Well, it’s been a pretty boring month aside from the excitement of DNFing at the 60k. I was very sore the two days immediately following the race. But actually not as bad as I anticipated, considering how much pain I was in during the end of the race. I walked almost a week before returning to running. And I can honestly say it was a much needed break. I would start to run a little bit to just see how I felt and my body was like “hell no, girl”. I usually feel uneasy about not running, mentally and physically, but not this time. I needed it. 
I started running the weekend after the race, but they were very slow runs. Even at a very easy pace, the runs have felt labored and my heart rate has been high. I have been suffering from seasonal allergies and the increased humidity hasn’t helped, but I think I’m just still recovering. I haven’t felt super strong on any of my runs yet. 
I did do my first interval workout since…before Richmond Marathon? I’m not sure. Point is, it’s been awhile and it felt so good to be back at it. Even if it felt super labored and I may or may not have wet my shorts. I ran with my coach and our training group. We did a two mile warm up, followed by 3 x mile repeats at 5:59, 6:10 and 6:20. Two minutes of walking between repeats. Followed by a one mile cool down. We did the repeats around the neighborhood and it was pretty hot and humid, even at 6:30. I was toast by the end of the second repeat. Not sure how I managed the third one. Looking forward to improving on this workout. 
The Elizabeth River Run 10k is three weeks away. Not super confident about how this race is going to play out, but excited to see the results and how I can improve. I’m excited to be putting speed back into my training. I love the challenge of hitting target paces and crave the feeling of being utterly exhausted at the end of a hard workout. I’m not sure, but that may be slightly masochistic.
Not sure exactly but April may have closed out with around 150 miles? Probably one of my lowest months in awhile, but the rest is doing my body good. Recharging for the next block and that sub three hour marathon. 
-S
MARATHONING MOMMA 