3 Weeks to Alpharetta Women's Half

Week-beginning Thoughts:

Meh. Idk. 

Monday

Planned: lift
Did:  20min yoga (AM), MBF Full Body Week 2 (PM)

Didn't feel like intensity this morning, and opted into yoga instead of a cardio/fast-paced workout. 

Tuesday

Planned: Solid 10KTuesday (8:45-9:10 pace), MBF Week 1 Core 2
Did: Solid 10KTuesday = 6.55mi @ 8:55/mi avg

Thank goodness for friends. I'm glad I declared my intent pre-run, because I totally would've backed out if no one knew I was "supposed to" run solid. The first mile of WU went by far too quickly for my liking, and I felt like slowing down the entire "solid" part... but I was also comfortably talking the whole time, and my training mate for today loved reminding me that meant I was totally in my comfort zone regarding pace. 

Had a work deadline that took my evening up, so I skipped core, but plan on doubling up tomorrow... maybe? 

Wednesday

Planned: MBF Week 3 Lower Body, 4mi easy
Did: 4.05mi @ 10:14/mi/avg

Really tired this morning and just didn't feel like getting up quickly enough to lift pre-run. Then I really liked the idea of having time to calmly get ready for the day pre-kid-wakeup post-run, so I did that instead. 

Thursday

Planned: 1mi WU, 4x1mi @ 7:30-8:00/400m, 1mi easy, MBF Week 2 Core 1
Did: run as scheduled = 7.26mi @ 8:50/mi avg

I think I've learned that I was really too ambitious with this "strength workout every day" plan for this week. I'm not sure when I thought I would actually do this core workout, since track days mean a 3:45am alarm anyways, and there's just no getting up earlier than THAT to work out (funny story: a few years ago it was "no way am I ever setting an alarm earlier than 4:30", so obviously that isn't set in stone). 

Like Tuesday, I struggled again with my workout, mentally. It was so much easier to run fast/hard when I was just running as company for my training partner. Doing it for me is harder. 

The 10:49 pace for the warm-up was faster than I wanted to go, and I was grateful I'd given myself wiggle room on the mile pace. I knew I could hit 8:00, but was hoping for something closer to 7:30, especially since I knew I really should have been hitting 7:15-7:20s if I want to actually be training for the half. 

Mile 1: 7:49

I felt decent through this one, and enjoyed the mental game of breaking the mile into four laps.

Mile 2: 7:49

Really wanted this one to be my last one after the first lap, but kept grinding through. It wasn't a hard pace, but I had to concentrate, and that required mental effort.

Mile 3: 7:40

The lights on the track came on a lap into this one, and I picked up the pace unconsciously. I was pretty pleased with the split, especially since I hadn't really noticed just how even my first two had been. 

Mile 4:  7:40

After #3 being 7:40, I thought, "sure would be nice to have a 7:30 last one", but I wasn't willing to put in enough even effort up front to make that happen.

At no point during the workout was I truly pushing myself. I never felt out of breath, pushed myself to the line, or anything like that... but it was one big mental "blergh", and I definitely took my recovery 400s at snail pace. 

Workouts like this leave me wanting to run the half as a fun stroller event instead of trying for something that seems crazy out of reach, like an 8-flat pace half. Yeah, it's back to 100% humidity, I haven't been on the track for a month, I've been stressed with work/family/health, and my body's reacclimating to strength training... but I've been pretty discouraged by how running has felt since my marathon. 

Friday

Planned: MBF Week 3 Lower Body, 4-6mi easy
Did: 3.26mi @ 10:04/mi avg, MBF Week 2 Core 1

I struggled to get out of bed again today. I set my alarm the night before telling myself I'd get up, do an MBF, and then run an easy 4. Instead, I laid in bed an extra ten minutes, sent a message to my therapist, and forced myself to get out and run some miles. It was so insanely moist this morning. 

I kept mentally bargaining with myself, kind of wanting to do 4mi, but also knowing I didn't have the time to do that and the MBF workout I'd told myself I really ought to do. I ended up turning around early and telling myself I could only run 3 if I did the MBF. I finished the run absolutely disgustingly drenched (we're back to 96% humidity... in October), and really did not want to drip on my floor... but I hadn't run four miles, and had enough time, so.... no excuses.

I put a yoga mat on the floor and pushed through a core workout... and felt good for having done so, even though my right achilles was bugging me during the workout. I'm hoping it's just a result trekking around a construction site in steel-toes yesterday for work. It didn't bother me at all on the run, so guess we'll see? 

Saturday

Planned: 10-12mi easy run, MBF Week 2 Core 1
Did: 10.09mi @ 9:50/mi avg, 3.24mi stroller walk with little one @ 18:16/mi avg, 2.11mi stroller walk with big one @ 17:37/mi avg

Taped ankle, and it help up alright today. While I had a little soreness, I'm confident it'll go away soon. Had a great run with my training partner, had a little time at the park with my family before heading over to the greenway to support my chorus director in her walk for Spasmodic Dysphonia with one kid, and then back to another part of the greenway with the other kid to cheer for some friends doing virtual Boston. What a day. 

Sunday

Planned: 2mi WU, 2x2mi @ 7:30/5min jog, 2mi CD, MBF Week 3 Upper

Did: 1.5mi WU, 2x2mi/7min, 1mi CD = 6.97mi @ 8:54/mi avg

Felt kind of blerghy this morning, but got up and got it done on our family outing to the riverside trail. I opted for a shorter warm-up to facilitate family time, and then got into the workout. 

I really had no confidence that I'd hit 7:30 for a single mile, much less 2. I thought I'd be lucky to make it around an 8 flat with how I felt, and was already mentally planning on cutting the workout before I started. My first mile was a 7:45, and it was h-a-r-d, but I was able to rally and hit a 7:34 for the second. 

OK, I thought, maybe I'm not as crazy out of shape as I thought. I had to walk the first bit of my 5min recovery, and was grateful I had a full five minutes between intervals instead of only three like we'd had in marathon training. 

The second set was much harder. I locked into a 7:30 for the first quarter mile, but it was awful, and I couldn't hold it. My breathing was tough, and I was just totally spent. It was a mental victory to not stop after a mile and to push through the second one. 

I could tell I was really ready to be done because I got through a one mile cool-down and then decided to just walk it in. I never walk it in, even when I've already hit my cool-down mileage. 

Set 1: 7:45/ 7 :34

Set 2: 7:45 / 7:45

Total Weekly Mileage: 38.2

Week-ending Thoughts:

• I feel out of shape and icky and don't really see anything great happening at the Women's Half at the end of the month.