Training Check-in – Week 7

September 8, 2014 by 20 Comments

 

check in

Is it just me or does anyone else feel like these weeks are just flying by? As of today, there are 76 days until the Philadelphia Half – on the one hand, still a lot of time, but given the way these days are flying by, it will be here before I know it!

So week 7 is in the books and I’m very happy to report it was a much better week! Here’s how things shook out:

Monday:  Leg and core work.

Tuesday:  6 miles on a hilly loop followed by a massage!

Wednesday:  After a 2 week break, my Pilates Barre class is back!

Thursday:  Returned to hill repeats – 6 miles total.

Friday:   I was definitely feeling the effects of those hill repeats, so I decided to skip my scheduled cross-training.

Saturday: 9 miles. The heat and humidity was just crazy – it was like running in a furnace! Knowing that this was going to be a tough run, I decided to go Galloway and switched to run/walk intervals after the first couple of miles. I’d never tried doing intervals like that so I just kind of played with the length of the run intervals –  it was a nice distraction from the heat, helped me to keep a consistent pace and to finish fairly strong.

Sunday:  Much needed rest day.

All-in-all a pretty solid week. My challenge since I started this training cycle has been to put two solid weeks together. So my goal for this week is simple – keep up the forward momentum!

How did week go for you?  Have you ever tried the Galloway Method?

 

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Filed Under: Galloway Method, half marathon training, Philly Half

Training Week 6: Remembering Why

September 2, 2014 by 12 Comments

Happy September! Hope you all had a great Labor Day Weekend!

I’m getting ready to head out for this morning’s run and week 7 of my Philly Half training. I’m looking forward to a fresh start and to put last week’s runs far behind me.

Week 6 was rough people! I’m not going to lie – I thought about skipping the recap altogether. But with running, you’ve got to take the good with the bad, right?

So here’s how the week shook out:

Monday:   Strength training – legs and core.

Tuesday:   Heat & humidity returned just in time for my 6 miles.

Wednesday:  Played with my kiddos and took a rest day.

Thursday:  7 miles – I could not get out of my head on this run. There was a lot of bargaining with myself during this one.

Friday:   Core work.

Saturday: 3.5 miles – this was suppose to be 9. Despite doing all the things I was suppose to do to prep for this long run (sleep, fuel, hydrating), my body just wouldn’t cooperate. I was so frustrated with myself and finally just stopped, called J and asked him to come get me. A low point for sure….

Sunday: I briefly toyed with the idea of going out to try the nine again, but ended up sleeping through my alarm and opted to avoid the increasing humidity and have a lazy breakfast with my family.

Like I said, happy to put this one in my rearview mirror and move on. Time to get my head back in the game …to remember the reasons I’m out there…My Why.

How do you get out of your head when you’re running?

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Filed Under: half marathon training, refocusing, Uncategorized

Week 5 – Hills and a Headache

August 25, 2014 by 20 Comments

Week 5 on the road to Philly is in the books and it was a challenging week for sure – thanks in large part to a migraine that hung out for a few days. Migraines

Monday: Hello migraine! Hip strengthening and core work.

Tuesday: A hilly 5 miler.

Wednesday: Migraine continued. T25 Total Body Circuit.

Thursday: 5.5 miles.

Friday: T25 Ab Intervals.

Saturday: 9.2 miles with rolling hills. First time running 9 miles since the spring!

Sunday: Much needed rest day.

So the base-building continues. On deck for week 6, 23 running miles, some cross training and more core work, including the 8 minute core workout posted last week on Fuel Your Future with Tina (if you’re not reading her blog, you really should check it out!) I love to mix up the core work and Tina’s workout looks challenging.

How’s your training going?

 

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Filed Under: half marathon training

Training Update & Nuun Winner

August 18, 2014 by 15 Comments

Week 4 of my Philadelphia Half training is done! Here’s a quick recap:

Monday:   3 miles with negative split

Tuesday:   Spent a fun day with my mom – lots of walking

Wednesday:  Pilates Barre

Thursday:   5.75 miles – tough run! My legs felt so heavy, I seriously wanted to stop a mere mile in, but stuck it out.

Friday:   Rest and a massage

Saturday: 6.5 miles on a very hilly loop. My legs felt so much better!

Sunday: Hip strengthening exercises and core work

After Saturday’s run, I’m feeling much more upbeat going into this week. I’ll be adding more hip strengthening work this week, as well as some T25.

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Nuun EnergyAfter a great response to my Nuun Giveaway, the winner is  Samantha S! Congrats!

A big thanks to Nuun for sponsoring!

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Filed Under: giveaways, half marathon training

Training Check-in Week 3

August 12, 2014 by 12 Comments

 

check in

Well thank goodness for Week 3! After a less than stellar Week 2, it was nice to get back on track! There were 19 miles on my plan and I finished with 16 miles – I’ll take it! So here’s how the week played out:

Monday:   Cross-training – 55 minutes on the bike

Tuesday:   4.25 mile run – hot, humid and hilly!

Wednesday:  Pilates Barre  – my usual weekly class. I can never say enough good things about this class – and this week was no different!

Thursday:   Sick kiddo at home led to strength training/leg work at home instead of running.

Friday:   Thursday’s 6 mile tempo run became Friday’s 5.25 tempo – I ended up cutting my cool-down a little short in order to jam some “must do” errands in before the kids got home from camp.

Saturday: 6.5 mile LSD. It was suppose to be 8 but my legs were toast! I knew I was taking a chance doing a tempo run on Friday, but I just didn’t want to miss the workout. I think the other contributing factor was being on my feet Friday evening at the Athleta event.

Sunday: Rest day at the beach!

Overall not a bad week. I was super diligent about rolling, especially post-run and I think it helped – no KT Tape needed!

How did last week go for you?

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Filed Under: half marathon training

Training Check-in: A Week of Shuffling

August 5, 2014 by 15 Comments

Well for as good as Week 1 felt, Week 2 was meh at best! A combination of various family obligations, schedule changes and the hangover effects of dealing with insomnia, left me in a state of constant shuffling last week. Shuffling of workouts to fit them in…and shuffling with tired legs out on the road.

check in

So this is how the week shook out:

Monday:  Needed to push this run to Tuesday.

Tuesday:  Again, needed to push this run till later but was sure I’d get it in. By late afternoon I needed to concede that I was just too damn tired so I skipped the run.

Wednesday:  Weekly Pilates Barre class

Thursday:  4 miles of intervals plus 2 miles warm-up and cool down. Ugly but done.

Friday:   Cross-training on the bike

Saturday:  Needed to leave uber-early to drive to Maine so moved my run to Sunday.

Sunday:  I was exhausted when I started…Was suppose to do 7 but called it quits after 5.8 miles.

Daily:  Core work & rolling

Clearly the mileage suffered…Some weeks you just have to do what you can and move on…last week was one of those weeks!

So the goal of week #3 is simply to get back on track!

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Filed Under: crazy week, half marathon training, Schedule vs Training

Friday Five: Half Marathon Training Goals

July 25, 2014 by 17 Comments

Linking up with Mar, Cynthia and Courtney again today. This week’s theme is “goals” and given that I just started my half marathon training this week it seems the perfect time to share my goals for this training cycle.

training goals

 

Don’t Miss a Workout! — Goal number 1 is to complete all of my workouts. Scheduling can get a little crazy in the summer when the kids are home, but that just means I need to get creative to stay on my plan (Hello 5:30 a.m. runs!).

Get Stronger —  This ties in directly with Goal #1. I’ve got a fair amount of cross-training built into my plan, plus specific strength exercises to keep my hip happy. I will also continue with my beloved Barre class and adding in some TRX as well.

Fuel Properly — While summer eating naturally lends itself towards lots of fruits and veggies and meals from the grill, I know I could still focus better on my nutrition – especially pre- and post-run. Doing so should also help me return to “fighting weight” which is about 6 lbs lighter than I am now.

Recover Right — Sometimes because scheduling gets a little hectic things like post-run rolling, re-fueling and donning of compression gear gets pushed to the back burner in favor of moving on with the day – however I pay for it later and on my next run…so that can’t happen!

Remember My “Why” — The mental side of training is just as important as the miles I log. After not having the Spring I had hoped for from a running/racing perspective, I will be working hard to keep negative talk and doubt from creeping in. During tough runs it will be important to remember why I’m out there.

 

Have you set any new goals for the rest of the year?

DC_linkup

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Filed Under: Friday Five, goals, half marathon training

My fall race schedule

July 11, 2014 by 5 Comments

fall running

After mentioning that I was getting ready to start my fall training soon, I got several emails and twitter inquiries about which races I was doing – so I thought I’d share my fall race schedule here!

October:

Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon — advertised as “flat and fast” with beer and lobster rolls served at the post race party – what’s not to love? This one’s been on my N.E. must-run list for a while.

Tufts 10K — This one’s going to be a “wait and see” since it’s a week after Smuttynose – but I love this event and I haven’t run it in a couple of years. There are always a few friends running so I’m going to try to keep this day open and if the legs feel go enough I can always register on race day.

Canton Fall Classic — The starting line is literally 2 miles from my house and the course covers streets I run on a regular basis. It’s a great local race and it’s always fun to see so many familiar faces!

November:

Philadelphia Half Marathon — I ran Philly in 2011 and by half way through the race I knew I wanted to come back (you can check out the recap HERE)! I loved the course, the great crowd support and the 3+ minute PR I snagged — I’m hoping lightening will strike twice as this is my goal race of the fall.

December:

I’m sure there will be some fun 5K requiring Santa garb 🙂

I’d like to slip in something during September to kind of track how my training’s going – but I’m going to wait to see what Coach Bennett has to say on that.

The fall should be a lot of fun – can’t wait!

What have you got planned?

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Filed Under: Canton Fall Classic, fall racing, half marathon training, Philly Half, race calendar, Smuttynose Rockfest, Tufts 10k

Reassessing

November 13, 2013 by 15 Comments

hanging shoesI’m hanging up my half marathon training shoes for the rest of this year. There will be no half for me on December 8.

As you can imagine that is not an easy thing for me to see in print – not an easy decision, but it’s the right choice. While my foot is making progress, my attempt at returning to half marathon training has proven to be one step forward, two steps back. I may be able to kill my track workouts, but maintaining race pace on the unforgiving surface of pavement and roads is proving to be a different story – I can get 4 miles at best…clearly a problem when the goal is 13.1! And as I said to Coach Bennett during our last call, the one thing I am clear about is that I do not want to have to will myself through another race that my body isn’t prepared to handle. I’ve done that and know I don’t have the mental energy, nor desire to do it again.

So I may eye a couple of 5Ks before the year is over – after all I’ve only got 2 races left to complete the #13in2013 Challenge – but there will be no long distance races for me until next year.

Time to start building my 2014 race calendar!

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Filed Under: #13in2013, choices, foot pain, half marathon training, injuries, listening to your body

Not another rest day!

October 28, 2013 by 16 Comments

I have not run since last Tuesday and I’m starting to get cranky!too much rest

By Friday morning I’d come to the decision that with just 6 weeks until my December half, I didn’t want to risk further injury running the local 5K. I had to admit to myself that my foot was still sore and rest was the best bet. A conversation with Coach Bennett and a review of the upcoming training plan confirmed that this was the right call.

But I can’t take it any more – I’ve run a grand total of 9.55 miles since the B.A.A. Half. At first I really welcomed the days off, but that only lasted a couple of days… then I started to get edgy. My hat is off to those of you who have sat on injured reserve for much longer! I’m grateful to be able to head back out this morning.

What’s the longest you’ve gone without running because of an injury?

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Filed Under: foot pain, half marathon training, Recovery