night running – Masher Runs

This week was a bit of a taper as I got ready for my first half marathon since May! I honestly planned on running more this summer, but things just didn’t work out. I wanted to take it easy and make sure my legs were fresh for Sunday’s race.

Monday: 0

Tuesday: 0

Wednesday: 3 Miles + Abs

Thursday: 5 Miles

Friday: 0

Saturday: 0

Sunday: 13.1 Miles – Second Sole Made in America Half Marathon

Total Miles: 21.1 Miles

Wednesday I stuck to the treadmill since it’s now completely dark when I get home. I kept my pace easy and focused on Netflix so I wouldn’t be completely bored out of my mind. Nothing hurt and my left leg didn’t give out at any point, both good signs. I followed it up with some ab workouts and some good stretching.

Thursday I planned on hitting up the treadmill, but with the warm temps Mallory and I decided to run outside. The weather was almost too warm, but we couldn’t let the great weather slip by. We met at the rec and ran the developments nearby. Pace was easy and I only felt a twinge when going uphill.

Reflective vest, headlamp, hat with lights and a blinking armband….ready to run!

I decided to take Saturday off and allow my legs to be ready for Sunday’s race. I knew if I ran back to back weekend runs, I’d probably end up with some slight pain by miles 6 or 7 of the race. So instead, I carbed up with Chipotle and chugged water until I felt confident I was ready to race again!

Sunday I raced the Second Sole Made in America Half Marathon with a bunch of MCRR members. I knew I wasn’t going to try for a PR, but I wanted to focus on pacing. My plan was to stick to a 9:30 pace and see how long I could hold on. Afterall, it’s been over 5 months since I ran a half marathon, and only 5 weeks of running after I took my month plus break. Stay tuned for a recap later this week.

Overall it was a another good week. I feel much better now that I have another half under my belt, and I’m looking forward to my next one in just three weeks!

Another week has come and gone, so it’s time to look at the miles I put in.

Monday– Off

Tuesday– 5.2 Miles, 9:20 pace

Wednesday– Off

Thursday– Off

Friday– Off
Saturday– 3.5 Miles, 9:10 pace

Sunday– 5.7 Miles, 8:58 pace

Total – 14.4 Miles, 9:05 average pace

I started off the week enjoying the most likely last nice weather of the year. I met up with Mallory Tuesday night and we decided to run Roscoe and finish up around town. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned as we spooked ourselves out a mile into the run when we discovered the park was completely dark and noises (leaves and deer) left too much to our imagination. We decided to play it safe and headed to some neighboring developments to finish up the run. We ended up with a little over 5 miles, not bad for a Tuesday night.

Party pants for night running!

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday running just didn’t happen. I felt a little guilty at first, but figured I could make up for lost miles on the weekend and enjoyed a little bit of free time.

Saturday I took advantage of the nice weather (30 degrees and no snow) and ran into town. The run was chilly and windy, but I convinced myself I’d be begging for this weather come January and February when we’re in a deep freeze. The run was uneventful, which is always a good thing.

Sunday I was joined by Cynthia and Ladd as we ran Lester for some easy miles. We chatted the entire way, which helped to pass the miles. They tried to push me to run a little faster and to move out of my comfort zone, which certainly happened as we finished up the last almost complete mile at an 8:35 pace. Throughout the run I realized that maybe I haven’t been pushing myself hard enough, and what I consider a comfortable pace of 9:00 minutes, could move closer to 8:30 someday.

Off trail exploring

It wasn’t the week I had originally planned, but I still got some good runs in and I made every mile count. This next week should be fun as we finally have snow, but we also have some cold weather coming!

How do you push yourself out of your comfort zone?