Almost one month down, and 6 months exactly to go!
Starting this training plan I had the weirdest combination of excitement and apathy that I think I have ever felt starting a new training plan. It's always exciting getting into a new routine and working toward a new goal, but I think this one still feels so far away and is so daunting that I'm perfectly cool not getting too far ahead of myself. I am truly taking this training plan one day at a time, knowing all roads lead to Lake Placid!
Starting this training plan I had the weirdest combination of excitement and apathy that I think I have ever felt starting a new training plan. It's always exciting getting into a new routine and working toward a new goal, but I think this one still feels so far away and is so daunting that I'm perfectly cool not getting too far ahead of myself. I am truly taking this training plan one day at a time, knowing all roads lead to Lake Placid!
Week 5 Rundown:
This week was a little bit of a step up in terms of volume, although this training cycle is so long (30 weeks), and with these first 10 weeks being base-building weeks, I feel like the increases have been pretty gradual. In a weird way I am looking forward to some of the weekday workouts getting longer, since so far a lot of them have been short enough that I don't feel the need to prioritize them and then have trouble fitting them in. Maybe that's counterintuitive, I don't know. I think I just don't totally feel in training mode yet, so it's easy to be like, oh yeah, I'll get that swim in umm...sometime...later...
Speaking of swimming, this week I bailed on my 5am Thursday swim - I'm not sure if I have mentioned this before but one of my training partners is at the gym at 5am every day (he teaches 2 spin classes and swims or runs the other mornings), so in the interest of accountability, I have started meeting him on Thursdays to swim. Well, actually...I think I am 3/5 so far. But let's just say that that's 3 more swims I would have done on my own so I'm thankful for the ones I have been able to get up for.
So since I skipped my Thursday AM swim, I swam after work on Friday and then again on Saturday after my long run. Luckily my long run was short this week (9 miles), and I ran with my dad so it was an easier pace than my usual, but it was still a lot in about a 15-hour period! In addition to my 9 mile run my swims added up to just over 3 miles.
Other happenings this week included a speed workout I nailed (8 x 800s @ 8:00 - actual were 7:40-7:56), and I'm still really enjoying the Kara Goucher plan workouts. So far they've been challenging (more and more so each week), but haven't left me gassed or unable to complete them. I have no idea what pace they'll translate to for my half marathons, but my main goal is just to increase my running fitness and see where that gets me.
And finally, this week was my second bike ride outside so far this cycle, and our first group ride of the year! It was so nice to be outside and
Speaking of swimming, this week I bailed on my 5am Thursday swim - I'm not sure if I have mentioned this before but one of my training partners is at the gym at 5am every day (he teaches 2 spin classes and swims or runs the other mornings), so in the interest of accountability, I have started meeting him on Thursdays to swim. Well, actually...I think I am 3/5 so far. But let's just say that that's 3 more swims I would have done on my own so I'm thankful for the ones I have been able to get up for.
So since I skipped my Thursday AM swim, I swam after work on Friday and then again on Saturday after my long run. Luckily my long run was short this week (9 miles), and I ran with my dad so it was an easier pace than my usual, but it was still a lot in about a 15-hour period! In addition to my 9 mile run my swims added up to just over 3 miles.
Other happenings this week included a speed workout I nailed (8 x 800s @ 8:00 - actual were 7:40-7:56), and I'm still really enjoying the Kara Goucher plan workouts. So far they've been challenging (more and more so each week), but haven't left me gassed or unable to complete them. I have no idea what pace they'll translate to for my half marathons, but my main goal is just to increase my running fitness and see where that gets me.
And finally, this week was my second bike ride outside so far this cycle, and our first group ride of the year! It was so nice to be outside and
Week 6 Rundown:
This week got off to a rocky start with an unplanned rest day on Monday - Ben has been working crazy hours deploying a big project so I took Monday night off to meet him for dinner. I just felt kind of off the whole week, and even though I got back on track on Tuesday and Wednesday, I missed a swim Thursday morning. I was able to make it up on Friday, but I still only got in one swim this week. I am the least concerned about the swim so it's not that big of a deal, but I would like to get in 2 a week when I can.
This week got off to a rocky start with an unplanned rest day on Monday - Ben has been working crazy hours deploying a big project so I took Monday night off to meet him for dinner. I just felt kind of off the whole week, and even though I got back on track on Tuesday and Wednesday, I missed a swim Thursday morning. I was able to make it up on Friday, but I still only got in one swim this week. I am the least concerned about the swim so it's not that big of a deal, but I would like to get in 2 a week when I can.
On the plus side, I had a great speed workout this week! The workout was 1 mile WU, 3x1 mile @ 8:20 w/ 2 min recovery, 1 mile CD. I could not for the life of me find 8:20 but I focused on being consistent and ran my miles at 7:57, 7:48, and 7:55 - very happy with that effort! And I had a great long run - I just love my beach runs! Hit the road and the boardwalk for the first 6 miles or so and then the trails for another 7. I went to the park where I did my 50k but ran some new trails, which was a nice change. Still so happy that running 31+ miles out there didn't make me never want to see a trail again, ha.
Week 3 Rundown:
I got in all of my workouts this week, mostly due to the fact that I had Friday off! So far my swims have been around 2000-2400m (2200m on average), and weekday bike rides are still only 30 minutes with 25-30 miles on the weekend - in other words, barely anything compared to what's coming!
I got in all of my workouts this week, mostly due to the fact that I had Friday off! So far my swims have been around 2000-2400m (2200m on average), and weekday bike rides are still only 30 minutes with 25-30 miles on the weekend - in other words, barely anything compared to what's coming!
Given that my swims and bikes are pretty short, about half of my weekly workouts are running, which is thankfully still going well. My speed workout this week was a little tempo run, and I am slowly getting some speed back. The workout was 1 mile WU, 3 miles tempo @ 8:15, 1 mile CD. I tried really hard to stay at 8:15, but I drank like an entire pot of coffee throughout the morning (it was my day off) so I was jacked up, and every time I tried to slow down I felt like I was totally pumping the breaks and losing momentum. So, still need to work on pacing, but happy there's still some speed in these legs!
My long ride this weekend was 30 miles - my longest since last May and also my longest on the course so far. Even just 30 miles is pretty tough and leaves me seriously wondering how I am going to run, period, let alone run 26.2 miles after doing that over 2.5 more times? I know that's what training is for, and I know I can get there, but it feels like it's all uphill (literally and figuratively).
Week 4 Rundown:
This week was my first stepback week, although my legs permanently are tired and sore, so it didn't feel like much of one. I had a 10-mile race on Saturday so I did my speedwork, which I usually do on Thursdays, on Monday. This week was 1 mile WU, 2 miles @ 8:15, 6 x 30 second hill sprints, 2 miles @ 8:15, 1 mile CD. It was a cold, windy day at the beach (mid-20s with wind speeds to match) but my first half was going really well, until my foot suddenly started to hurt with about a tenth of a mile left in the first 2-mile set (8:09, 8:18). I panicked and slowed to a walk, then to a full stop. I had a foot injury pop up out of nowhere in 2016, about 7 months out from my first Ironman, and it kept me from running for nearly 2 months. I don't play around when it comes to foot stuff! I wasn't sure if I should or even could keep going - it didn't hurt to walk on it, but I was about a mile and a half from my car so that wasn't exactly ideal. I spotted a concrete post and used that to roll out my foot for a minute, and that actually worked! I was still feeling a little unsure and cautious so I ended up kind of half-assing the hill (bridge) sprints (splits ranged from 7:29-9:31), but by the time I started on the second 2-mile set it had stopped hurting and I was able to finish the workout and actually did better than the first set despite having a headwind for this one (7:56, 8:07).
I took an extra rest day on Tuesday when I realized I hadn't taken one in over 2 weeks, oops! I've had a couple Fridays (my normal rest day) in a row off from work and have been taking advantage by getting in a workout or two. So I ended up missing a swim and a bike this week, but no big deal! I don't want to make a habit of that, but at the same time, they're so short right now that I'm not missing any significant training.
My foot actually still bothered me on Thursday - I got all ready to go and even got Bane ready to go with me, but I had to call it quits after just a couple minutes. I was feeling the smallest hint of pain but I was too scared to chance it. But at the same time, I was too scared to wait until my race Saturday to test it again, so I made up Thursday's 3-miler on Friday night. Honestly, I think that made my legs not feel as fresh as they could have for the race, but I'm glad I did it because I didn't feel pain and it gave me some peace of mind.
I've run this race a few times before, twice for a 15-miler (it's a 5-mile loop and there are 2 distances offered, 10 miles and 15 miles, so either 2 loops or 3 loops) and once, last year, for the 10. Last year during the 15-miler was actually when I had my little breakdown, stopped after the second lap/10 miles, and subsequently hired a coach. That was probably the lowest mental point I have ever been at with running, training, and racing, and not that this year was rainbows and butterflies, but wow it was light years ahead of last year! I think I had just bitten off more than I could chew and gotten overwhelmed, but it took a while to dig out of that hole.
As for the race itself (which was actually not a race, per se, but a timed training run put on by our local run club - same one that does the 50k I just did, our Turkey Trot, a 10k in my neighborhood, and some others), I'm really pleased with how it went! My goal was to run 8:3X pace or 1:25:XX total time, and I finished in 1:24:38 (8:28 official pace, 8:23 watch pace). My miles were remarkably consistent - the majority were within 10 seconds of each other (8:21-8:31), with the exception of one 8:35 mile and an 8:05 last mile - and that includes 3 water stops! To be honest, the 8:2X paces were a little fast and felt a little harder than I was hoping to push, but I'm happy with my time. I've only run a handful of faster 10-milers, all within a minute of the time I ran for this race and, oddly, most of those faster times were during half marathons. My goal was to use this as a time trial/baseline for some upcoming half marathons, and I'm happy with how it went. I have another 10-miler in 2 weeks so we will see how that one goes!
These first few weeks have flown by, mostly because I'm only just scratching the surface of the real training. The 254 miles I've covered so far are just a small fraction of the total miles I'll cover over these 7 months. It's funny and strange to think that a few months from now these workouts will just seem like drops in the bucket, and that I'll barely remember them by the time I get to race day. These first weeks have not been particularly exciting or glamorous, but I know they're important building blocks and that when the going really starts to get tough, I'll be thankful for them. Onward to more base-building!
Week 4 Rundown:
This week was my first stepback week, although my legs permanently are tired and sore, so it didn't feel like much of one. I had a 10-mile race on Saturday so I did my speedwork, which I usually do on Thursdays, on Monday. This week was 1 mile WU, 2 miles @ 8:15, 6 x 30 second hill sprints, 2 miles @ 8:15, 1 mile CD. It was a cold, windy day at the beach (mid-20s with wind speeds to match) but my first half was going really well, until my foot suddenly started to hurt with about a tenth of a mile left in the first 2-mile set (8:09, 8:18). I panicked and slowed to a walk, then to a full stop. I had a foot injury pop up out of nowhere in 2016, about 7 months out from my first Ironman, and it kept me from running for nearly 2 months. I don't play around when it comes to foot stuff! I wasn't sure if I should or even could keep going - it didn't hurt to walk on it, but I was about a mile and a half from my car so that wasn't exactly ideal. I spotted a concrete post and used that to roll out my foot for a minute, and that actually worked! I was still feeling a little unsure and cautious so I ended up kind of half-assing the hill (bridge) sprints (splits ranged from 7:29-9:31), but by the time I started on the second 2-mile set it had stopped hurting and I was able to finish the workout and actually did better than the first set despite having a headwind for this one (7:56, 8:07).
I took an extra rest day on Tuesday when I realized I hadn't taken one in over 2 weeks, oops! I've had a couple Fridays (my normal rest day) in a row off from work and have been taking advantage by getting in a workout or two. So I ended up missing a swim and a bike this week, but no big deal! I don't want to make a habit of that, but at the same time, they're so short right now that I'm not missing any significant training.
My foot actually still bothered me on Thursday - I got all ready to go and even got Bane ready to go with me, but I had to call it quits after just a couple minutes. I was feeling the smallest hint of pain but I was too scared to chance it. But at the same time, I was too scared to wait until my race Saturday to test it again, so I made up Thursday's 3-miler on Friday night. Honestly, I think that made my legs not feel as fresh as they could have for the race, but I'm glad I did it because I didn't feel pain and it gave me some peace of mind.
I've run this race a few times before, twice for a 15-miler (it's a 5-mile loop and there are 2 distances offered, 10 miles and 15 miles, so either 2 loops or 3 loops) and once, last year, for the 10. Last year during the 15-miler was actually when I had my little breakdown, stopped after the second lap/10 miles, and subsequently hired a coach. That was probably the lowest mental point I have ever been at with running, training, and racing, and not that this year was rainbows and butterflies, but wow it was light years ahead of last year! I think I had just bitten off more than I could chew and gotten overwhelmed, but it took a while to dig out of that hole.
As for the race itself (which was actually not a race, per se, but a timed training run put on by our local run club - same one that does the 50k I just did, our Turkey Trot, a 10k in my neighborhood, and some others), I'm really pleased with how it went! My goal was to run 8:3X pace or 1:25:XX total time, and I finished in 1:24:38 (8:28 official pace, 8:23 watch pace). My miles were remarkably consistent - the majority were within 10 seconds of each other (8:21-8:31), with the exception of one 8:35 mile and an 8:05 last mile - and that includes 3 water stops! To be honest, the 8:2X paces were a little fast and felt a little harder than I was hoping to push, but I'm happy with my time. I've only run a handful of faster 10-milers, all within a minute of the time I ran for this race and, oddly, most of those faster times were during half marathons. My goal was to use this as a time trial/baseline for some upcoming half marathons, and I'm happy with how it went. I have another 10-miler in 2 weeks so we will see how that one goes!
These first few weeks have flown by, mostly because I'm only just scratching the surface of the real training. The 254 miles I've covered so far are just a small fraction of the total miles I'll cover over these 7 months. It's funny and strange to think that a few months from now these workouts will just seem like drops in the bucket, and that I'll barely remember them by the time I get to race day. These first weeks have not been particularly exciting or glamorous, but I know they're important building blocks and that when the going really starts to get tough, I'll be thankful for them. Onward to more base-building!
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