I won't give in till I reach the end... and then I'll start again (comments welcome)

[azrivest]

I'm back into training. I've been mixing two training plans: my "regular" McMillan plan at the same time as playing around with the Garmin Coach feature with Coach Amy. I thought it was gonna vary wildly, but in the end, the two training plans seem pretty similar, except that the Garmin Coach plan doesn't have any workouts. It's easy runs at an easy pace 5 times a week.

Week of March 25th:
5/6 runs done
4h43 running

Week of April 1st:
4/6 runs done
3h15 running
1h50 strength training

I am now officially on leave from work for 3 months, so I will have all the time to run, strength train, stretch and eat better. I cannot wait!!

 

[azrivest]

Here's what I've done for the last two weeks:
Tue - 40 minute easy/3 miles
Wed - 28 minute easy/2 miles
Thu - Skipped
Fri - 10 Hill Repeats/1:20
Sat - 40 minute easy/3 miles
Sun - 1:30 long run with the last 20 minutes at HMP

Tue - 40 minute easy/3 miles
Wed - 35 minute easy/2.5 miles
Thu - Skipped my cruise interval run bcause of a 12-hour workday, and also we had almost 10 inches of snow overnight and I am done with winter running. Full-on strike.
Fri - Skipped again. Still striking against winter.
Sat - 43 minute easy
Sun - 1:20 long run. Remember that snowstorm on the Wednesday? Temps climbed to low 60s on Sunday. What?

Mon - We were able to find a decent viewing spot for the eclipse since Totality was about 6 miles south of my house. DH and the kids weren't convinced but afterwards they thanked me profusely for getting their butts out the door. It was so worth it, just for the 60 seconds we got to experience it.

Picture of the eclipse during totality at 15:27

Tue - 40-minute run before registration


Now that I am in for the 2025 marathon, my A goal for my June 2nd HM will be to go sub 2:15, but conditions have to be really good for me to achieve that. Beginning June can be pretty humid where I live and I'm a Northerner through and through. I'll do my best but won't be devastated if I don't reach my A goal. I ran this same race in 2022 and finished in 2:16:20 so I already have a POT for the marathon. My B goal will be to go under 2:20, just cause.

Which reminds me to go back into my registration and edit my POT!

 

[azrivest]

June 2nd Half-Marathon Training

Weekly Summary:

• Running = 5:45
• Strength Training (Lifting & Yoga) = 2:01

I was able to fit 6 runs in this week. It was amazing.

And so far, no aches & pains from increasing my mileage. I tried to keep all of my runs really easy except for 1.

The one workout of note was on Thursday, where I did a mile-repeats run. The plan said to do 4-6 x 1 Mile @ 8:34-9:12/mile with 800m recovery jog plus 3 x 200m Strides with 200m recovery jog. According to my DopeyBadger plan, 8:54/mile is my "Daniels I" pace, so a whole mile at that pace was really hard for me. I did my repeats on one of the biggest hills in my neighborhood, trying to mimic race conditions. I got 3 mile-repeats in (8:59, 9:06, 9:15) before I called it as I was starting to get dizzy. Still consider this a big win!



Happy running!

 

[DopeyBadger]

The plan said to do 4-6 x 1 Mile @ 8:34-9:12/mile with 800m recovery jog plus 3 x 200m Strides with 200m recovery jog. According to my DopeyBadger plan, 8:54/mile is my "Daniels I" pace, so a whole mile at that pace was really hard for me. I did my repeats on one of the biggest hills in my neighborhood, trying to mimic race conditions. I got 3 mile-repeats in (8:59, 9:06, 9:15) before I called it as I was starting to get dizzy. Still consider this a big win!

That's an utterly insane workout. One mile at Daniels I pace is insane unless you're a sub 5 min/mile runner. But then to do them uphill?!? Pure insanity. Honestly, I'm floored you were able to do 3 of them. I DEFINITELY couldn't even do one at the same relative paces and such. I mean even if it were a 5k paced workout, 4-6 x 1 mile is really tough for a 5k pace workout. Like Whoa, on that whole thing.

 

[azrivest]

That's an utterly insane workout.

I honestly had no idea. I'm glad I didn't push past 3. And I'm also glad I switched to your training plan... I don't want to burn out before the race

 

[azrivest]

Been having major FOMO about STS which I had to miss because of my DD's cheer competition. Seems it was hot but bearable. Meanwhile, in Montreal...



Doesn't make me too eager for my long run this morning...

 

[GollyGadget]

Been having major FOMO about STS which I had to miss because of my DD's cheer competition. Seems it was hot but bearable. Meanwhile, in Montreal...

View attachment 853774

Doesn't make me too eager for my long run this morning...

As long as the sun is out, that’s pretty much my ideal running temperature

 

[Naomeri]

Been having major FOMO about STS which I had to miss because of my DD's cheer competition. Seems it was hot but bearable. Meanwhile, in Montreal...

View attachment 853774

Doesn't make me too eager for my long run this morning...

Looks good to me

 

[azrivest]

As long as the sun is out, that’s pretty much my ideal running temperature

Really? 28 with a feels like of 19? You're tougher than I am for sure

 

[azrivest]

It ended up being about 39f/4c and I finished in my tank top so I must be pretty tough too after all when I think about it

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Anytime I have to run when it's below 40 I'm seriously reconsidering my life choices.

 

[GollyGadget]

Really? 28 with a feels like of 19? You're tougher than I am for sure

I was looking at the 48 feels like 43 and I’m a big wimp in the heat. I’d prefer to never run over 60.

 

[RuntheMouse]

It ended up being about 39f/4c and I finished in my tank top so I must be pretty tough too after all when I think about it

It was 39 and sunny here this morning for my run and I thought I was in heaven!

 

[Naomeri]

Really? 28 with a feels like of 19? You're tougher than I am for sure

My unofficial Half Marathon PR was a virtual run in 3°F

 

[azrivest]

My unofficial Half Marathon PR was a virtual run in 3°F

That's amazing, congratulations

I did not appreciate my run in the cold this morning, at some point headfirst into the freezing wind I really thought about turning around. A half marathon in those conditions is impressive

 

[azrivest]

Recap of my last 2 weeks of training...

Ive hit all my mileage and all my training runs. @Cabius I don't know how you do it with 4 kids and a full time job. I only managed because I'm not working atm.

Week of April 15th:
1) EA6 - 6.02km
2) EA6 - 6.03km
3) HM Cut, or 1 km WU + 1.5k @ 6:20 w/ 4 min Rest + 1.5k @ 6:10 w/ 4 min Rest + 1.5k @ 6:00 + 1 km CD
I got confused when running this run because, you know, runner brain fog and ran the 2nd interval at 6:15. I did these runs uphill to practice for the uphill finish in my HM race. At the end of the 3rd interval I was completely exhausted.
4) EA6 - 5.9km
5) EB8 + Strides - 8.58km
6) LR15 - 15.16km

For a total of 6 runs and 49.11km, Yeah!

Week of April 22nd:
1) EA6 - 6.14km
2) EA6 - 6.01km
3) Hills or 1.5 km WU + 3 x Uphill Ladder (30s + 60s + 90s w/ Double rest min RI between each) + 1.5 km CD
I ran this in the pouring cold rain. While I was in my cool-down, the rain actually turned into snow.
My paces got progressively faster, which is good? I did not finish this completely exhausted, so either a positive thing or a sign I didn't attack each interval fast enough? Dunno.
4) EA6 - 5.75km
5) EB6 + Strides - 6.09km
6) 12km M Tempo - 12.01km. Look at those splits, wow! I usually suck at having constant pacing:


For a total of 6 runs and 43km, Yeah!

I've also been doing a lot of mobility and upper-body strength, almost every day except on weekends.

And finally, my daughter had her final cheer competition last Saturday. They finished 4th out of 5 teams in their division, in which they gave their best performance of the entire season. The girls were obviously disappointed but their moms were practically crying we were so proud of them.



Even though they never finished better than 4th and didn't have a great team or a great season, my daughter wants to continue next year with the same girls, which I 100% view as a win. I much prefer she enjoys her team and makes good friends, no matter if she wins or loses.

 

[azrivest]

Recap of weeks #3 and #4 of 7 in my DopeyBadger Half Marathon training plan...

Week of April 29th:
1) Mon EA6 - 6.00km
2) Tue EA8 - 8.17km
3) Wed HM Cut, or 1 km WU + 2k @ 6:20 w/ 4 min Rest + 2k @ 6:10 w/ 4 min Rest + 2k @ 6:00 + 1 km CD
I had barely finished the last interval when I had done this workout two weeks ago. Maybe because I didn't go only uphill for this one, the intervals felt much easier than last time even though they were 500m longer. I was pleasantly surprised with how the workout went.
4) Thu EA8 - 7.77km
My right ankle started hurting overnight for I don't know what reason. A sensible person would have taken the next day off, but this week was the biggest week of my plan in terms of mileage and I really wanted to try to finish all the miles.
5) Fri EB10 + Strides - 9.11km
My ankle was okay for the first 8k, but then started to hurt in the last kilometer so I called it quits.
6) Sun LR17 - 17.18km
Went out with my running group and had a good time, surprisingly, mostly because there were only 4 of us for the last 5 miles. My ankle didn't hurt, but the side of my foot felt like it was burning.

For a total of 6 runs and 57.34km --> one of my highest volume weeks ever

Week of May 6th:
1) Mon EA6 - 6.01km
2) Tue EA6 - 5.63km
3) Wed Mini Prog or 2 km WU + 2 sets of (6 min of HM Tempo + 2 min of CV + 1 min of 5k + 2 min RI) + 1 km CD
Ran this workout on the hardest part of my half marathon course to practice finishing in tough conditions when I'm tired. Felt really good but I had to stop twice for traffic lights so it skewered the effort a bit
4) Thu EA6 - 6.01km
Went out for a really nice dinner and lots of wine with my work BFF on Wednesday night, so this Thursday run felt hard.
5) Fri EB4 + Strides - 4.26km
6) Sun A Girl Running 10k race
Executive Summary: I... PR'd? By 8 seconds? This is the race where I PRd last year and it seems I did a repeat this year. It felt harder, but mentally I persevered more (if that makes any sense). I can post some pictures if anyone is interested. This made for a very happy Mother's Day

For a total of 6 runs and 38km

My husband and I are leaving for our first week-long trip without the kids since Jamie was born in 2012. I don't know if I'll be able to get all my miles in, but seeing as we have nothing planned except relax and drink port wine in Porto, I should have plenty of free time.

Happy running everyone, and happy mother's day to all

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Congrats on the PR!!

 

[RuntheMouse]

Way to go with the PR!

 

[GollyGadget]

Congrats on the PR!

a bit jealous you’re heading to Portugal, I loved my visit there a couple of years ago.