Tag: 3M Half

3M Half Prep

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It’s race week and Sunday is the 3M Half Marathon in Austin, Texas. With only a few days left to go, I ask myself a few questions. Am I ready? Will I be able run the race? Any chance of a PR? The answer is no. By no means am I ready to run Sunday, I honestly don’t know if I’ll even be able to finish the race. After my two weeks required off from running in early December, I never really got back into my training. I was scared of hurting my rib cage again, and honestly I was burnt out. I was mentally done with running for the year. I had trained non stop for the last 12 months and my passion for the sport was quickly fading.

I thought I’d pick up my training again when I had 11 days off around the holidays. I didn’t. Instead I took time to visit with friends and family and finally give myself a few days to relax, reboot and get ready for the new year. Shortly before vacation was over, we finally got a pass at the local rec center. Bikes, treadmills, ellipticals and an indoor track were at my disposal every day. Here it is, just a few days before the race and I haven’t put that much effort into picking up my training. I’ve run a few times, always with shorter mileage, but never pushed myself into a long run. I never felt that urge until this weekend.

So what do I expect as I had down to Austin? Do I pull a DNS? No, I’m going to start and give it my all. If I learned anything last year, it was that somehow my body just knows running. It’s what I’ve been doing my entire life. I may be out of shape, and my training runs have been non existent, but I’m still a runner, and my body can still pull through. I’m not expecting a PR, but I know that I will be disappointed regardless. I let my training go and it will surely show as I step to the line on Sunday.

But with every disappointment, there is a silver lining. I know that I still have that love for running, and sometimes you just need to let it be for a while and realize how true that feeling is. What I’m most excited for is seeing friends and exploring the beautiful city of Austin. I’m in this weekend for the experience, not for redemption on my training.

If you want to follow some true rock stars on race day check out our 3M team:

3M Half Training Week 1 and 2

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It’s the start of a new training cycle, and I almost hesitate to share how my training goes. A majority of this training cycle is spent throughout holidays, travel plans, and a pretty busy time of year. But I am sharing it, more of a way to make sure that I do get my workouts in. I set some pretty high goals for this race so I’m determined to make sure that every run counts. I’ve also never run a big race this close to the beginning of the year, so the whole training through the holidays is new.

Let’s take a look at the last two weeks. These were all about the base miles. I took two-three weeks off after the marathon. I needed it, my body needed it. I was mentally worn out and my knee was in the worst pain I’ve ever felt. But I’ve been refreshed and now I’m ready to run, and I’m, dare I say it, pain free. Sure these past two weeks I didn’t get a lot of runs or a lot of mileage, but I’m back at it, and you have to start somewhere. More importantly, I’m running on a treadmill, and I think that explains all lack of motivation for weekday runs.

Week 1

Monday:

Tuesday: 1.5 Miles-Treadmill

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday: 2 Miles-Vail

Saturday:

Sunday:

Total Miles: 3.5 Miles

This week was spent mostly traveling to Colorado. And we did a bunch of walking, but luckily I was able to get a beautiful run out in Vail. Notice below the elevation difference….7000+ ft change is quite a bit and makes for hard running.

8000+ ft elevation!

Normal elevation

Strangely enough it was the first time I noticed my pain was gone, so I guess I should do all my running in Colorado.

 

Week 2

Monday:

Tuesday: 3 Miles-Treadmill

Wednesday: 3 Miles-Treadmill

Thursday:

Friday:

Saturday:

Sunday: 3 Miles-Outdoors

Total Miles: 9 Miles

From week 1 to week 2 I was able to add mileage, work on my weight training and get a few miles outside. It’s far from where I probably should be, but I’m working on it.

 

With only 8 weeks to go, I’ve got a lot to accomplish. Here are my goals for the 3M Half Marathon:

  • Sub 2:00
  • PR
  • Sub 2:00
  • Stay injury free
  • Sub 2:00

Notice a pattern? I want to run sub 2:00 so badly, you wouldn’t believe. It’s a downhill course so I’m hoping this will be to my benefit. It’s also in Austin, in January, so snow or cold weather shouldn’t be an issue. I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me, but there couldn’t be a better way to start of 2013 than running a PR!