Wicked good workout

Yesterday I did a sweet ass workout. Highly recommended for a confidence booster. Initially I was nervous for this workout, but it worked out much better than I anticipated. The workout: 3 x 3 mile tempo We drove to a spot that housed the perfect 3 mile loop, Chambers Bay Gold Course. Flat, fast, scenic, cool breeze coming off the Sound. Really perfect!! I am so lucky to live where I live. I'm kicking myself now for not taking pictures for you guys. I pulled this one off the Internet, but it doesn't even come close to how awesome it is. They are holding the US open here in a couple of years.

Anyways, back to the run. We did a warmup with lots of plyometrics then we were off. I wanted to take it super easy the first set, then push it the last two.

1st set - 29:32/9:47 av. pace/163 bpm

2nd set - 26:52/8:56 av. pace/178 bpm

3rs set - 25:46/8:30 av. pace/180 bpm

Major confidence booster. My It band is tight and I know it was the effects of that last set. I was thinking about some things that Running and Living has been talking about such as mental training and having the confidence to take risks. I wanted to take a risk and see what I was capable of. I was surprised at how 'easy' 8:30 felt. I could have kept going at that pace a little farther. That was a major confidence booster. Conversely, I learned that I'm not a major risk taker when it comes to training and I'm ok with that. I feel as though I am a bit of an injury prone runner and after being forced to take the first quarter of the year off due to injury, I'm just not willing to sacrifice myself that that again. Fortunately my coach takes a "Run Less, Run Smarter" approach to training and I think it suits me well. I never would have been capable of running a 8:30 3 mile tempo four months ago:)!!

Speaking of.... a great giveaway over at Running and Living. A new gel made with a natural sweetener, Agave. Go check it out.

This week will be an easy week for me. I guess you can call it a recovery week. I have my last long run of the season scheduled Sunday, a 22 miler. Bring IT!

Also, I've purchased a couple of cool products over the last couple of months that I need to share with you guys. This week will be a good time for that so stay tuned for a couple of product reviews. (not including the new compressions shorts - which I did wear for my tempo run and I think I kicked ass so there you go....)

Happy Monday.