setting goals – Masher Runs

We are officially a quarter of the way done with this training schedule, and I’m surprised with how quickly it’s going by. I usually don’t feel this way until 12 weeks in, but maybe that means the rest of winter will go by quick as well.

This week was supposed to be my scaled back “easy” week and I took advantage of it for almost all of the runs. I started the week with Body Fusion, but it was a lot harder than a normal. We had a sub, and she had a completely different set up than our normal teacher. It seemed to be a lot more strenuous on my body and my arms were sore the entire week. We also had less time for yoga, which is something I definitely needed.

Tuesday, I ran 3 easy miles on the indoor track. I was incredibly bored and was counting down the laps until I could finish. I’m crossing my fingers it’s my last Tuesday of indoor running, I desperately need outdoor evening runs again.

Wednesday I was back on the track and knew I wouldn’t last another easy day of running. So I decided to run a little faster each lap. My first “quick” mile was in 8:20, thinking it was a fluke, I tried again and ended up with 8:17. At this point I decided to turn it into a semi speed workout and go for one more, and ended up with 8:18. I followed it up with a cool down mile and luckily didn’t feel too worn out. I finished up 5 miles in just over 42 minutes, not bad for an accidental speed day.

Monday: Body Fusion Class – 45 minutes of lifting/abs/squats & 15 minutes of yoga

Tuesday: 3 Miles

Wednesday: 5 Miles- 1 Mile w/u-8:50, 3xMile Repeats- 8:20, 8:17, 8:18, 1 Mile c/d-8:48

Thursday: Off

Friday: 3 Miles

Saturday: 3 Miles

Sunday: Off

Total Miles: 14 Miles

My weekend miles started a day early, when I ran after work on Friday evening. Elayna brought her puppy Ella over to do a training run for the Love-A-Stray 5k coming up in April. The weather was perfect and the sun was just about gone, but it felt great to get some miles done outside after work. We ended up with 3 miles around the neighborhood and little Ella kept up the whole time. She may just win her AG in her first 5k.

My new running partner

Then I finished up the weekend with a short run on Saturday morning. The weather wasn’t as warm as Friday night, but it was still a decent temperature before the snow started. Unfortunately my legs and body just couldn’t get on the same page, and I almost struggled to get 3 miles in. I’m hoping it’s because I ran the night before so my body didn’t get to recover enough.

Overall the week was pretty easy and a nice way to step back from training. Instead of a weekly fact on Type 1 Diabetes, I want to recap each quarter of training to see how I’m doing and what needs to be improved.

Mileage- 57 miles completed, which is a little lower than where I should be. Mileage will definitely pick up within the next 4 weeks of training, so that shouldn’t be an issue. I’ve also not been running as many days as my training says. In high school and college I would run 6 days a week, something that easily led to injury. Now I’m running 3-4 days a week, partially because of free time, but also because I have FOGI (Fear of getting injured). Eventually I’ll get between 4-5 days a week, but I don’t want to hurt myself in the process.

Body Fusion- Such a good decision! I feel so strong and fit since I joined this class. Not only am I seeing a difference in my arms and back, but my legs are toning up quicker than usual too. I’m only hoping this will lead to stronger and faster runs!

Left: Before, Right: After 2 Months

Diet- As I mentioned last week, my eating habits have become a main focus this time around. I want to make sure I’m fueling my body properly, so I’m not miserable while running. I’ve been doing a great job of hydrating so far, and the food I’m eating is about 75% healthy.

Cross Training- Outside of Body Fusion I wanted to sign up for yoga again. However, something always ends up happening the same time as class and I never make it. I’m hoping over the next four weeks I can get back into yoga. If I can’t make class, I want to find time to watch my yoga DVD at home.

4 Week Goals

Run an additional 75 miles-Double digit long runs means more miles
Run 4 days a week, each week
1 hour of yoga, either at home or at class, each week
Get back to cycling
Hit 8:00 mile repeats
Raise $250 for Team JDRF

Who’s excited to have daylight after work again? Have you ever run with a dog, did they keep up or was it a struggle?

I seem to be stuck in between training plans. I still have at least a month until Columbus training begins, I honestly can’t believe it’s that close! However, I am just about 16 weeks away from MDI Half Marathon in Maine, my second destination race. And while I could use this time to recoup and take a break, I don’t want to. I’m so close to sub 2:00 and after looking back at my last two half marathons, I know I can find ways to break this. June will be my last shot at a PR until August, so I can’t give up yet.

I’ve come up with a few things to keep me motivated, but also keep me in shape through October. I may not be taking a break, but I’m up for new challenges.

I’m going to run lots of races. I’ve picked a few races to run throughout the next couple of months to keep my legs fresh, but also to keep up the high energy for Saturday runs. I have a few half marathons, a few 5k’s and an obsession of wanting to find more.

I’m running with a group. A way to keep my motivation up will be running with Second Sole. It should be a good tool to get me on pace to breaking more PR’s and a support system to help me in my super long runs.

I’m trying new things. I kept the same pre race ritual throughout all of my races so far, and they’ve worked. But I’m hoping I can find new things to help me exceed in my running. I want to run more with water, I’m sure I’ll need it on most runs this summer. I’m also hoping to change up my Gu flavors, sometimes I just can’t have strawberry banana first thing in the morning.

I’m setting goals. I normally don’t set a number of goals for a race, or for training, but with a little over 5 months until the big show, I’ve to set some goals along the way. My first one is *hopefully* the most obtainable, going sub 2:00 in the half.

I’ve come up with my training schedule for June, essential my base for marathon training: