Recovery

I've been really out of it and taking it easy the past two weeks. I donated blood two tuesdays ago and still have been recovering from that. I took last week really easy (only 7 miles total) but I'm back on my game this week. Today I decided to switch things up, as I'm getting bored running the same loops, and did my first ever trail run. It was fun, but slow. My splits were 12:15, 12:48, 13:41, 13:04 (13:02). I thought that was pretty good considering it was my first trail run and it was a trail run. On my campus. It was not very well groomed but it was just after sunrise so it was really pretty. I also decided that if I follow my schedule to a T the next two weeks I will splurge on a shirt to wear for my memorial day 10k. I can't believe tht race is only a month and 2 days away!

Sunny Days and Rainy Days

So this past weekend was Greek Week and so I wasn't able to do my long run on Saturday morning. I did it around 4pm, which I tend to forget, its when the sun is at its peak. I did pretty well though, my hat and sunscreen were God-sent. I did get a little color on my forearms though. My splits were 11:15, 10:56, 11:55, 10:57, 11:10, 10:30 (ave. 11:09). Not quite negatives, but still pretty good. Also, Friday I did my first hills work out. I ran 1 mile east to a hill we have on campus and did 4x1 minute of hard running. It was about .14 miles with my last one (the only one I timed) being at a 7:43 min/mile pace, then an easy mile back. It was hard but fun to change it up...and I hate the tempo runs that I attempt to do on Fridays!

Today 4 miles was on the schedule, but it was pouring. I went to the gym and did 2.1 miles worth of laps (they were pretty slow) and then decided the rain wouldn't be that bad. I did 2 miles outside and was SOAKED, but it was pretty fun. The splits for those two were 11:07 and 11:04. Not bad for rain and mud.

Also, I'm going to (try) donate blood again tomorrow! Which means this week will be pretty light. I have an 8 mile long run on Saturday so I may just take Wednesday off. We shall see. I hope my iron level is still acceptable since becoming a full vegan. I think it should be. I did stop taking my multivitamin in favor of plain B-12 supplements though.

Not relevant to running, but the coolest thing has been happening lately! When I listen to Spanish, I don't find myself translating every word, I just hear it and then understand. It's so exciting!

Also sorry about the lack of pictures, it'll be easier after Lent when I have them all on social media and can easily put them on the blog.

~Holly