header-custom

Home  +   About  +   Races + Recaps  +   50 States  +   DIY  +   Books

Sunday, January 03, 2016

Naples Half / Broke Man's WWU Training Week 9

At the end of Saturday's run

It's time for the Weekly Review linkup with Hoho Runs and MissSippiPiddlin. My training cycle focuses on the Broke Man's Winter Warm Up (7 miler) and the Paradise Coast (Naples) Half Marathon. You can read about each race in Week 1's recap

Week of Dec 28 – Jan 3
Monday: 4.1 miles, 8:51 pace
Tuesday: 6.2 miles, 8:39 pace
Wednesday: 4 miles, 9:05 pace
Thursday: 1.1 miles, 8:13 pace
Friday: First on the First 5k (recap)
Saturday: 9 miles, 9:19 pace
Sunday: 1 mile, 8:21

Total: 28.6 miles

This was a big week! Some distance milestones, a PR, and a great long run.

Monday's miles were on the local track. My knee was bugging me last week so I wanted to run on flat, soft ground. It worked. By Friday's 5k my knee pain was a distant memory.

Bear mural at the track
On Tuesday I did 1 track mile, 4 road miles, and finished with a final track mile (all in one continuous run). It was actually my fastest 10k ever (53:46)! I forgot my Garmin and had to use MapMyRun on my phone so there's a teeny voice in my head saying, "what if MMR was wrong?" But it felt fast and I felt strong, so while I won't count it as an official PR, I'll store it away as fuel for my next 10K race. Whenever that is...

My new alumni mug for my training group (Marathoners in Training)
Wednesday was another 4 on the track, this time at 7pm. Alex and I went to packet pickup for our upcoming 5K, then went to Pies and Pints for dinner. Afterwards, he came with me and sat in the car while I ran at the track since it was dark I wanted to see how safe I felt in the area alone. Turns out, it's a nice, safe place to run after dark.

I thought this would be my last foot shot for a while. I may be wrong...

Thursday was a streak day mile. The run brought me to 105 miles for the month and 800 for 2015! I've never had a 100 mile month and in 2014 I ran 550 miles, so 800 is a huge jump. Wahoo! After my run we chilled out at home. We were supposed to go to a party downtown, but Alex was under the weather so we had to skip. Instead, we split some wine and watched the movie Get Hard (I recommend) and some of the NYE stuff (yawn) before bed.


Friday was the First on the First 5k (recap). I had a pretty great PR on a non-PR course, so I'm excited to see what I can do on a faster course. We may sign up for the Easter 5k we did last year, but we'll see how it works out. After the race we watched the Ohio State bowl game and went to my mom's house for pork and sauerkraut.

Ninja escort

Saturday was my long run. I slept in and skipped a group run (last unofficial run before next week's big kick off, so I didn't feel too bad skipping). Alex had side work and said he'd ride his bike while I ran, so I spent my morning taking down the Christmas decorations, tossing junk, and watching 13 Going on 30. He brought home some food and we chilled out til the last possible moment (to avoid running after dark). We headed to the trail around 3pm and I started my 9 miler.

The Heritage Rail Trail was a new place for us and it did not disappoint. It's not too exciting scenery-wise, but it's flat and mostly straight and perfect for a long run. It was really cold and windy along some of the farm fields, but the sun made it bearable. I felt really strong, especially after my monster 5k. We stopped for a few minutes at 4.5 so I could eat my gel and have some water, but beyond that there weren't any stops and my last 4 miles were my fastest. I couldn't have planned a better long run. Historically, I only get through long runs because of my running group, so it was a great confidence booster to see I'm gaining traction on solo training!

Public art at the end of the trail (I am not flexible after a run.)


Sunday was a streak mile. I planned to stop the streak on the 31st, but then I ran on the 1st and 2nd... and I have to run Monday thru Wednesday next week, so I decided I'd just keep going until I either get sick/injured, really don't want to run, or I complete my next half marathon (February 14). I can't imagine running the day after a half, so at least I know I'll stop then!

How was your New Year? Did you do anything exciting?
What is your next race? 


12 comments:

  1. NIce work! I have run the day after a half, but just slow and easy--recovery, right?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is a good plan. I've noticed I feel a lot better if I keep moving the rest of the day/weekend (like if I go for a walk, run errands, whatever).

      Delete
  2. Congratulations on your 25 minute (exactly) 5k! That's awesome. The Heritage Rail Trail looks like a perfect place for a run. I wish we had something like that around here. I'm very impressed you've decided to continue your run streak. I think a slow and easy mile the day after a half will not be a problem for you at all. Thanks for linking with us Elizabeth.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! The trail was nice because I didn't have to worry about where I was going or crazy hills. I hear it gets packed with bikers in the summer, but that wasn't an issue in the cold.

      Delete
  3. I love 13 going on 30! Happy New Year to you! That's awesome about the unofficial 10K PR. Great fuel for motivating yourself and your brain to push harder in your next 10K race! I don't actually run 10Ks all that often except in a triathlon so I have no idea what my PR would be.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I ran my first 10k last year and ended up running 4 or 5. The distance is fun to race, but I haven't found any 10ks for 2016 yet. I can't imagine running one after swimming and biking! :)

      Delete
  4. Happy New Year! What a good week, your pics with the art statue gave me a laugh.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha thanks. I should have done the stretches before. It was really hard to stay upright

      Delete
  5. Don't you just love it when a long run goes well ?
    I am afraid to run in the dark and/if there are no people around. More than once my husband has accompanied me on his bike ! Love the ninja look.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha he looks so cool ;) I'm glad he likes to come along with me sometimes!

      Delete
  6. Yes! Good week - I hope your track workout goes well tomorrow. It's my most dreaded workout as well but I feel great after it's over! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a nice looking trail! Congratulation on hitting the 100 month mark! I've only done it a few times. I don't run after a half but I do better if it is where I can walk a lot. Thanks so much for linking!

    ReplyDelete

I read and respond to each comment (either here or I will visit your blog.) Thank you for stopping by!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...