Tag: half marathon training

Flying Pig Half Training: Week Five

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This week was anything but normal. What was planned as a “get your self in shape to dominate a 5k” turned into “survive the week”. Almost everything this week seemed to be off. Last weekend, in between my non regular race ritual and hanging out in my home town, I went car shopping. This led to not one, but two week nights spent at the dealership. Between this and covering for three different people at work, my brain was mush. The last thing I wanted to do was  head to the gym at 9:00, have dinner at 10:00 and then pass out at 11:00. Needless to say this meant Monday and Wednesday were out on my workout schedule.

Tuesday, which was meant to be a rest day, that would be turned into a make up workout day, quickly turned into spending time at home. Between last Friday and this past Saturday Darren was in Colorado for 5 days and Mexico for 4 days. This left Tuesday night as the day he’d be home for 12 hours in between trips. Sometimes there are more important things than running, like spending time with a loved one and catching up on this crazy life.

Thursday however, was where I got myself  back into gear. I squeezed in three miles before yoga, and after three days off, I felt better than a normal run. After that I had my hardest yoga-lates class to date. We started off with some hard core Pilates moves and within 10 minutes, my legs were dead. During that hour, I pushed myself to the limits (as much as you can in yoga) and left class feeling like a whole new person. Sometimes all you need after a crazy week is 90 minutes of pure sweat.

Monday: Off

Tuesday: Off

Wednesday: Off

Thursday:  3 Miles, Yoga-lates

Friday: Off

Saturday: Sole to Soul 5k + 4.6 miles

Sunday: Off

Total Miles: 10.6 Miles

Saturday was the Sole to Soul 5 in Avon. I had been looking forward to this race for quite some time. I couldn’t make it last year, so I knew to plan my schedule around it this time. I was more excited that this race would be taking place in my hometown. Any time I can run on the streets I grew up on, I jump at the opportunity. I knew I also had 8-9 on the schedule, so I wanted to start off with the race and continue with some miles on one of my favorite loops.

My legs were pretty tight before I even got to the race, Yoga class on Thursday was still rough on my legs. I hoped by the time they had a few miles in them, they’d relax a bit and start to feel good. Not so much. My legs felt great for my race (post coming this week) and then they went down hill after that. I started my post race miles on one of my favorite loops around my old house. A little over a mile in, I started over heating and cut through a short cut to take some layers off at home. Once I did that, I started out again, but this time I decided to go in the opposite direction. I turned the corner and saw two chickens, a rooster and a duck crossing the road. I found it funny and instantly thought of the joke, “Why did the chicken cross the road?” The answer in this case was to chase me. As soon as I passed them, they started running after me. I must have looked ridiculous being chased by these birds.

Crazy wildlife

Crazy wildlife

After that encounter, I started to map out my route. I did 2 miles with my first loop, so all I needed was 3 more and I’d be done. Over the next couple of minutes, my legs started feeling tired again. Three miles isn’t a lot to run, but with each step my legs were feeling dead. I did a short out and back with the opportunity of running a decent sized incline on the way in. I knew I was home free once I turned on my street. Within a half mile of being done, I passed a yard with a Rottweiler. He barked on my way out, but didn’t really do anything more than stand up and walk towards the edge of the yard. This time, I was on his side of the street with cars coming in both directions. I had no other choice than to run right along his territory. He wasn’t too thrilled about this and lunged at me, clamping his jaws down an inch from my arm. I screamed, I panicked, and sprinted the entire way home. A car stopped and turned around to see if I had gotten bit, but as I kept running, they kept driving. I had never experienced anything like that, and was more furious than anything else. A half mile short of my goal, but I was done for the day.

This week was eventful, and led to not hitting the miles I needed, but I’m not too concerned. I’m halfway done with training, but I feel confident that I can run a good half marathon. I’m cross training, doing yoga, and hitting mile times I didn’t think I could get close to. I still have 6 more weeks to get a few long runs in. I know that these next few weeks will really count.

How was your week? Have you ever had any animal encounters while running?

 

Flying Pig Half Training: Week Four

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For an easy week, I took things real easy. I knew that I had minimal miles on the schedule this week, but I still wanted them to count. I also knew that I’d have a race at the end of the week, so I wanted to make sure I was prepared for what I’d be putting my legs through on Sunday. Monday and Wednesday I put in some pretty decent miles with a great pace. Knowing that I’ve been able to bring my pace down so much lately has really boosted my confidence in running 5k’s. I was even able to get some decent miles on the resistance bike.

My yoga class has a completely different feel this week, which was appreciated. It was split about 50/50 on yoga and Pilates, and I actually enjoyed it. I’m excited for the next two classes I have left and I’m even thinking of expanding it through April. The thought even crossed my mind to sign up for a spin class, but let’s take one thing at a time, shall we?

I still had the decision on which race to do on Sunday lingering over my head. I ultimately decided on the Lakewood Irish Jig and Jog 5k, something flat, close and early in the morning so I could enjoy the rest of my day. Between the race and my pre race plans, nothing was normal, but I’ll get more into that later this week.

Here’s week 5…

Monday: 3 Miles

Tuesday: Rest Day

Wednesday:2 Miles Run, 4.5 Miles Biked

Thursday: Yoga-lates

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: Lakewood Irish Jig and Jog 5k

Total Miles: 5 Miles Run, 4.5 Miles Biked

As you can see, really easy. This next week brings easy weekday runs followed up by my longest run yet in this cycle over the weekend. I’ve got another 5k coming up on Saturday, and this time I’m hoping to really break through and give it a great shot.

Did you race for St. Patrick’s Day?

 

Flying Pig Half Training: Week Three

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This week was exactly what I needed. I started out with an amazing run and was able to keep that momentum throughout the entire week. My total miles still may be low, but I felt great on every run. I wanted to make sure I got out of my rut and enjoyed running. Luckily I did, and not only did that help me with my pace, but it helped me with  my distance. My best run this week was Wednesday, I originally had 4 on the schedule and was ready to take on 40 laps on the track. I quickly noticed that my pace was sub 9:00 and told myself not to go out too fast. I fell into a comfortable pace and noticed that mile 2 and 3 were still 8:58. I only had one more mile to do, so I kept with it. Finishing up mile 4 at 8:49, I figured why not see how much more I can run, I would probably end up tired within the next mile. Mile 5 went on by and soon I was on to mile 6. By this point I was just above 9:07 per mile and knew I wouldn’t be going that much further. Once I hit 70 laps, I finished, but I was more than excited about my run. I had just done my long run on a Wednesday night, and ran mostly at a sub 9:00 pace, putting me at a 1:02 finish. It truly made me believe that sub 2:00 is possible this year. I don’t know where it came from, or how I was able to run for that long on the track, but I was so glad I did. I felt like it was exactly the run I needed. Plus, the stress of my long run for the week was over.

My other runs were shorter, but my pace was under 9:30, and I kept them pretty easy. I had hoped to enjoy a longer run outside on Sunday with the beautiful weather, but after I forgot to eat lunch, and running at 7pm left me with little energy to get out the door.

I also had my first Yoga-lates class this week. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I figured  my abs would be screaming at me. To be honest, I felt like 90% of the time was just stretching. I wasn’t sweating like a good run, and I was ready to go home before class was over. I felt relaxed, but I didn’t feel like I was working hard. And then for the next two days, I felt like I couldn’t lift my arms. I was sore in places I didn’t know I had muscles, and could completely feel the benefit of yoga. I’ve realized I’m more of a Pilates person, but I’m hoping to enjoy the rest of my classes (only three left) and become relaxed, something I haven’t been in a while.

Monday: 3 Miles

Tuesday: Rest Day

Wednesday: 7 Miles

Thursday: Yoga-lates

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: 1.5 Miles

Total Miles: 11.5 Miles

Low total mileage, but great workouts, very pleased with this week. This next week is supposed to be a low mileage week, but I may push it to see what I can do. I’ll be running in my hometown over the weekend, so that can only mean great runs! I also have the decision to make about which race to do Sunday morning. Early flat 5k or late hilly 5k…

How was your week? Are you running a St. Patrick’s Day race?

Flying Pig Half Training: Week Two

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This week was filled with ups and downs, both personally and running wise. I started out the week well, I was hitting my miles and getting a bunch of cross training done. Wednesday ended up as my best day. I gave everything I had on my run and followed up with some hardcore ab and lifting workouts. I felt great and hoped it would set  me up for a good weekend. Unfortunately that all changed Saturday morning, when a race I had hoped to run, ended up never being put together. Information was online and up to date, but when I showed up around 8:30 Saturday, all that I found was an empty parking lot covered in snow.

Where is everyone?

Where is everyone?

I ended up turning around, went home and mapped out a new plan for the day. I was feeling good, a little mentally let down, but I was excited to get 6 miles in. Within a matter of 30 seconds after starting my run, the weather turned for the worse and it was nearly impossible to keep my head up to see. I remapped my plan to try for 4 miles outside, and finish up with 2 on the indoor track and maybe get some cycling in. Right before 2 miles, I started feeling a pain in my ankle, so much and so rapidly, I turned around, cut out the back way and finished my run short. I got home and hit a low point, I kept beating myself up over a bad run, and then rebelling starting to figure out a plan to get it done the next day. When Sunday rolled around and I had pain in my knee, I knew it was best to actually take my rest day. My long run was a failure, but I was listening to my body, something I ignored way too much last year. I now know that I’m running on my left leg differently. I was babying my knee for so long, that I’ve placed other joints at risk. It also didn’t help that I was running on snow, so my footing was different than usual. As frustrating as it was, I knew I did the right thing by getting off my feet and taking it easy the rest of the weekend.

Monday:Rest Day

Tuesday: 3 Mile Run

Wednesday: 2 Mile Run, 2.85 Miles Cycling

Thursday: Rest Day

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: 3.35 Miles

Sunday: Rest Day

Total Miles: 8.35 Miles Run, 2.85 Mile Cycling

It wasn’t my best week, but I can’t go into another race being completely hurt. I’m hoping this is just a bump in the road and this next week will be absolutely great for my training. It’s my first week of yoga-lates, so I’m hoping this will help to perk up my attitude and I can finish the week with a smile.

Have you ever let a bad run ruin your weekend? How do you recover from a bad run?

Flying Pig Half Training: Week One

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First week complete. This week I felt that I was really starting fresh. I took the previous week off as an unplanned rest as I battled a bad  head cold. Two weeks later, and I still can’t get rid of the cough or the feeling of always being congested. Luckily, it didn’t hold me back too much, but I was definitely feeling out of shape. I didn’t follow this week’s plan exactly, but I did what was best for me in getting back into a solid running plan.

Monday:Rest Day

Tuesday: 1 Mile Run, 3.35 Miles Cycling

Wednesday: Rest Day

Thursday: 1.37 Miles Run

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: 4 Miles Run

Sunday: Rest Day

Total Miles: 6.37 Miles Run, 3.35 Miles Cycling

Definitely pulled the low mileage on this week, but I felt good. Most importantly, I was excited about training. There are so many new things I’ve started doing, I don’t want to leave the gym most of the time. Besides for running on the indoor track (finally a break from the treadmill!) I’ve been working on abs, lifting and cycling. My newest obsession is the resistance bike. It pushes me a lot more than I would on the basic stationary bike, and I don’t get bored sitting there. Like I’ve said before, I really want to focus on cross training this time around. I also want to make my body stronger as a whole, which is why I’m working on my abs and muscles.

The biggest perk from this week? I was able to run outside twice, and one of these runs was after work. Most of the time, it takes me about an hour to get home, so by 6:30 in the evenings, the roads are pretty dark and it’s safer to run inside. Luckily, Thursday I was able to get out of the office right at 5:30, have an easy drive home, and get in 6:15. Those extra minutes meant everything, and I ran a short, quick run in 20 degree weather. And even though it was short and cold, it was the perfect run. A nice reminder that my pace outside is still much quicker than my indoor pace, and that sometimes  all you need is a little fresh air to get your blood pumping.

I wrapped up the week with a “long run” Saturday through a new neighborhood and found my new favorite spot to do hill repeats. I’m actually looking forward to my hill workouts, something I never thought I’d say. And just like that, my new training plan has given me a new mindset on running.

Flying Pig Training Plan

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It’s a new week, so it’s time for some new changes. I’m starting a new training cycle, with new ideas behind it. And if you  haven’t noticed, I have a new background for my blog. I’m working on updating a few things and should hopefully have it revamped in the next couple weeks.

My big spring race for this year is the Flying Pig Half Marathon. I originally wanted to be out of state, but with such a busy schedule, I decided to stay close to home. And as much as I’d like to run Cleveland again, I’m excited to spend a weekend on the other end of the state and experience a challenging course. After running 10 half marathons, I want to take this distance to a new level. I want to push myself on speed and push myself on challenges. Hills of course being my biggest challenge.

So what makes this training cycle so different? After joining the rec center two months ago, I was able to open my training to more than just running. There are multiple ways of cross training including biking, elliptical and a dangerous monster of a machine called the stair climber. It has at least 5 stairs, and I’m terrified to go near it.  But this time, I’m actually going to make the effort in using these machines, and hopefully stay injury free.

What’ I’ve also added this time around are classes.  There is a full schedule of classes that can be taken through the week including yoga, cardio, spin, kick boxing and much more. I’m looking at adding two of these and possibly a third if I get the guts to take on more. In a couple of weeks I’ll be starting Yoga-lates on Thursday evenings and Yoga on Sunday mornings. My goal is to become more flexible and really focus on my breathing. One day I may add a spin or cardio class, but I’m not sure I’m ready for that quite yet.

Screenshot_2_17_13_10_45_PM

You can see that the weekday runs are pretty light. Between getting home at 6:30 and making time for dinner, the night really cuts into my chance to run more miles. And well, morning workouts just aren’t my thing.  I’ve also thrown in some cross training on the days that my miles are really low. My major focus will be on weekend long runs. I’ve thrown in a few days of hills and speed, but all of my outside runs will have hills, and speed will be the harder day.

My body is ready for a half marathon, maybe not today, but I’ve learned that I can easily jump into the race. I want to push myself this year and try new things. I want to stay healthy and love every single day that I sweat. Here’s to a new round of training!

What spring race are you training for? Do you add any cross training or classes?

3M Half Training: Week 4

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Just like always, this week didn’t go as planned. It felt more of an extreme with training than a regular week. The week started off slow with cross training mixed in, one day of short mileage, then ramped up and was just plain hard on Saturday. But this week also taught me a lot. I’m quickly learning that we need to join a gym asap! With one treadmill, elliptical and stationary bike in a small 10 x 10 room, it makes it hard to have personal space. It’s even worse when there are more than three people in the workout room, waiting to have their turn on the equipment.

This led me to biking 7 short miles on Wednesday. The other machines were taken and soon there was a line waiting for all of us to leave. This definitely gets rid of all motivation for a good workout. Needless to say the motivation to join a gym has risen quite a bit and that will be this weeks main goal. Luckily I was able to get a short run in on Thursday to prep myself for Saturday’s race.

Saturday’s run was completely opposite from the earlier workouts, it was hilly, hard and took a lot out of me. At least I know I’m capable of running a half marathon now, with my not so good training so far. But, I didn’t do the proper recovery routine and I paid for it, I wasn’t feeling myself until Sunday night. Look for my recap coming this week…

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday: 7.25 Miles-stationary bike

Thursday: 3 Miles

Friday:

Saturday: 13.1 Miles–Tour de Ashland Half Marathon

Sunday:

Total Miles: 7 Biked, 16 Ran

So a little bit of cross training and a little bit of hills. Not my best week, but certainly not my worse. I’m officially done with the 2012 race season, and will spend the next month reviewing my 2013 schedule. I thought a lot about what I want out of next year, and hopefully I’ll make the right choices race wise. I also broke 600 miles for 2012, not bad!

3M Half Training: Week 3

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This week I was determined to get back on track with  my training. I knew with the holiday it could be tough, but I also knew I’d have a chance to get many outdoor runs in rather than spending some time on my old friend the treadmill. I did pretty well, my mileage was higher than last week, but my week days runs are still pretty weak. I need to be getting some more mileage in. I also made it a point to possibly follow the Runner’s World Run Streak, running one mile every day between Thanksgiving and New Years.

I started that streak with the Hinckley Turkey Burner 5k, recap to follow soon. Spoiler: It’s hilly.

The rest of the week was pretty easy, did some miles out in the real country and even bribed Darren to join me for a run. We only ran a mile, but it was cold, and windy and I’m proud of him for sticking it out. Every run was pretty low key. I designated Sunday as my “long run” but I wasn’t sure how far I’d run with 3 miles being my top mileage so far. I’m also struggling with figuring out how long a long run is when training for a half. I’ve run 8 half marathons, I should know this. But it’s weird not going out with 14-16 miles in mind. I was able to manage 5.5, I was realy cold and knew I should have waited until the sun came out to run. I get nervous with the winter months that I’ll get too cold and numb and actually cause some damage to my toes or fingers. I miss those 80 degree days…

Monday:

Tuesday: 2 Miles

Wednesday:

Thursday: 3 Miles– Turkey Burner 5k

Friday: 2 Miles

Saturday: 1 Mile

Sunday: 5.5 Miles

Total Miles: 13.5 Miles

Overall, not a bad week. This next week I’ll get a chance to catch up on the miles and work off some of that Turkey. I decided to sign up for the Tour de Ashland Half Marathon to force myself to get in a long run. It looks brutal, but I won’t be running for time. Plus proceeds go to the Ashland Cross Country team. I think I can handle a few hills to help out the 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!

3M Half Training Plan

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I haven’t released my 2013 race calendar yet, but I’m starting my next training cycle for the first race of 2013. In January I’ll be running the 3M Half Marathon in Austin, Texas! It will be my second out of state half and hopefully a lot warmer than January in Ohio. I honestly hadn’t heard about this race until recently when Courtney and Melissa promised me this would be an easy, down hill course where I could not only PR, but possibly break 2:00. And if that wasn’t appealing enough, they would also be running the race as well. Let’s see…flat, downhill course? Possibly PR/Sub 2? 60 degree weather in January? Awesome Twitter/runner friends also running? How could I say no to this? After a few weeks of going back and forth, I finally decided that if I were to ever run a half in Texas, this would be it.

I’m 10 weeks out from race day, not my normal 16 week cycle of training. I’m not too concerned on the short time frame though. I two weeks post marathon, so I may have lot a little endurance and speed, but I needed time off to recover. However, I think I’ve still got it in me that I can get some pretty quick long runs in before race day.

I’ve given a lot of thought to how I’d like my future training cycles to go. I’m hoping for more cross training, lifting, and healthier eating habits. I also know that if I want to have a fast half, I need to incorporate more speed workouts into my training. Once again I’ll be using Runner’s World Smart Coach as my training base to get me where I need to be in just 10 short weeks.

This first week will be difficult, as it seems I always start a training cycle on a week I’m traveling. I’ll be in Colorado for half of this week and some of next week. Since we know how things started my last trip to Colorado, I’m going to be paying more attention to hydration than my running. Plus after two weeks off I know I’ll need to ease into running again. I’m looking forward to logging some long runs and even running some of those major hills. Time to dust off those racing shoes….

Interested in learning more about the 3M Half? Thinking of running it? Check out the race page here. As an added bonus, flights from Akron-Canton Airport to Austin are the cheapest they’ve been in months.