Miler Method #4: Week 3/6

Week-beginning Thoughts:

• I need to plan better this week. I'm going to identify all my target paces the night before my runs and determine when/how/where I'll get my core/strength circuits in. 

Monday

Scheduled:  5mi easy

Did: 5.04mi @ 9:30/mi avg
Oooh, I got over seven hours of sleep and woke up to beautifully crisp, fall air. It felt a little strange to put on a shirt to run (not even a singlet, like, a real short-sleeved tech shirt), but the wind was howling. Felt good, and was even showered before the rest of the family got up. Win.

..of course, I also started feeling sick again halfway through my work day. Blergh. 

Tuesday

Scheduled: 2 sets of Core pre-run, 5-7mi easy, 6x100m strides,

Did: 5.59mi @ 9:31/mi avg, , 6x100m-ish strides, 2x Core
Had a 2am-3am wakeup with baby, but was able to get back to sleep afterwards (hooray, that's a rarity)... though my 4:10am alarm wasn't welcome. I'm used to sleeping in my running clothes, because it's one less barricade to getting out the door in the morning, but didn't do that last night since it was chilly. 

That was the wrong call. I struggled for another ten minutes to get out of my nice, warm bed, and probably would have delayed too long had I not been meeting my 10KTuesday crew at 4:50am. Lesson learned: always wear your running clothes to bed, and just throw sweats over them if it's too cold to sleep in shorts and a singlet. 

Pacing was consistent for most of the early miles. I planned on doing 5mi easy and then using the rest of the 10KTuesday route for strides, but we got to talking and I ended up delaying my start a bit. Still got in the strides, of varying lengths and paces, since I didn't have a track, but they felt good. Oddly enough, my recoveries were about as long as the strides, and not very slow (relatively). 

I wasn't really feeling like doing my core workout when I got back in, but, with my family still asleep, it was hard to justify NOT doing it... so I did. 

Wednesday

Scheduled: rest

Did: 3.12mi easy @ 9:36/mi avg

Couldn't pass up 62 degrees and no wind... While I didn't have time for a full 5mi (my shortest prescribed "optional/easy run"), I figured something was better than nothing. 

Thursday

Scheduled: 15-20min WU, 10min tempo, 5min rest, 800m (2:56 = 1:28/lap = 44s/200m), 2x300m @ 67.5s, then 600m all-out.... then 10-15min CD, 

Did: as scheduled = 5.83mi @ 8:52/mi avg, 2x strength circuit

Today was a good day. I knew today was going to be a really hard workout, especially when I did the math on Sunday (weee, planning ahead) for what my splits needed to be. It was also going to be a really awesome day, though, because days are always great when you do something hard first thing in the morning. 

I cut the warm-up a little bit shorter than prescribed (because it lined up well with where I happened to be on the track/where I wanted to start intervals), and was about to set out for my 800 when my training partner said, "Don't you have tempo today?"

Oooh, yeah, I do.... Whoops. 

Tempo felt sluggish today. Normally, I feel pretty free on these, but today, I just didn't. Still, Garmin had me at 1.38mi (Garmin overestimates distance, but, for consistency, I'm comparing this value week-to-week), and I was only about 20-30m short of my usual distance. I chalked it up to poor eating and a stressful yesterday (two deadlines and a webinar presentation for 130 people during my 10+ hours at work), and mentally moved on. 

Previously, I've been taking the 5min "rest" as actual rest, jogging over to the start/finish line and just hanging out until my workout began. After reading a FB Q&A post with our coaches, though, I opted to turn it into an easy jog today. 

Soon, it was time for the 800. I knew my goal splits, and was ready to go. I was a little nervous about today. I mean, I haven't run a fast 800 since my last miler camp, and that was for a Time Trial. Today, I was supposed to run an 800m four seconds faster than what my mile pace would be... and it wasn't even Time Trial week (that's next week, btw). 

I took off, repeating the splits I had to hit in my head (44, 1:28, 2:12, 2:56) like a mantra. Oddly enough, I never actually checked these splits during the entire 800m. I felt like I was definitely working. My breathing changed to my race breath about 400m in, and I felt it. God, I have a "whole 'nother lap" to go... 

Having a goal time in my head, though, helped motivate me to push on. I did a 3:00 in my last time trial. Today, I was going for faster than that. 

800m:  2:53.9

HELL. YES. I didn't know it at the time, but, after looking over old race records, I'm pretty sure that's an 800m PR. Weeeeeee. Now I've gotta break that next week. 

I forgot to ask Nick and Sierra what my rest between intervals was supposed to be (it wasn't specified), so I opted to take between 90 and 120s, in line with other workouts. 

I was not feeling pumped for the 300s. These were at mile pace, which was fast... and I'd just run a really fast 800m. Oh well, gotta get 'em done... 

I didn't know what my splits were until I reviewed my watch output a few hours later, but was thrilled to see:

300m #1:  65

300 #2:  64.7

After the second 300, I was beyond glad to not have a "goal time" for my 600. It was just an "All You Got". I wasn't sure what I had to give after the first leg(s) of the workout, but I'd give what I had.

600m: 2:20.7 

This was so hard. I could tell my training partner knew I was struggling by the words she chose to cheer me on with. I felt slow. I felt tired, but I had a small kick on the last 100m... and was SO glad to be done. I'll be honest, though, this was not all I had physically. I could have gone faster, but I let the mental fatigue win by using the "eh, there's no time goal, it's just whatever you have... and maybe this is all you have, and that's okay". 

I could've gone faster. 

While my teammate finished up her workout, I did my strength circuits (check it out-- that makes two days this week where I've done the non-run components of my plan!). 

What a great start to the day. :D

Friday

Scheduled: 5-7mi optional

Did: some light lifting and yoga, but nothing significant

I didn't plan on running this morning. Instead, I used my morning time to tackle a deadline at work. Hopefully the 3mi I did on Wednesday makes up for not running today. It does in my mind, at least :) 

Saturday

Scheduled: 8-12mi long, Core x 2

Did: 12mi @ 9:23/mi avg

I had so many various feelings and thoughts during this run. At 0.6mi in, I remember thinking, "How can we not even be at ONE mile yet?". As we approached the halfway point for our normal ten miler, my husband told the kids, "Mommy's got 12 on the schedule, so we're going past the tunnel today."

Oh, I guess we are doing 12 then....

Around 8mi, I started feeling pretty good. That was about the time my husband slowed down due to some heel pain, leaving me solo for the last four. I remembered my training plan had said something about picking up the pace if we felt good... so I did.

...and then walked another 1.5mi with the fam :) 

Sunday

Scheduled: 15-20min WU, 15min tempo, 10min CD

Did: Core x2, 15min WU, 15min tempo, 15min CD... and then more CD = 6.58mi total @ 9:09:/mi avg

Well, core didn't happen yesterday, but I did a couple rounds today before hitting the pavement for tempo. 

WU: 1.47mi @ 10ish/mi avg

Tempo: 2.04mi @ 7:21/mi avg

CD: whatever's left over... I keep trying to write this blog, but get through, like, half a sentence before the baby starts crying "mamá, mamá"... 

I ended up running a bit further on the cooldown than I'd planned. I wanted to close out with a mile walk post-run, but it started raining, so we had to get the kiddos back to the car. 

Total Weekly Mileage: 39.1

Week-ending Thoughts:

• I ate better this week, and felt better
• Sleep was also a bit better (yay, lower stress and more baby sleeping through the night)
• Still feeling like a near-40mpw is NBD
• I can't believe we're already halfway through this training cycle! I'm loving the workouts and feeling both intimidated and excited by the upcoming time trial. According to my plan, I'm supposed to go thirteen seconds FASTER than this week's 800m PR... Eek. 

10x10: Week 1

Week-beginning Thoughts:

• Oh, Monday. Hi. I thought we'd agreed not to see each other anymore? :P 

Monday

Did: Jericho's Half and Half (incl. 10min of abs)

After all last week's mileage (and not having a rest day since my mile PR), I decided to take today as a rest-from-running day. I couldn't decide if I wanted to do a cardio session on Beachbody-on-Demand or yoga, so I found this cool half-and-half workout. It took me 90min to complete it (it was only 45min long) thanks to all the kiddo-related interruptions (even at 5am), but it happened. Also did 10min of abs in the evening. 

Tuesday

Did: 10KTuesday @ 10:10/mi avg, Great Abs with Tony Horton

Slow and easy 10KTuesday in this GORGEOUS weather plus afternoon abs.

Wednesday

Did: Jericho's Half and Half- Harder (incl. 10min of abs) plus 3.11mi double stroller run @ 9:28/mi avg

Did another Half and Half this morning and enjoyed it. I do miss lifting, so I'll probably try to get back to doing that at least 1-2x a week in the near future. I'd planned on a lunch walk with a friend, but life got in the way of that. Instead of running then, I opted to wait until the afternoon, because my kid's been asking to run after school for the past week. 

...but then thunderstorms were in the forecast, and nothing makes me angrier than not getting my workout in.

Fortunately, I decided to suck it up and try anyways, and, while we got rained on, the thunder never came. 

Thursday

Did: Chalene Extreme Abs, ~5K of walking through the neighborhood

OMG, I'm going CRAZY without running this week, and hormones have been eating crap, and ALL OF IT. I'm trying to let myself rest a bit before we launch into our 10x10 challenge, but, MAN, it is HARD. 

when I say "neighborhood walk", I suppose I really mean "neighborhood hike"

Also, I ate about 1000 calories more than I was supposed to today... It's really hard for me to just shrug that off. For the past fifteen years, I've only had success managing my weight when I count calories. Some people can just do that "oh, I only eat when I'm hungry and my body evens it out". Some people, like my husband, can eat whatever crap they want, whenever they want, and however much they want, and still maintain, without any strength training, less than 5% body fat. I don't have those genes. It's been a challenge today to combat the "you're 1000 calories over-- better go burn those off RIGHT NOW" thoughts, but I'm trying to remind myself that:

1) This is ONE day. If I'd go out and eat a full meal at a restaurant, it'd easily be the same caloric intake, and doing that once in awhile should not sabotage me. 

2) A pound is ~3500 calories. I didn't even over eat enough to gain a single pound.

3) I'm about to run ten miles a day for the next ten days. "Carb loading" probably isn't the worst thing. 

Friday

Did: 10.11mi @ 9:35/mi avg, Big 5, 10min Barre Blend abs

I've been mentally stressing about today for the past few days. This 10x10 thing is a big deal. In just a few days, I'm going to have a three-day peak of 70mi/last 7 days. The highest 7-day volume I've had before was in 2016, during Chicago training, with 69mi/week. I'm a little nervous, TBH. 

This morning kind of felt like a race morning. Nerves. Adrenaline. Excitement. I'm so glad I've got a teammate to do this "with". We're not running every day together, but plan on doing about half of the runs at the same place/time. The rest of the days, we'll probably run around the same time, but at different locations ,and just check in with each other later. 

We started off much faster than I wanted to go, and I had to remind myself not to keep up with my teammate. After all, this is the first day of a ten day endurance event. No point in burning out early. That said, we still finished a bit faster than I'd planned. I felt good enough during the run, but can definitely see this is going to be challenging. 

Day 1! Let's do this!

Saturday

Did: 10.01mi @ 9:45/mi avg with family, Big 5, 10min plank series

Day 2 felt far less intimidating than Day 1, probably because running 10mi is "just a normal Saturday" for me, and I had my family along for the ride (though, real talk: my husband always does all the stroller pushing when we run together, because pushing 100+ lbs is the only way our paces are remotely comparable). 

I had a few pics of soreness on different parts of my legs and ankles throughout the run, but they faded as quickly as they'd crept up. Still, a good sign that I need to be diligent about stretching and rehab throughout the next eight days. 

There were three separate areas of flooding across the greenway, some about 6" deep, so we had fun running through those :) 

Sunday

Did: 10mi @ 9:33/mi avg, 10min plank series

Woo, Day 3! I woke up feeling great and ready to run. Rather than deal with complex logistics, my teammate and I agreed to just meet at the river and knock out all ten miles together, with our youngest kiddos in the single strollers. It felt good to have a new route, especially since it was familiar, flat, and full of company. I had another series of random pains/sorenesses/aches in various parts of my lower appendages, but, again, they all came and went throughout the run. 

This stroller has GOT to have over 3000mi on it by now .and it's still AMAZING.

Total Weekly Mileage: 39.4

Week-ending Thoughts:

• I'm really glad I lightened up my mileage earlier in the week.
• I feel like such a bada--- doing this challenge. It's hard enough that it's definitely a challenge, but not so out reach as to be demoralizing. 
• PEOP is mid-way through Ohio! http://trackleaders.com/greatamerican20i.php?name=Pink_Elephants_on_Parade
• Oh, and I'm officially over 1000mi/year :D 

Recovery Week?

Week-beginning Thoughts:
I am still riding the high from this weekend's mile PR. Man, that's a GREAT feeling.

I've already got my next few endeavors planned:

1) Do another round of Miler Method, actually enrolled in the Boot Camp this time, with my teammate beginning September 7. Goal: 6:00 or better

2) Between now and then, do 10 days of 10mi, with that same teammate. Another teammate of ours did that challenge this month and "it seemed fun". 

3) Focus on my core. Do 10min of ab work at least 6/7 days each week.

Monday

Did: 2mi run @ 9:27/mi avg, 10min HardCORE

This morning felt too peaceful and nice outside to miss out on a run, so I got in two short miles around an outdoor mall area that I haven't been to since pre-pandemic times. It felt nice to be somewhere "real", even if there weren't any people around. 

Kicked off my self-driven abs challenge with a short Beachbody workout after the kids were in bed. Especially when I'm working from home, I feel like I shouldn't have any excuses not to execute a ten minute workout.

Sidenote: ten minutes of ab work is no joke. Either that, or my core is super weak :P 

Tuesday

Did: 10KTuesday @ 10:10/mi avg, 10min Trainer Abs

I felt like something different this morning, so I ran down a big hill (and then ran up it) for 10KTuesday. It felt nice to go out and just "enjoy the run". 

Then hit up Tony Horton's 10 Minute Trainer for an ab workout. Again, it's "only ten minutes", but that's a SOLID ten minutes. I was already wondering when I'd be done two minutes into it :P Guess that means this'll be good for me, eh? 

Wednesday

Did: 9.17mi double stroller run @ 10:24/mi avg, 10min abs

Kid has been asking to run to school for the longest time. Since I was off work today, I decided to make it happen. We ran with the double up hills so steep I had to walk them, but I had a couple happy campers when we arrived at school. The great thing about pushing a double stroller full of child on the way TO school was that the back half of the run, pushing a double stroller empty, felt a ton easier, despite the hills. 

Also did an ab video that CRACKED ME UP, because the trainer reminded me of 

Thursday

Did: 3.03mi run @ 9:32/mi avg, 10min abs

Family run this morning ended juuuuuust before a torrential downpour. 

Friday

Did: 4.12mi run @ 10:00/mi avg, 2.63mi stroller walk, 10min abs

Got up and ran solo before the sun this morning, then followed that up with a stroller walk and ab work later in the day.

Saturday

Did: 10.11mi family run @ 9:55/mi avg

Enjoyed a cool(er) run with the family this morning along the greenway. Good thing I got the run in, too, because today had ten kinds of stress afterwards, not the least of which was a f l a t tire in the parking lot of Total Wine while I was doing a curbside pickup (yay, they have these now!) with my older kiddo in the car. NOT the day to be wearing a dress out and about... especially when trying to change a flat. UGH. 

the "You Got This" sign along the greenway always makes me smile

Had some soreness in my right central arch in the evening-- not sure what that's all about. 

Sunday

Did: 5.33mi run @ 9:49/mi avg, 10min Hard Corps Core 2

Broke up this family run with about 2mi out, 1/2mi running with the oldest, and 2mi back. Arch felt fine during. Got my abs in pre-run.

Total Weekly Mileage: 40.1

Week-ending Thoughts:

• PEOP is about halfway through Illinois on our Virtual Relay Across America. It's been fun to have that to "check in on" throughout these months of pandemic life. I mean, y'all, it is AUGUST. 
• It's super fun to share running with my family, and I'm both saddened by the thought of my oldest phasing out of stroller runs but excited by the idea of running alongside him biking or even running with me soon
• I can't believe I PRed last weekend. Time goes by so slowly, but so quickly at the same time.
• This "abs challenge" thing I'm doing is harder than I thought. My right side core is definitely weaker (I notice it a LOT in side plank hip drops), so it'll be fun to build up over the next few weeks. Even just ten minutes a day is SO LONG. I'm struggling to keep the energy level up for that long, but know it'll be rewarding to see the progress each week. 

Recovery Week

Week-beginning Thoughts:
Trying to figure out what to focus on for the next eight weeks until Mile Training begins.... Goals include: losing weight, getting toned, and feeling fit. 


Monday
Did: Miler Method ab workout x 1
Three minutes and thirty seconds of ab work. Yeah, it's not much, but it's more than I've been doing! 


Tuesday
Did: 10K Tuesday-- 6.3mi @ 9:19/mi avg, Big 5, Miler Method abs x 1
Nothing of note. Just a nice easy workout with the girls.


Wednesday
Did: 20min weights, Miler Method abs x1, 5min yoga, site walk
Arms/chest/back with dumbbells

...and went to a steel fabrication shop

Thursday
Did: 5.0mi on treadmill @ 9:49/mi avg, Big 2, Miler Method abs x 1
I'm so sick of rain. I'd planned on running outside, but waking up to a thunderclap changed my mind. Struggled (mentally) through 5mi on the 'mill. There's something about running on a treadmill that just makes running feel like a chore. The entire time, I was thinking about how much I just wanted to be done. Blergh.

Also, running alone sucks. 


Friday
Did: 3.08mi @ 9:19/mi avg, Big 2, Miler Method abs x 1
Running alone outside sucks significantly less. I enjoyed a crisp solo morning 3-miler today where I focused on my arm swing and forward lean. Despite not even looking at my mile splits, that focus on form resulted in a really nice pace. Woot. 


Saturday
Did: 8.15mi with stroller @ 9:39/mi avg, Big 5, Miler Method abs x 1
I wanted to run with the stroller today since none of my training partners were available. After all the rain we've gotten, I wasn't really sure whether running the greenway or the riverside trail was going to be the better option. My husband was able to join me for the first half of the run, and had a slight preference for the greenway, so that's where we went.

I'm not sure it was better than the river....

We had to ford a few puddles with the stroller, but still had a nice run, despite having to repeat the same section of greenway a few times. Bonus, the littlest squish had a great first time with the weathershield. 

Sunday
Did: LIIFT4, 2mi treadmill run @ 9:52/mi avg, Big 5
I only had one kid this morning, and thought I'd take advantage of the "downtime" (lol) to to try the "sample workout" from the LIIFT4 program that I just signed up for.

It worked pretty well. I can't say that I love it, but that's just because I'm not as "into" lifting as I am running. I think the program is going to work out alright. The instructor's style and cadence are good, and I think the different workouts will keep me from getting too bored. Plus, I can always find 30min in my day to get the workout in, and I felt really great afterwards. 

Followed-up with a short two mile run on the 'mill before getting on with my day.


Total Weekly Mileage: 24.53

Week-ending Thoughts:

• A little nervous and a little excited about starting the LIIFT4 program in a week... 

Thanksgiving Half: Week 1/11

Week-beginning Thought:

I've got a new training plan. Goody, goody :) I took the half training plan (for the group I run lead for), and have modified it a bit to focus on my weaknesses. Each week, I've got:

• (1) double-digit+ run
• (1) long workout (tempo, out-and-back, or progression) where I'll focus on endurance and mental stamina
• (1) short interval workout (track repeats or hills) for strength and speed; might add in some 10min tempo before these occasionally, since I loved to hate that in Coach Nick's plan
• (2) easy mileage days
• (1) dedicated strength+yoga day, where I'll focus on myself and my intentions for the day... and also get a minimum of 15min lifting in
• (1) rest day, which might be another day of yoga, or walking, or absolutely nothing

Let's do this.

Monday

Scheduled: nada

Did: 4.69mi @ 9:04/mi avg, Big 5, 1.2mi walk
Didn't plan on running today, but it just kind of felt right. I miss the days of sleeping in until 5:30, getting up, having my coffee alone, having breakfast and daycare drop-off with my family, and then getting a nice, solo run at sunrise before a day of knocking out errands and to-do list items. It was nice to have that today.

Tuesday

Scheduled: 7 PRO

Did: 7.04mi @ 9:25/mi avg, Big 5
Awww, yeah. I've had my week off to recover from Sizzler, and now I'm ready for some endurance training. Even if it's 100% humidity...  



I started today's progression run super slowly, wanting to let my legs actually warm-up. It felt nice to run that slowly, for a bit. I had it in my head that I'd do a full 7mi progression, starting a little slower than 10, and ending at a sub-8. But I eventually realized that I probably wanted a cool-down mile... so I pushed through six and then let myself jog in the last mile. My last mile wasn't a sub-8, but I still like how this progression run turned out.

Mile Splits: 10:51, 9:58. 9:22, 9:00, 8:57, 8:11

Wednesday

Scheduled: rest

Did: yep
Another mentally grueling day.

Thursday

Scheduled: 6mi tempo (1WU, 4 tempo, 1CD)

Did: as scheduled, 6mi @ 8:42/mi avg, Big 5
Weeee, tempo miles. I was grateful to have a teammate plan out today's route so I didn't have to think for once. All I had to do was run. My training plan technically says "6 tempo", but Coach said that could be 1mi WU, 6mi tempo, 1mi CD, or 6mi total, with whatever WU/CD I needed. I still haven't figured out what my tempo pace ought to be right now, because I'm still unsure what my goal is. I'm technically following a training plan for the Thanksgiving Half, but also want to knock out a fast 5K on the way. Tempo pace for a half is definitely different than tempo pace for a 5K, as is the number of miles I'd be running that pace FOR. Considering I had a 10K "tempo" run at Sizzler last week, I opted to go in-between and run 1mi WU, 4mi tempo, 1mi CD. I'd hoped for around an 8:15/mi pace, which is more in-line with what I'm hoping to hit at the half.

It felt good. Miles shook out at:
8:07
8:04
8:09 (mostly uphill)
7:43 (mostly downhill)

It was definitely a challenge to hold the pace, but much more of a mental challenge than a physical one. I found myself thinking, "Man, I'm bored" a lot more than "ohgodcanistopyet". Still, I definitely pushed myself enough physically to get into that happy place where I can't think about anything else or any life stress, because all my energy is going towards pushing my body. That is the biggest reason I run.

Friday

Scheduled: strength

Did: 15min weights, 10min core, 10min yoga
When I woke up this morning, I didn't feel like getting out of bed. Without the accountability of a group, I found myself entirely unmotivated to go workout. I didn't have miles on my training plan- just a strength training session, and it would be really easy to skip that... the same way I have for the past few weeks.

I've also realized that, if I don't make it happen, it won't happen. I can't wait around for time to lift/yoga/anything else to just magically appear, because it won't.

So, I got up, made myself a strength workout, and got going. I was a bit ambitious with the exercises, weights, and durations I chose considering I haven't done these things for several months. My original plan of 6x through my circuit was cut to 3, but 15min of solid weight lifting is better than none.

I did 50s on/10s rest of:
1) 10# dumbbell row
2) 10# dumbbell shoulder press
3) push-ups (could get through 2-3 before moving to knees)
4) 10# dumbbell chest press (the only activity I didn't start fatiguing out on)
5) 10# dumbbell fly

and then finished with 10min of core exercises.

...and then made time for 10min of yoga, which is something I really need in my life these days. Definitely glad I got up and out of bed before 5am. :)

Saturday

Scheduled: 10mi easy

Did: 10.62mi @ 8:48/mi avg, Big 5
Another fantastic run with Atlanta Track Club's In-Training Program. I got a chance to run early with a bunch of women, and felt fantastic to be part of this awesome pack of fast females doing extra mileage around the industrial park at 6:30am. For the actual training run, I found myself amongst a handful of other mother runners, and we ended up talking just as much about motherhood as we did about running. What a fantastic way to spend the morning. 

Since the full marathon program is also starting from the Club office this month, I got to hang with one of my other mother runner friends before her training run. Check out her blog about her first marathon training experience here: https://atlponytail.com/blog/ , and support her fundraising efforts for Kilometer Kids

Sunday

Scheduled: 5mi easy

Did: 5.04mi @ 9:36/mi avg, Big 5 (delayed)
Heavy rain threatened to deter our Running Mamas meet-up, but we ended up with just drizzle. Our normal route is only 4.25mi, and I was ready to take the easy way out and just stop at the cars today... but my teammate headed off those thoughts by saying, "I know you had wanted 5. Let's just go around the parking lot a few more times." Can't argue with that. :)

Total Weekly Mileage: 33.42

Week-ending Thoughts: 
I wish I'd been doing this sort of training all along. Sizzler probably would have ended up differently. Oh well. Live and learn.