will this count as a workout?

In my last post I said I felt that posting my outlined plan would be a little snoozy. In the comments someone disagreed, saying they were interested how I planned to ramp up so quickly. Meaning how would I jump from 15-20 mile weeks to 30, to 40 up to 50 in a month.

First, we all know the 10% rule and I am a big advocate for following it. Only build 10% per week. The reason I'm not being strict about that rule as I come back this time is because I made sure not to fall off too far despite the fact that my mileage was lacking.

By this I mean I only dipped down to 15-20mile weeks the week before my wedding and the 1.5 weeks after. I maintained 30 the other weeks, sometimes more. I didn't write down my workouts because my life was ON FIRE. But I would double check my weekly mileage on scratch paper and made sure to get an 8+ mile run and a HIIT workout each week.

My HIIT workouts were loose but I made sure I got into some real solid pain, either by running as fast as I wanted with music (tempo run) or doing a hill workout on the treadmill (once in Aruba). I made sure the HIIT was over 30 minutes and left me a little wobbly. For example: hill workout was quarter mile hills x 4 with half mile rest on the treadmill. 1.5 warm up and 1.5 cool down.

it's not "aruba hot" unless your mustache is sweating

So although I ran 3 or 4 days a week, the workouts were substantial. This isn't something I'd maintain in normal training but it's an no brainer way to maintain some of your hard work during a 2 -3 week vacation. Basically you're just taking your mileage days off and keeping your workouts.

Coming back to Seattle I was ready get back into training, ready to put two days of running in a row for the first time in a couple weeks. Before I tell you how, I'll say I'm not a work horse. I'm not a high mileage runner. I'm injury prone and I have had three knee repairs. By this point in life I'm smart about my ramp up. If I'm going to go from 15 miles a week to 35 I know the work I do before and after my runs is the most important.

Around my runs I focus on my diet, my rest, my stretching and during my runs: my pace and my form.

DIET
This last week I ate clean, or detoxed. Honestly if some of you saw the diet, it'd be similar to what you always eat. It's what I should be eating all the time, perhaps with some more complex carbs. The detox eliminates anything that would interfere with recovery. No alcohol, no sugar, no caffeine, no dairy or soy and no gluten. Lots of almonds, fruit, veggies, water, avocados, almond milk...I was actually more satisfied than my typical diet which includes too much white flour and sugar and not enough substantial calories.

REST
Caught up on sleep and slept hard. Sleeping without wine or coffee in my day is always better.

STRETCHING
I'm no good at this. But I stretched after every run.

PACE
Made sure to run at a comfortable pace, where I could think about my foot strike and using my core...

FORM
My form always falls apart from my core and back. I can tell it's falling apart when I catch a glimpse of myself running by a window and I have that strong S curve where my booty is sticking out and my back is arched all wrong. If my form is messy I take a break and I stretch. Or I do high knees, butt kicks or plank to bring the muscles I need to use back to life. When my focus is back and I get my hips under me I continue the run.

Week 1 
Mileage:34.5 or 38.5 dependent on which day my week starts. I like to compare both Monday and Sunday week starts.
*My long run was too fast, but I had fun doing it so I'm not going to beat myself up about it.