Just like that week #1 is in the books for this half training cycle! It flew by and didn’t kill me, so I’d say it was a win! 😉 I feel like I’ve been developing a really good solid based of running over the past couple of months so I feel like it’s made a big difference already. I had two 7ish miles in the past few weeks which mentally makes me feel more confident going into this training cycle. I’ve done a few half marathon’s before where my longest run was only 8-9 miles, so knowing that 7’s have been in my recent running history, I feel confident 13.1 will be a little bit better come October. Well, that’s what I keep telling myself at least.
My goal for my this half is to get under 2:00 hours. If plan A doesn’t workout, then my 2nd goal is 2:10. My PR is 2:13, so I’m thinking if I really put my head in the game, a sub 2 will be doable. Granted, I know race day can bring on all sorts of things but these are at least my goals!
So, let’s get to my workout recap for the week! The max I went for my runs was 4 miles which was not bad at all! We also had surprisingly cooler temps for August which I was ever so grateful for. Overall, such a good start to this training and I was pretty happy with my paces. I do hope to start gaining some speed to my miles after building up on these hill workouts and speed sessions. I’ve never by any means been a “fast” runner, but I would love to get my miles down to somewhere between 8:00-8:30 comfortably. Right now, my comfortable pace is at around 9:00-9:30. We’ll see how it goes though here in just a few weeks.
^My RunKeeper recap summary of my running distances for the week.
Monday 7/31
3:00 miles @ 9:50 pace.
1st mile: 9:46
2nd mile: 9:56
3rd mile: 9:48
Where I run there are also a good mix of hills so I always look at these paces with that in mind as well. Overall, great 3 miler.
+ Shift Shop Speed 45 session. Now THAT was tough! Last week of my challenge group so I added in this strength session right when I got in from my run. Needless to say I was a sweaty mess at the end!
Tuesday 8/1
Rest day!
Wednesday 8/2
Hill repeats
Total Workout: 43.28
1 mile warm-up at 9:30
6 hill repeats (Run up hill, walk back down, repeat 6 x)
1 mile cool down at 9:39
These were tough, and definitely gave me a good perspective on how much more I need hills in my life. Ha! I was pretty proud of myself for getting this workout done though. Hills have always been so tough for me because I struggle with severe chronic allergies where I don’t get much oxygen through my nose due to sinus issues and my lungs are tough to fill up. I could feel myself struggling so much the last 10th of each hill. But, I kept repeating to myself “run for those who can’t” the entire time. It really did help keep my mind in a more positive state vs thinking of how hard this workout was at the time. I’m hoping to see these numbers increase though over the next few weeks.
I followed up this workout with Yoga with Adriene’s “Post-Run Yoga” 7 minute session. It felt amazingly good to cool down and stretch out my already sore legs from those hills.
Thursday 8/3
3 miles at 9:39 pace
29:00 total
1st mile at 9:32
2nd mile at 9:38
3rd mile at 9:42
+ Post run stretching to cool down.
This was a hot run! The temps creeped up for the day and so did the humidity. I figured out lately I tend to wear a ton of gray when I workout, but that’s probably the worst color ever because it shows every last drop of sweat.
Friday 8/4
3.79 mile walk
My schedule said it was a cross training day, so I decided a good long walk (including some hills) sounded perfect. It was super nice out and I got it in early so it was a perfect cross training workout.
I’ve been logging my miles in my Charity Miles app for the past few months. This week alone I logged 20 total miles for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I’ve LOVED being able to do this by just starting up the app and logging my miles. It’s such an amazing way to give back in even just a small way! I’m on the Virtual Charity Miles team with the app so I love keeping up with my distances each month for the team! You can join us too, just send me a message and I’ll get you setup and ready to go!
I followed up my walk with a post-workout superfoods shake! I’ve been freezing my shaker cup so when I pour in my shake it’s so nice and cold! Its the best thing ever after I’ve been sweating outside!
Saturday 8/5
4.56 miles at 9:31 pace.
I actually only had 4 miles on my schedule, but I decided on doing 4:56 total. I was feeling extra good at mile 4 so I just kept going and pushed myself extra hard that last .60. I woke up first thing Saturday morning and threw on my running clothes and hit the door. I’m NEVER a morning workout person, but sometimes on the weekend I just get bit by the morning run bug. It felt so good to knock it out early and finish up my first week of training on a high note. Again, there were some hills in my route on Saturday so you can kind of see that in the elevation chart here with my runkeeper summary. Now, if only I can get every mile to look like that last .60 I’d be a happy camper! I also busted out my ProCompression socks which felt amazingly good for my legs! Maybe that was my secret weapon on that speedy last .60. Who knows! You better bet I’ll be breaking them out again this week to see if they help me out on another run.
Sunday 8/6
Rest day!
Total Running Miles: 14 (ish)
Total Walking Miles: 3.79 (ish)
Total Miles: 17.79 (ish) for the week
That’s a wrap on my week #1 of training! Here’s hoping to have another awesome week ahead! I hope yours is fabulous as well!
Questions for YOU:
What was your best workout this week?
My best workout was Monday! I was able to tackle my Shift Shop program and my running! Every other day I definitely tried but I was SO insanely tired after my runs that I couldn’t imagine fitting in an extra 45 minutes of strenght/speed. I’m hoping to do better this week though at getting in more strength post-runs.
What was the highlight of your weekend?
What goal is on your list for the week ahead?
As Always, From Chelsea