Half Marathon - Week 7

Weekly Total: 27.2 miles. This is the most miles I have ever run in a single week and in terms of small victories I ran the equivalent of a marathon this week.  I am finding that the speed work is really helping my aerobic capacity as the runs following it are really smooth.  I ran some sprints after my last run on Sunday on the treadmill and realized that I have the ability to go much faster than I used to.  I could probably have held the 6:40 pace for at least a half a mile if I gave it everything.  I am going to probably see if I can schedule a 5k in as I want to see if I can break 25:00 now which would be nearly 5 minutes faster than my last 5k.

Monday: Cross-training, 30 minutes of rowing.
Tuesday: 1200@10:00, 2x800@9:30, 4x200@8:45. All w/ recoveries. 4 miles.
Wednesday: 35 minutes on treadmill. 3.5 miles.
Thursday: 1:43 minutes easy. 9.2 miles.
Friday:  Cross-training, 30 minutes of rowing.
Saturday: 2x2M@10:00 w/ easy recovery. 5 miles.
Sunday:  60 minutes easy on treadmill w/ 6x200@6:40. 5.5 miles.

Chasing Double Digits...

Thought today would be the day that I would finally rack up my first double digit run even though I was only scheduled to run 9 miles.  The run started off amazing and I was at 5 miles. I checked my Runkeeper and I was running full marathon pace without even breaking a sweat and had nearly all of my water left.

Mile 6 was the turning point.  I tried to dial back the pace because I knew I still had the hardest section of my run, which is all rolling hills and 2 huge uphill sections.  Pace dropped to 11:00 then 12:00 and finally 13:00 and I was only at 7.5 miles.  I was able to stay at 11:00 pace for the whole run which is my target but ended up crashing at 9.2 miles. 

Normally I would be happy because I extended my longest run ever today but at mile 5 I really thought I could hang on for the full 10 miles.  I guess there is always next week...

Half Marathon - Week 6

Weekly Total: 25.5 miles. Interesting week to say the least.  4 of my 5 workouts were on a treadmill including my first ever long run.  I think my new running route with the rolling hills seems to be improving my aerobic capacity because the 8.5 on the treadmill with no hills seemed like a breeze.  Although mentally, being on a treadmill for over an hour and a half can definitely make one feel like a hamster in a wheel.

Monday: Rest.
Tuesday: 4x200m hill sprints at 7 incline, 1 mile warm up and cooldown. 3.5 miles.
Wednesday: 35 minutes on treadmill. 3.5 miles.
Thursday: 58 minutes, 2x2M @ 10:30 w/ recovery jogs. 5 miles.
Friday:  Rest.
Saturday: 55 minutes easy on treadmill. 5 miles.
Sunday:  1:38 minutes easy on treadmill w/ 1 mile pickup. 8.5 miles.

Half Marathon - Week 5

Weekly Total: 24.5 miles. Very good week back in training after being sick.  Swapped my long to Saturday instead of Sunday because it was sunny and 40 degrees.  The 8.2 miles was pretty tough but I think I could have pumped out a mile or two more which is a good sign.

Monday: Rest.
Tuesday: Speed intervals w/ recovery jogs, 1200m @ Race Pace; 2x800m @ 10K pace; 4x200m @ 5k pace; 3.5 miles.
Wednesday: 35 minutes easy. 3.25 miles.
Thursday: 45 minutes. 2x2 miles @ 9:30; 4x100m Sprints. 4.5 miles.
Friday:  Rest.
Saturday: 1:35 at 11:30 pace.  8.2 miles.
Sunday: 60 minutes easy. 5.0 miles.

Half Marathon - Week 4

I am changing the format of my weekly posts moving forward. It will include a quick overview of how my running was and a breakdown of the trainings from each day so that I can better see the workouts I did.

Weekly Total: 14.25 miles. This was definitely a rough week. I had come off a really good week of 23 miles and felt like I was getting back into the swing of things but got grounded with a nasty head cold.  I was finally over it enough on Friday to run but man was I sluggish all weekend.  My long run was cut short because I could barely take another step despite it being beautiful out, felt like a waste of the nice weather we were having.

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Sick
Wednesday: Sick
Thursday: Sick
Friday: 34 minutes easy. 3.25 miles.
Saturday: 55 minutes easy. 5 miles.
Sunday: 1:10, 3 miles easy; 2 miles at marathon pace; 1 mile recovery; 6 miles.