Week-beginning Thoughts:
Monday
Scheduled: rest
Did: rest
Considered getting up to run today, but a full weekend left me with some undone work-related things to do in the morning.
Tuesday
Scheduled: 8mi easy
Did: 8.03 @ 9:55/mi avg
Good run. Finished up just as rain was starting.
Good run. Finished up just as rain was starting.
Wednesday
Scheduled: 5mi easy
Did: 5.16 @ 9:57/mi avg
I'm slacking on my stretching, but it's hard to stay outside in 19 degrees after you finish a run to stretch. Enjoyed my last two solo miles, despite a heavy climb.
I'm slacking on my stretching, but it's hard to stay outside in 19 degrees after you finish a run to stretch. Enjoyed my last two solo miles, despite a heavy climb.
Thursday
Scheduled: hill repeats, total of 7mi
Did: hill repeats, 8.04mi total @ 10:04/mi avg
Oops, another missed stretch day. This is going to bite me soon, I just know it.
Oops, another missed stretch day. This is going to bite me soon, I just know it.
Friday
Scheduled: strength + yoga
Did: yoga
I should really change these "scheduled" bits to just yoga, considering I don't really intend to do any lifting. :P
I should really change these "scheduled" bits to just yoga, considering I don't really intend to do any lifting. :P
Saturday
Scheduled: 19mi easy
Did: 8.5mi @ 9:45/mi + 2mi @ 9:44/mi + 3.11mi @ 8:26/mi + 6.46mi @ 9:43/mi = 20.09 @ 9:32/mi avg... plus a mile-ish walk for munchkin's bike ride
I've been using two training partners to share my long mileage, ensuring I always had some company. One of them is out of town for the weekend, meaning I had the option of doing about 8mi solo OR opting to head down south and join up with other Atlanta Track Club runners for a 5K race, followed by crashing the half/full spring training program for some extra miles post-race. I opted for the latter, which meant a morning of crazy logistics.
My training partner and I got started at 4:40am and ran a nice 8.5mi loop. I can't even begin to describe how "only running 8.5" affected my mental game on this run. Breaking up today's double-digit mileage really helped me not dread it. The first bit was ONLY 8.5mi, not even ten. It was almost "why bother" mileage. lol. After we finished, I stretched a bit, changed shirts, and then grabbed a superhero muffin, my bags, and my family, and we headed down to the ATC 5K.
About an hour passed between the end of my 8.5mi run and when I was able to get started running my warm-up before the 5K. As a result, I'd planned on increasing my mileage by a mile. I did a solo two miles along a greenway-ish path near the race course, and felt good, but absolutely freezing. How did it get SO much colder in an hour? I'd run the entire warm-up in a hoodie, which I'd planned to take off before the race, but, by the 1.8mi mark, I still wasn't feeling ready to shed it. Fortunately, I did.
As usual, I self-seeded appropriately. I planned on running around a 10, but knew race excitement would push that pace down, so I seeded myself with the 8:31-9:30/mi group, a few rows from the front. As usual, the rest of the field did NOT self-seed appropriately. For the first mile, I was irritated by walkers on the left, 12min milers who clearly had no consideration for anyone else's pace, and people who thought it was totally fine to run in groups, taking up the bulk of the left side of the street, leaving no room for people to get through. My frustration to get around these people maaaaaaaay have had something to do with my first mile split being an 8:25.
Craaaaaap. That's way too fast for part of a 20mi run. :/
...but I didn't slow down much for the rest of the race. I focused on 4/4 breathing, relaxing, and just enjoying the run, yet still clocked miles around an 8:30. Final time: 26:15 = 8:26/mi. Oops, I guess I didn't self-seed appropriately, but I was a helluva lot closer to corral's marked paces than most people in that group.
I had just enough time to use the bathroom before heading out with the "8s and 9s" training groups. I'd planned on running a high-9, but, again, found myself running faster than I'd wanted to. After a couple miles of 9:20, I slowed myself down to a much more comfortable 9:40-50, and was fortunate enough to have a couple sometimes training partners slow with me. It was great to catch up with them, and have some company. I felt surprisingly fine during the run (little hot, and had to shed a shirt midway, but that's because it warmed up about 10 degrees), but, after we stopped at the parking lot, I was pretty done.
I happily grabbed my chocolate milk from the stroller (my husband and kiddo had come down to hang out and cheer during the race, providing an excellent storage spot for everything I'd want post-run), stretched, and then we enjoyed some more time with friends, followed by a delicious Farm Burger lunch. <3 marathon training
I've been using two training partners to share my long mileage, ensuring I always had some company. One of them is out of town for the weekend, meaning I had the option of doing about 8mi solo OR opting to head down south and join up with other Atlanta Track Club runners for a 5K race, followed by crashing the half/full spring training program for some extra miles post-race. I opted for the latter, which meant a morning of crazy logistics.
My training partner and I got started at 4:40am and ran a nice 8.5mi loop. I can't even begin to describe how "only running 8.5" affected my mental game on this run. Breaking up today's double-digit mileage really helped me not dread it. The first bit was ONLY 8.5mi, not even ten. It was almost "why bother" mileage. lol. After we finished, I stretched a bit, changed shirts, and then grabbed a superhero muffin, my bags, and my family, and we headed down to the ATC 5K.
About an hour passed between the end of my 8.5mi run and when I was able to get started running my warm-up before the 5K. As a result, I'd planned on increasing my mileage by a mile. I did a solo two miles along a greenway-ish path near the race course, and felt good, but absolutely freezing. How did it get SO much colder in an hour? I'd run the entire warm-up in a hoodie, which I'd planned to take off before the race, but, by the 1.8mi mark, I still wasn't feeling ready to shed it. Fortunately, I did.
As usual, I self-seeded appropriately. I planned on running around a 10, but knew race excitement would push that pace down, so I seeded myself with the 8:31-9:30/mi group, a few rows from the front. As usual, the rest of the field did NOT self-seed appropriately. For the first mile, I was irritated by walkers on the left, 12min milers who clearly had no consideration for anyone else's pace, and people who thought it was totally fine to run in groups, taking up the bulk of the left side of the street, leaving no room for people to get through. My frustration to get around these people maaaaaaaay have had something to do with my first mile split being an 8:25.
Craaaaaap. That's way too fast for part of a 20mi run. :/
...but I didn't slow down much for the rest of the race. I focused on 4/4 breathing, relaxing, and just enjoying the run, yet still clocked miles around an 8:30. Final time: 26:15 = 8:26/mi. Oops, I guess I didn't self-seed appropriately, but I was a helluva lot closer to corral's marked paces than most people in that group.
I had just enough time to use the bathroom before heading out with the "8s and 9s" training groups. I'd planned on running a high-9, but, again, found myself running faster than I'd wanted to. After a couple miles of 9:20, I slowed myself down to a much more comfortable 9:40-50, and was fortunate enough to have a couple sometimes training partners slow with me. It was great to catch up with them, and have some company. I felt surprisingly fine during the run (little hot, and had to shed a shirt midway, but that's because it warmed up about 10 degrees), but, after we stopped at the parking lot, I was pretty done.
 |
| 20mi. Like a Boss. |
I happily grabbed my chocolate milk from the stroller (my husband and kiddo had come down to hang out and cheer during the race, providing an excellent storage spot for everything I'd want post-run), stretched, and then we enjoyed some more time with friends, followed by a delicious Farm Burger lunch. <3 marathon training
Sunday
Scheduled: 5mi easy
Did: 5.09mi @ 9:38/mi avg with stroller, delayed Big 5
It was just me and my munchkin this morning. We had a nice easy run with a couple stops (seeing some friends and stopping to chat, and then getting the little one a snack), and it felt so good to be able to put this kind of performance together after: 1) running 20+ miles the day before and 2) being awake from 2:30-5:30am with the munchkin ("Mommy, I need cuddles" is kiiiiind of hard to say no to, though I really ought to learn how at some point).
It was just me and my munchkin this morning. We had a nice easy run with a couple stops (seeing some friends and stopping to chat, and then getting the little one a snack), and it felt so good to be able to put this kind of performance together after: 1) running 20+ miles the day before and 2) being awake from 2:30-5:30am with the munchkin ("Mommy, I need cuddles" is kiiiiind of hard to say no to, though I really ought to learn how at some point).
Total Weekly Mileage: 46.41 (!!!)
Week-ending Thoughts:
Unicorn status = still engaged- When I started this training, I had low expectations for the sort of mileage I'd be carrying at this point. In fact, the original plan had my last few week totals as lower than what I've actually run. It feels pretty amazing to have consistently run 3-4 more mpw than originally scheduled, and still be feeling this great.
- Peak planned mileage for this cycle is 47mpw. This means I'm basically already there, and still feeling good. Sweeeeeet.
- I feel so freaking strong, capable, and proud of myself and my body for allowing me to run this well and this much. No injuries. No soreness or tightness in my legs today. No more PF hints. No bad anything. Hooray!
- Only six more weeks! :D I'm totally going to do this thing.
