Imma start by giving myself a big ol’ high five.

Yesterday was a rest day. I rested. I was substitute coaching for Girls on the Run, and this group was doing its practice 5K. I didn’t run at all. This is a recovery week, and that rest day was glorious.

Today’s workout was a 5-mile, easy pace run. Because it’s my only workout today, I considered sleeping in and shifting the run to the evening. I left my alarm on, but I gave myself permission to scratch the pre-dawn run in the morning. The only problem with that idea is that it’s unlikely I’ll go back to sleep after the Vivoactive has buzzed me awake. And getting the workout done before the workday starts almost always works best for me. So, into the darkness I ran ….

Monday & Tuesday were both easy-pace runs, too. I have my Garmin 910 set to alert me when my pace deviates from 13:00-15:00/mile while running or 15:00-17:00/mile when walking during an easy-pace run. Both days, I found it difficult to keep my pace slow enough. While the purpose of recovery runs is to go slow, I think I can safely increase my pace a bit. However, I decided to wait until next week to make any adjustments. This is week four, my first recovery week; I don’t want to jump to any conclusions this early on. Next week has my first hill workout, and that could well be an eye-opener!

The note for today’s workout was “can do more or less – let your body call the shots.” I decided to not use the pace goals and just go by feel. It worked! I averaged 14:59/mile. Tomorrow’s workout is a core & hip workout, and then my next run is on Saturday. It’s another 5-mile, easy pace run, with the note that I can walk or hike it if I wish. Depending on the weather, I may opt to go run Zintel Canyon or Chamna. I am itching to get back up on Candy and run it again, but this is a recovery week, and I need to embrace the opportunity to recover. There’s plenty enough misery in my near future.