening, back to work for me!