I ran my first ever 100 mile week!  Ironically, it wasn't exactly planned.  My coach schedules my mileage Monday through Sunday, which is how I prefer it (Strava also tracks weekly mileage that way), so it was only by luck, or maybe fatigue, that it happened on a Sunday through Saturday week.  You'll have to read the rest for the full explanation!  You'll also notice that the little extra 0.1-0.3 I have on almost every run was an important part of accidentally hitting this milestone.

Sunday 10/6/19:

AM run:  10.14 miles easy effort

PM run:  3.30 miles easy effort

Extras:  glute yoga

Notes: I was scheduled to run 8 and 5 milers, but it's a long story. I almost didn't do the second run because it was optional since I'd run a longer morning session, and the weather was cool and down-pouring most of the day, but when it stopped raining around 6 p.m. I went out to finish the mileage, and I'm sure glad I did!

Monday 10/7/19:

AM run:  9.21 miles easy effort

Extras:  core workout

Tuesday 10/8/19:

AM run:  3.19 miles warm up, 10 x 1K with 1:00 recoveries on the road (7.26 miles total), 2.16 miles cool down.  My 1K times were 3:33-3:39, or 5:43-5:54 pace. My goal pace range was 5:50-5:55/no faster, so I was in it or a tad under, but 5:50 pace sure feels different at 45 degrees than at 70!

PM run:  4.21 miles easy HR < 132

Extras:  post-run yoga

Wednesday 10/9/19:

AM run:  10.30 miles easy effort

PM run:  4.20 miles easy HR < 132

Extras:  full body strength workout

Thursday 10/10/19:

AM run:  12.25 miles easy effort

Extras:  yoga for tight hamstrings

Friday 10/11/19:

AM run:  8.14 miles easy HR < 132

Extras:  Core workout, hip opening yoga

Notes:  My stomach was really unhappy on this run, plus we got rained on in 40 degrees, and I came very close to stopping early, at 7 miles when my friend Abby finished her run.  If I learned anything from this week it's that every bit counts!

Saturday 10/12/19:

AM run:  24.50 miles easy effort except for 10 x 1:00 pick-ups to marathon pace at the beginnings of miles 12-21

PM run: 1.12 miles easy

Extras:  post-run yoga

Notes:  On my 24 miler (turned 24.5 due to route miscalculations!), I felt strong but not fast, and a few hours after I decided to look at my rolling 7-day mileage to see how many miles I had on my legs.  When I saw it was at 98.9, I texted my coach a screenshot and asked if I could do a 1.1 mile shake out, and she said to go for it!  My only regret is that I want to say I did 100 miles in a week with only 3 doubles, but technically the 1.1 miler made 4 (although I could have easily tacked 1.1 miles onto any other run this week, except for Friday's, hah).  Surprisingly I felt fine on the 1.1, and then started thinking I should go 1.7 to make Saturday into a full marathon, but the appeal of the perfect round 100 won out.

I was scheduled to possibly have 100 October 14-20 (a Monday though Saturday week), but my coach wanted to see how I handled my October 15 workout before deciding for sure, so now we can truly go by how I feel instead of striving to hit a number - arriving at the starting line in Indy on November 9 healthy is faaaaaarrr more important. 

I was very excited to hit this milestone, although it didn't feel any different than the 90-some mile weeks I've done (basically just like this 96 mile week).  I used to think that I could only run a max of 40-50 miles a week without getting injured, but let this be proof that if you gradually increase mileage and have coaching guidance, you can do a lot more than you think!  I've been going up by about 5 miles per week per training cycle, so about 10 miles per year.  It took me 5 years to go from 50 to 100, but I did it with fewer injuries during those 5 years (two) than I sustained during any other 5 year period of my adult life.

Kipchoge says that no human is limited, and although I think I have some limits, I like pushing them.  I was pumped that I finished my first 100 mile week on the same day he ran a 1:59 marathon!  Mind-blowing.