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Sunday, November 11, 2012

Half Marathon Training Update - Week 11

Today was my last group run.  I have terribly mixed emotions about this detail.  On the one hand it'd be nice to not have to get up at 5 am on at least one weekend day but on the other hand it is fun meeting up with the group, warming up, running a bunch of miles and then catching up with folks when we're done.  I suppose I knew this adventure would come to an end but I never thought of how I would feel when it did.

Training isn't over yet, I have two more weekend runs (10 and 5 miles) to do but will do them on my own since the scheduling doesn't work.  I have already mapped out my 10 mile route and I'm oddly excited to tackle this challenge.  The five mile run is already mapped out since I have been running that at least once a week for the last several weeks.  It'll be a little sad to do these runs on my own but I hope that I have learned as much as possible from my coaches to be successful.

Today's run was a 7 mile jaunt in Libertyville (aka the hilly forest preserve) that kind of kicked my butt.  A few days ago while stretching my legs I'd noticed a knot in my calf muscle and tried to work it out.  I might have worked it a little too hard because it started to bother me today.  I ended up walking a few times but Coach B kicked my *ss and got me running again.  I finished the run with an 11:28 pace and 1:19:18 which was 13 seconds faster than the last 7 mile run I did and 1:07 faster than the first 7 mile run.  Clearly this means I'm progressing as a runner?  I really just need to work on my pacing so that I can be more consistent.

My training plan this week was:
Monday: Run, 5 miles
Tuesday: Cross Training or Speed
Wednesday: Run, 4 miles - Start easy build to fast finish
Thursday: Strength
Friday: Run, easy 30 minutes
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Run, 7 miles

What I actually did this week:

Monday: Run, 4.27 miles (pace began at 11:27, finished at 11:16)
Tuesday: Bike, 10.98 miles
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Run, 5.33 miles
Friday: Run, 3.19 miles
Saturday: Bike, 8.05 miles
Sunday: Run, 7 miles

I had to flip my Monday/Wednesday runs around because of the 15K race last week.  My legs were not ready to tackle 5 miles on Monday but I knew I needed to get them moving so that is why I swapped those to runs.  I think it was a fairly successful week except for missing the strength workout.

Any tips for conquering the long runs?

3 comments:

  1. I love long runs with a group, it goes by much faster, however, I have done many long runs solo.

    My advice: Make a plan and stick to it. If you're planning on running at 08:00, then do it. Also, if staying motivated through the whole run is a problem, plan a route that you can't bail out on (I like out and backs for this, especially when trg for a marathon), or a route that is going to keep you interested, like a nice trail. Also, remember to have fun :)

    Good Luck! :)

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  2. One of my long runs tips is to update your ipod playlist, if you use an ipod during your runs. I know that sometimes when I am needing a little energy boost, new music really helps me.

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  3. My best tip for long runs is to run with friends. On my longest while training for my half, I had friends meet up with me along my route so there was always something/someone to look forward to!

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