Half Marathon Training Week 2

Whew! Week 2 in the books. In case you missed Week 1, you can check it out HERE.

I adjusted my original training plan by moving everything back 1 day so that I could have Sunday as a rest day. It worked much better for me so I’ll be making it a permanent adjustment for the rest of my training plan.

Monday: 3 Mile Run, Check!

I ran outside on Monday and felt awesome. I even added a 0.1 on there so I could get a baseline 5K time. It was still a little cold and since we were still at my parent’s, I borrowed my dad’s stylish toboggan.

 Time: 29:29 Pace: 9:30

Tuesday: 30 Minute Tempo Run, Check!

I was back on the treadmill on Tuesday (getting all of the answers correct on Family Feud) for my tempo run. Tempo workouts are made for the treadmill because you can set your pace and increase it incrementally (which is harder to do outside, in my opinion). I forgot I was supposed to run 30 minutes and not 3 miles so I went a tad long…

Time: 30:50 Pace: 10:16

Wednesday: 3 Mile Run + Strength, Sorta Check.

I squeezed in my 3 miles on the treadmill, but didn’t do any strength work. Nothing exciting to report about this run other than I finished the 4^th Harry Potter Movie midway through the third mile. I spent the last 7 minutes of my run reading movie credits.

Time: 30:37 Pace: 10:12 Pace

Thursday: Rest Day, Check!

This rest day was much needed. My calves were pretty sore.

Friday: 3 Mile Pace, Checkish.

I had planned on a 9:30 pace but as soon as I got on the treadmill I knew that was not going to happen. My calves were still really tight and I felt like crap for the entre run. I was so glad when it finally ended. I spent extra time stretching on Friday morning and took a few stretch breaks during the day.

Time: 30:17 Pace: 10:05

Saturday: 6 Miles, Check!

The Professor has been slacking on exercise lately and focusing on that little dissertation thing. He was looking forward to a break and joined me for the first 3 miles of my 6 mile run. I blackmailed asked him nicely to take some pictures of me for the blog. He’s such a good blog fiancé. Splits: 11:01, 10:41, 10:51, 9:53, 9:26, 9:27.

Time: 1:01:25 Pace: 10:14

Sunday: Stretch & Strengthen, Negative.

Does making 25,000 trips up and down to the basement count as anything?

I did a little better (but not much) at pushing myself on the treadmill last week, but it’s a goal I’ll continue to work on this week. Considering Danville is supposed to get 8-12 inches of snow today, I’ll probably be on the treadmill for most of my runs this week!

Weekly Miles: 18.1

2015 Miles: 47

What was your best run last week?

Any advice for pushing harder on the treadmill?

Which Harry Potter movie is your favorite?

Half Marathon Training Week 1

Last Monday was the first day of training for my Spring Half Marathon. One way I’m going to stay accountable is by posting my workout recaps on the blog. Natalie did this last fall over on Never Serious Blog and I’m borrowing her great idea. So here we go! Introducing:

In case you missed it: I’m using Hal Hidgon’s Intermediate training plan this time around. For the record - The Professor did not do these workouts with me, I just don't have a good solo running picture :)

Monday: Stretch & Strengthen, check!

 Admittedly, I forgot my training started on Monday so I googled some YouTube videos for a quick workout: 

10 minute stretching for runners - it's not the best, but it's the first one I found on google.

8 minute arms (this was hard. I’m a weakling)

8 minute abs (I probably topped out at 4 minutes)

Tuesday: 3 Mile Run, check!

This was my first treadmill run, post move. I was terrified that something would happen to my prized possession when they were moving it. I was relieved that The Professor got it put back together!

Time: 33:05 Pace: 11:01

I actually almost cried as they slammed it through the door frames.

Wednesday: 5 x 400 @ 5K Pace, Sorta Check.

I was planning on going to the track for my first speed workout, but I ended up having to do it on the treadmill. I had no idea what I wanted my 5K pace to be and I’ve never done a speed workout on the treadmill so I had to keep adjusting and this happened:

0.5 m warmup = 11:30 m pace

0.5 m = 10 m pace

0.25 m = 11 m pace

0.5 m = 9:40 m pace

0.25 m = 11 m pace

0.25 m = 9:20 m pace

0.25 m = 11 m pace

2.5 miles total

Thursday: 3 Mile Run + Strength, Sorta Check.

3 miles on the treadmill at my parent’s house. I didn’t do any strength, but I did spend 10 minutes stretching.

Time: 33:04 Pace: 11:01

Friday: Rest, Check!

Saturday: 3 Mile Run, Checkish.

I ran outside at my parent’s house (we’ve been staying here since Thursday). I thought I remembered a 3 mile route but when I got home and checked it on mapmyrun.com, I realized I had only gone 2.85 because I left out one of the turns…close enough!

Time: 29:00 Pace: 10:10

 

Pre-Run selfies are cuter with babies in them

Sunday: 5 Mile Run, Check!

Sunday’s run was awesome. 55 degrees out and I got to run in shorts. I have no idea what happened during the third mile, but overall, I was pumped about my splits: 10:34, 9:45, 11:47, 9:48, 9:32

Time: 51:29 Pace: 10:17

I also did a stair workout with this guy on Sunday afternoon. 13 steps, about 100 times. Whew…we were tired!

Clearly, I am not pushing myself hard enough on the treadmill. Since I will be doomed to a few more treadmill runs, I'm going to have to get better at that. Less Harry Potter watching and more running! 

What was your best workout last week?

Are you training for a spring race?

A 5K & Track Workout - Who Am I?

This has been an awesome running week. On Saturday, I ran the Strawberry Festival 5K. It’s a hilly course, but you can have strawberry shortcake as soon as you finish…totally worth the 3.1 miles of hills!

I didn’t get to run this race last year so I was super excited to warm up, stretch, and race with my favorite people. The race starts at St. John’s and runs through Starlight, Indiana. I haven’t raced a 5K in a while so I didn’t have many expectations. I knew that I would go out way too fast and most likely struggle with the hills. I didn’t have a goal time, but knew that I wanted to be under 27 minutes.

Race Splits:

Mile 1: 8:04

Mile 2: 8:16

Mile 3: 8:28

Last .1: 0:48

Race time: 25:36

I was pumped. I guess all of that hill running in Pittsburgh is starting to pay off! Also - strawberry Shortcake - perfect for refueling!

The Clarksville Summer Running Series started on Wednesday. When I was living here, you could find me at the Track every Wednesday during the summer. I didn’t get to run any of these events last year either so I was glad the first week of the series fell while I was in town. The workout is a relay/partner event. This week it was a 2 Person 5K. We decided to do 400s. I realized while we were warming up that I hadn’t done a track workout since 2012…yikes! I consulted with the expert, Coach Chuck, who told me I should be around 1:45s. I have no idea how I managed it, but here were my splits:

1:35     1:35     1:38     1:41     1:40     1:42

Whew! My legs were KILLING me on Thursday morning…and now I am craving more speed work. I’m going to have to figure out how to fit it into my routine in the ‘burgh this summer.

What is your favorite summer time dessert?

Church festivals: Love them or hate them?

What’s your favorite track workout?