Half Marathon Training - Week 4 and a RAFFLE!!

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This week I was coming off my shiny new PR high from the Bucktown 5K.  Being able to run that fast for 3.1 miles made me realize that all the training is paying off and that I really need to complete all the required training elements every single week because on December 2nd I'm going to need every single ounce of that training to work in my favor.  So, here's what coach wanted me to do this week:

Monday: 3 miles
Tuesday: Cross Train or Speed
Wednesday: 3 miles, start easy build to fast finish
Thursday: Strength
Friday: Easy 30 minutes
Saturday: 5 miles, start slow last 3 fast
Sunday: Rest

Here's what I actually did:

Monday: Bike 9.31 miles/42 minutes
Tuesday: Run 5.88 miles (W7D3 of the 5K - 10K program I've been doing)
Wednesday: Bike 11.91 miles/56 minutes
Thursday: Speed (10 minutes slow, 20 minutes fast, 10 minutes slow) & Strength train
Friday: Off (I thought I'd be running on Sunday so I took an early rest day)
Saturday: 5 miles with the TC Group
Sunday: Bike 12.4 miles/54:13

Overall I feel really solid about the training I did and feel like I'm making good progress.  The run on Saturday with my TC teammates did not go exactly as planned.  I'd intended to run an 11:00/mile but the first two were in the 10:XX range.  I struggled to hang onto that pace so the last 3 miles were slower, especially the last one because I ended up walking about a quarter mile.  I was disappointed with this but I was talking to Coach Bill who gave me some advice about speed training (it's necessary even though it sucks) and I really appreciated that.

Photo by SPIBelt (because I couldn't make it look this good)

Now for the fun part!  The fabulous folks at SPIBelt have donated one of their very fabulous belts to help me raise money for Crohn's and Colitis Foundation!  I got my SPIBelt for Christmas last year and have LOVED having it.  I've used it while walking, running, biking and hiking.  Pretty much anytime I'm going out alone I have that handy little belt with me.  At first I thought that it wouldn't be big enough to hold both my phone and my house key/cash/ID etc.. but I've been able to store my iPhone, a full size CLIF bar, car/house key, ID & Cash with no problem.  Even with all of that in there the belt stayed securely on my waist and didn't bounce at all!  These things are AMAZING!

In order to be entered for the raffle you just have to do one thing!  For every $5 donated to Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America (using that URL) you get an entry to the raffle.  Please share this with everyone you know so we can share the SPIBelt love and raise a lot of money for CCFA!  The contest is open now through next Monday, October 1, 2012 at which point I'll pick (using a random number generator) & will post the winner with next week's training update.

Edited to add:  I have a few more raffles to do and once you've donated you're entered in all of 'em!  So donate now!!

Good luck everyone!

AMR's 10 Running Related Questions

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The lovely ladies at Another Mother Runner came up with a great group of questions for us all to answer.  Have you answered?  No?  Well, get on it.

1. Best run ever:
I'd have to say Bucktown 5K (are you sick of seeing that URL yet?) because it was truly a race that I felt 100% confident that I could/would have a good race.  I think that was the first time I felt really comfortable with my ability.

2. Three words that describe my running:
Exciting, Fun, Release

3. My go-to running outfit is:
Depends on the weather - after all I do live in the midwest!  I prefer shorts and a t-shirt but that's not really possible all the time due to weather (wind/rain/cold/snow) so I have to be adaptable.

4. Quirky habit while running:
I'm not sure that I have a quirky habit while I run - I think most of my habits are probably quirky in general!

5. Morning, midday, evening:
Morning - I think it sets me up for a good day when I start my day by working out.  I seem to make healthier choices throughout the day after that first thing in the morning workout.

6. I won’t run outside when it’s:
Again, because I live in the midwest I struggle with rain/ice.  I'm also pretty clumsy and fall down a lot so any time when the path I run on is slippery I probably avoid it in favor of something else.  

7. Worst injury—and how I got over it:
Luckily I haven't had any other than just pulled muscles and sore IT bands.  Of course now that I've said that I'm sure that tomorrow when I run I'll do something stupid.

8. I felt most like a badass mother runner when:
Having lost nearly 200 pounds I think that pretty much anytime I complete a run I am a badass runner!

9. Next race is:
The next race I am registered to run is the Hot Chocolate 15K in November but there are others that I would like to run before but I just have to see because I'm struggling to balance half marathon training with the fun of racing.  As my mileage increases it seems harder to run on back to back days (racing one day and running with the group the other day) so we'll see....

10. Potential running goal for 2013:
I think running more longer distance races than 5Ks would be my goal for 2013.  I think I'd like to find some 5 mile, 10K and 15K races to do because I do like those distances.  Since I haven't run my half marathon yet I'm still on the fence about whether I'll do more so stay tuned for that!