I have always loved "distance running." Which for me in college was my 5k races and training runs usually up to 8 miles. I think I had run 9 and 10 miles a couple times. Training for a half marathon is true distance running (not compared to ultra marathons! But still. Its far. And awesome.)
This week started out warm compared to the weather we've had recently! I donned shorts and a tank top for Monday's short 3 mile run. Tuesday it snowed. Seriously? Luckily I don't run on Tuesdays so I did my cross training (P90X Plyometrics) inside. Wednesday was a 5 mile run and I ran in the coldest temperatures I have ever run in. The "feels like" temp was 11 degrees! Once I got warmed up it was alright, and something about running in the snow was pretty awesome. I figured I should practice running through it when I can since there could be snow on the ground at my half marathon. Thursday was P90X Yoga (love it sooooo much!!) and I was scheduled for another 3 miles doing a HIIT workout (High Intensity Interval Training), but my husband told me his work schedule changed to where I couldn't do my long run today (Saturday). So I changed it to Friday and didn't run on Thursday. And here's why I skipped it.
Last week I ran 3 miles Monday, did a workout that involved my legs on Tuesday, ran 5 miles Wednesday, 3 Thursday, and then realized that like this week, I would need to do my long run on Friday. It was 8 miles. My legs were already kinda sore from the week, and the 8 miles was very rough. My average pace was 11:03. For my half marathon my goal is 10 minute miles, though I'm hoping with the weeks I have left I can drop my goal time. So I learned a very valuable lesson last week: to not overdo it on the runs. My legs hurt all week and I took super hot baths to help relax the muscles. By Sunday night they were better and have felt fine this week. So this leads me to my Friday run and how not pushing too hard and not running on Thursday helped me.
Friday was my long run. This week my schedule said 10 miles. last week's long run was 8 miles, and it hurt and I was slow. Who's idea was it to jump 2 miles in a week? Oh that's right - mine. I made my own training schedule. I was hoping I could do it but willing to stop at 9 miles if I needed to. I was also excited as this run would bring me up to only being 3 miles away from my race distance, only 3 miles from a HALF MARATHON distance. Seems crazy. My legs have felt no soreness at all this week because I trained smart and took care of them, unlike last week. I completed my 10 miles AND ---- AND!!! I did it with a 10:02 average pace. I am so thrilled that I was much faster than last week even with adding 2 miles, all because I took care of my legs. It was pretty chilly out but after about a mile I warmed up. Just after mile 6 I got really cold again and realized I must be getting low on energy. I carry a FuelBelt and Gu Chomps so I got them out and ate a couple. It was my first time eating while running. I didn't stop or walk, because I know during my race I won't want to. My chomps were in a ziploc bag because I had opened the pack to try them. Opening that ziploc bag with gloves on took forever. I either need to figure out something else or just deal with the trouble. I don't know yet.
I am so happy with my pace! Today is 50 days until my half marathon so if I just keep it up with my training I should be able to do my 10 minute mile goal or better on race day. Looking at my splits here on the picture - my second mile was really slow. No matter how far I am running, 3 miles or 10 apparently, my second mile is always the slowest. Always has been. It was around 11 minutes. So I picked it up a little after that. Then the other slow splits is from when I was opening/eating my Gu chomps between mile 6 and 7. I didn't walk but I did slow down. So I will need to account for that in the future. I finished my week today by doing P90X chest/shoulders/triceps and ab ripperx.
Overall it was a great week for my workouts and I am over the moon about my long run. I have learned my lesson to not think I am invincible and I can't push myself too hard. Obviously I need to push myself, but last week I exceeded my limits. Definitely something to avoid in the future. P.S. look forward to a healthy pancake recipe coming soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment