Happy Sunday! Last week's training for the Buffalo Creek Half Marathon using the Hansons' Half Marathon Method was another tough but good one: SOS (something of substance runs) were all very tough, but I had the strength to get through them, and in general I'm still feeling really good. As each week goes on, I feel more and more confident for race day. I've never had to push myself so much during training. If I can get through these hard workouts at 5 a.m. in serious heat and humidity, I'm very confident that I'll have the physical and mental strength to push when it gets tough during the race.
Having said that, I have a confession: I'm starting to get into vacation mode, and I'm considering skipping a workout this week. This week will not only be a peak mileage week, where my strength workout repeats will top out in length, my pace run miles will at be their longest, and I'll have another 12-mile long run, but I'll need to do them all without the rest day I usually take. Because I travel next Saturday, I'm taking that day as my rest day, which I usually take Wednesday. I'm taking Friday off work to get my 12-mile long run in, so I'll need to move my workouts around so that I can do an easy run in between the hard workouts. It just all seems a little overwhelming. I have not skipped a run or workout in the 10 weeks of training so far, and it's tempting to think that one missed workout won't matter.
There's only one thing to do, of course: Suck it up, buttercup. I made a commitment to this plan, and I need to honor that commitment. This week will just be a little tougher, but then I will have a week of easy runs in a new, gorgeous place.
I hope to do my next recap at the end of the week before I go on vacation. Here's what went down this past week.
Week at a Glance
- 6 days of running with 3 SOS (something of substance) runs and 3 easy runs
- 43 miles of running
- 8 hours and 40 minutes of running
- 2 sessions of yoga
- 1 sessions of strength training--missed one day
- Stretching every day, once after every run and a second time either at lunch or in the evening
- Foam rolling five days (calves, quads, hips, glutes and hamstrings)--missed two days
Physical Health
- No injuries, aches, or pains.
- Still feeling fantastic.
Emotional Health
I feel like superwoman. My confidence is growing and growing. I'm starting to feel like there's no way I won't have a good race.
Diet
I'm wondering if something's wrong with me. I get very full very quickly and just really don't have a desire to eat much--which is absolutely not normal for me and is odd since I'm burning so many calories. For example, I might plan a baked potato and salad for dinner, but by the time I eat the baked potato I'm too full to eat anything else, or if I eat the salad first I'm only slightly less full. Then, a few hours later, I'll get hungry but at that point I don't want to eat a salad so I eat pretzels instead. So, basically, I'm snacking more than I'm eating balanced meals. That's not good, and I'm feeling a little bit of chub creep up. (My scale is still broken so I haven't weighed myself, but I suspect I'm up by a few pounds.) Then, to make matters worse, we went to Target this weekend. Damn Target's snacks!!! I really need to get a handle on things, put all my snacks away where I can't see them, and eat better carb-veggie balanced meals this week. Ugh, this week is going to be tough.
Thoughts About the Hansons' Plan
This was my third week on the half-marathon-specific training block
aimed at preparing the
body to handle the fatigue associated with endurance running. My thoughts at this point are: DAMN this plan is hard. Like, it's really hard. The SOS (something of substance) workouts are crazy hard. I feel really good in general, but while I'm doing the runs themselves it feels like this plan might kill me. This is my fifth week of 40+ mileage, and I do think the high mileage plus the partial recovery is making all the runs feel really hard.
The amazing thing is that I'm doing all the workouts. They're hard, and I have to push like crazy during every one, but I'm doing it. I'm still feeling really strong and fit and good in general, so I guess it's true that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
What's more, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter. This upcoming week will be my toughest, then a week of easy runs on vacation, then one more tough week, and then I start to ease down into my taper.
Weekly Recap
Monday
Easy run: 6 miles, 1:13:31, 12:15 pace
Labor Day morning was 69 and very humid. I usually don't listen to music when I run, but I did on this day to help make the heat and humidity more bearable. As usual, it took my legs about 3 miles to not feel so heavy, and I finished the run feeling pretty good.
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Athleta White Chi Tank Extra Long
Lulu Mink Berry Black Stripe Go the Distance Shorts,
Purple Fog Energy Bra, White Run Visor |
I did 20 minutes of yin yoga in the evening.
Tuesday
Strength run: 9 miles, 1:47:13
Okay, this was the toughest run I've done on this plan. It was 70 degrees, and I had 3 x 2-mile repeats at 10:40 pace on the schedule with half-mile recovery and one mile warm-up and cool-down. The pace wasn't easy (I have said previously how this being the sixth consecutive day of running makes this run very hard), and I had to push for pretty much every second of the run. I tended to run the first mile of the 2-mile repeat a little slower and then the second mile a little faster and would have liked to be more consistent. But, I did it and that's what counts. Splits for each 2-mile repeat: 10:28, 10:36, 10:37.
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How I feel every time I finish one of these runs: YES!
Lulu Heathered Black What the Sport Singlet II,
Ultra Violet Pace Rival Skirt
Slate Mesh Bang Buster |
Wednesday
A glorious rest day. I did 20 minutes of hip opening yoga poses in the morning.
Thursday
Tempo run: 7 miles, 1:21:06
It was 68 degrees and raining for my entire run, varying between a steady rain and a heavy, soaking rain. I was drenched, and this was another run that was hard the whole time. I had 5 miles at goal race pace (10:50), and the last three miles especially where super tough. But I stayed focused and just kept pushing and made the last mile the fastest. My pace in the middle mile was slower because I tried to take a partially disintegrated salt stick, and it burned the back of my throat and gagged me. It took a few minutes to recover. Now I know to keep my salt sticks in plastic wrap when it's raining. Splits: 10:49, 10:49, 11:08, 10:52, 10:45.
No picture because it was raining.
In the evening I did 20 minutes of strength training.
Friday
Easy run: 6 miles, 1:17:45, 12:57 pace
We were supposed to get cooler weather, and while it was 62 degrees, it was still 100% humidity. I felt warm and was sweating buckets as usual.
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Lulu Heathered Clear Mint Swiftly SS & Fringe Fighter
Athleta Dress Blue Relay Skort |
Saturday
Long run: 10 miles, 1:59:25, 11:56 pace
It was 60 degrees, rainy, and humid. I met Anna at North Park so we could get some rolling-hills miles in. We had jackets on, but the rain stopped right as we were starting so we took our jackets off pretty quickly. Plus, it still felt warm! Goal pace was about 12:00, and this was another tough one. I ran the first six miles with Anna, and even in the early miles it felt tough. When Anna was done with her run and I had four more to do on my own, I wasn't sure how I'd be able to finish. Sometimes on long runs by myself I'll bring music because that does help me get through the worst parts of long runs, but I thought it would be raining and didn't want to have to deal with my MP3 player in the rain. When I left Anna, I immediately thought, "Okay, now I can walk." All I wanted to do was walk. I felt like I feel at the end of races--very tired, a little nauseated (I'd left my second salt stick in my rain jacket when I dropped it off in the car), and just so done. Sometimes on long runs I'll plan to talk a walk break to take my gel, but this day I just wanted to walk because I was tired, and I knew that was why I couldn't give in. Instead, I pushed and pushed and kept on pushing and made my last mile my fastest. I was drained after this run! It took a lot of both mental and physical effort to keep pushing and to finish strong. Again, this was really great practice for race day.
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Lulu Black Mesh What the Sport Tee
White Hit Your Stride Skirt
Regal Plum Energy Bra
Grey Cyber Stripe Run Hat |
Sunday
Easy run: 5 miles, 1:01:04, 12:12 pace
Finally! A cool morning! It was just 55 and felt cool. Knowing it would be cool the whole day, I actually slept in a bit and started my run late, at 9 a.m. What a luxury! It felt so awesome to be running in cool weather.
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Lulu Black Fast Track LS &
Menthol All Sport Bra
Athleta Raspberry Relay Skort |
Happy running and working out this week! Labels: Buffalo Creek Half Marathon training, Hansons Half Marathon Method, weekend running, weekly recap
