No post yesterday – my first non-blogging day in 2024! Honestly though I really needed a day of doing as little as possible, aside from my run. I did go to C’s soccer game (brutal loss, ahh well) but otherwise assigned myself nothing and accomplished nothing. I did enjoy watching the Olympic Marathon Trials!!! So inspiring! Anyway, doing so little was great and I feel rested today.
Workouts: Wonderful Weather Week
(like my alliteration?)
M: Rest day! (I had to drop A off at her field trip at 6 AM so I swapped Sunday’s usual rest day with Monday). It was gorgeous weather so I did take a ~30 min walk at work during lunchtime.
T: Interval workout: 12 mi total with 2 mi x 4 @ “HMP – 5-10 seconds” with 3 min recovery jogs between each. 2 mi warmup @ 9:11/mi, then 2 mi at 7:39, 2 mi at 7:48, 2 mi @ 7:42, 2 mi @ 7:43. 1.4 mi cooldown @ 8:58. Again perfect weather. This workout really boosted my confidence. I didn’t know I could sustain those paces and felt far better than I thought I would running that fast. I’m sure the ideal weather played a big role!
W: Treadmill (Josh was dropping C off at his trip!) for 5 mi (9:28/mi) then 3 more outside at 9:40/mi.
R: Ran midday and it wasn’t hot – this is SUCH A RARITY HERE. 8.5 mi @ 9:03/mi. Finally did some strength – 20 min glutes/legs with Adrian Williams/Peloton + 10 min barre Ally Love/Peloton
F: Relaxed square run, 9:28/mi for 7.5 mi
S: 15 mi with 8 at HMP (divided into 4 mi x 2 with 1 recovery mile between). My coach never gives me time parameters but did for this one, saying to aim for around 7:50/mi. I started too fast but felt really good, low-mid 50s temps felt amazing.
S: Will be total body strength + barre/yoga.
Total 51 mi / strength x 2 (let’s hope)
My half marathon is 2 weeks away and I am definitely ready and excited. My lifetime PR (set in 2007) is 1:46:55, which is 8:10/mi (thanks athlinks!) and I think I might be able to beat it. The idea of targeting any pace with a “7” in front is mind-blowing to me but I think I could do it as long as the weather is decent. I feel like my cardiovascular system is finally adapting a little bit after many months of training (but also – the weather is likely a big factor. I just don’t get to run in conditions like these all that often!!!).
Weekly Reading
It was a “starting new books” kind of a week!
Peak Mind by Amish Jha, pages 1 – 120.
Wellness by Nathan Hill, pages 8 – 245. OMG I love this. It’s long but so far, I find it so insightful and bitter (but not in a bad way) and interesting and satirical and funny.
8 Comments
I can’t wait to see how your half goes! Running in ideal weather conditions makes such a huge difference. I hope you have great weather on race day!
I am tempted to read Wellness. The length has prevented me from reading it as I have to be in the right mindset for a long book. I started a light book called ‘you, again’ which is a retelling of When Harry Met Sally. I needed something lighter and it’s fitting the bill.
And guess what – we finally went on a date last night! Woo hoo. The kids did great with the babysitter. I thought the 3yo would have a hard time but he was totally unfazed. The 6yo started crying when she got there but rallied quickly.
So happy you finally got your date night !!! Third time was a charm!
Ooh, I’m excited for your race. I agree, it could all come down to weather. It could be 50 or it could be 80. I did that half one year and it was HOT- I felt so, so sorry for the marathoners. But we are having a cooler winter this year, so fingers crossed.
I think i love watching the marathon trials more than I even like watching the olympics. It’s so exciting! Our team looks great- but I can tell I’m getting old because they all look SO YOUNG.
You’re soooo fast!!! were you this fast before you had kids? what’s your average cadence for easy runs?
I’m 100% sure you’ll PR if weather condition remains favorable
I think about the same but back then there were no alphaflys haha. And I had no idea about nutrition, I ran a marathon w 2 gels…
Cadence is high for me. 180-190. For faster efforts over 200.
Also it’s all relative – compared to some
I run fast but also compared to many I am not fast at all!
Excited for your race!
I live in Houston and while I don’t run, I enjoy biking outdoors and the window between too hot/rain/too cool is narrow.
One thing I can say for sure after yesterday: even the best runners in the country struggle with the heat. I think I expected them to be too tough and fit for it to matter, but nope. Sunny and 75 is beautiful for lounging around but tough for running a marathon!
I hope the weather cooperates for you at your upcoming half so you finally have a chance to really test out your fitness!
PR seems (very!) likely if you get a good day, hope you do! My PR was 1:48 forever before dipping down to 1:41 and eventually lower once I consistently incorporated speed work. You got this, good luck!