Half Marathon Training: Week 7

Happy Track Tuesday! I actually don’t celebrate Track Tuesday every week, but it just so happens it’s worked out the last couple weeks. So it is technically Track Tuesday for me. 🙂 

Speaking of the track, last week was kind of a weird training week. After my excitement and hopefulness for the upcoming week, it all kinda fell apart at the track. Here’s how my week went:

Tuesday — 4 miles (800s + tempo)

Track Tuesday last week was supposed to be kind of a crazy workout totaling 6 miles. I planned on running 1.5 easy miles to the track to meet up with Noemi and Julie. Unfortunately my Garmin took forever and a day to find satellites so I only ran 1 mile to the track and I was still late! D’oh!

I finally arrived, ready for the challenge. Around 3.75 miles is when it all started to unravel. I could feel my right knee starting to lock up. We were almost done with our 800s, and I was set to begin my tempo run and then a cool down mile after. I didn’t quite finish my 800s, and at the suggestion of my girls, I tried running a slower 400m test run, but I could still feel it locking up. The options were 1) to hitch a ride home with Noemi and call it a day, 2) do the tempo run and slow run home, or 3) forget the tempo run, and run a cool down mile home. I opted for option 1. I was a little bummed about it because I really love track days, and I was really looking forward to hitting all the benchmarks and taking on the challenge my coach had set forth for me, but in the long run there would be zero benefit to running on an injury. We all know how that ends…

Wednesday — 6 miles (steady state)

I was very hesitant about my run on Wednesday. After Tuesday’s let down at the track, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to run 3 miles, let alone a 6-mile steady state workout. I ended up meeting a new running partner on Wednesday morning, and thankfully talking with her while we ran kept my mind off my knee. I kept thinking I felt a twinge here and there, but nothing came to fruition (thankfully). Unfortunately since we were so busy talking, I wasn’t paying much attention to pace and didn’t achieve my steady state goal. 

Overall the weather was perfect and the run was very nice, and much needed after Tuesday.

My husband and I are also playing the “see who can hold a plank the longest” game. Last week was a milestone at just over 3 minutes and 45 seconds. I haven’t planked for that long in months! My core is doing the happy dance now that I’ve started planking consistently again!

Thursday — 3 miles

Thursday’s miles were easy miles. I wasn’t given a set pace or workout. Just running for the sake of running. I kept thinking my IT band was going to flare up, but it never did. Overall I felt pretty great on this run. I finished it off with an excellent strength training session which made me very happy and left me feeling confident and strong.

Saturday — 3 miles

After a late night on Friday (more on that tomorrow!), I met with my 5K training group on Saturday morning. I amped up our running and post-run workouts. My girls did a great job! We ran about 3 miles, and we even added some burpees at the end. Good grief was I tired on Saturday!

Sunday — 11.5 miles

Ah, Sunday. A much needed run for me. I felt amazingly strong for the entire run. Was my IT band on my mind? Heck yeah it was. But this was a test of sorts. The last time I ran the route Noemi and I ran on Sunday was the same route that my initial injury showed up during my marathon taper. I was so hesitant to run the same route but I knew I had to conquer it. 

Noemi and I headed out around 7 am. It wasn’t too hot out yet, and most of our route was on trail under the shade of the large trees in our area, so the sun wasn’t beating down on us. I ran with my hydration vest and Tailwind. Noemi ran with two water bottles, and dropped one around the 2.5 mile mark for the way back.

It surprises a lot of people who aren’t from around here, but northeast Ohio is extremely hilly. The elevation changes aren’t steep and drastic like near the cliff of a mountain but are instead long and gradual. Our hills have nothing on Atlanta, but they’re still there nonetheless. You get a nice hill workout even if you’re just out for a leisurely run. There are flat parts around here, sure, but you have to train on hills in order to gain strength and speed, and also to be prepared for races in this area. If you don’t and count on the route to be flat and fast, you will be hurting quickly.

One of my challenges to myself (and sometimes my clients) is to run up the length of the hill — any hill. But if there’s a hill in front of you, don’t let it win. Slow your pace if need be, but keep going. Noemi and I both conquered several hills during this run, and I’m not sure about her, but I felt pretty awesome at the top.

After all the hills going up, we got to turn around and run all the hills going down. Hallelujah! The way back was obviously faster than the way there. Which is always a nice ego boost, too. 🙂

I forgot how tiring long runs can be. After we stopped at my car, my feet were so achy. I didn’t notice any fatigue or soreness while we were running. I was too busy enjoying the moment! Being on the trail with a friend, enjoying the sunshine and the sweat, and generally having a great time left little room for discomfort. I really needed this run both as a physical workout but also as a mental boost as I’m now entering taper time for my half. It was nice to feel tired after this run. I felt very accomplished.

This week will be mostly speed-based. I’ll continue my rolling and strengthening and hopefully I’ll have successful workouts this week! I’m looking forward to it!

xo

Choose one: trails or roads?

P.S. Today I’m linking up with My No-Guilt Life, Run The Great Wide Somewhere, and MCM Mama Runs for Tuesdays on the Run!