Half Marathon Training: 11 Miler Recap & 12 Miler Week!

Already Wednesday..where does the week go!

So last Friday was the BIG 11 MILER!!  I was fully prepared going into my run with new socks, extra bandaids and KT tape for my feet, gummies, powerade and a newly updated running playlist!

I made sure to eat continuously throughout the day and drink a lot of water.  That was one mistake I had made going into my 10 miler that I ended up regretting.

It was around 5:45 when we started running.  Legs were feeling good and so was my cardio. The run/walk method seemed to be off to a good start also.  Basically we were running for 3 minutes and walking for 1 minute.  I believe it was around mile 5 when I started getting some bad cramping in my lower abdomen.  Believe it was some good old PMS symptoms probably aggrevated by the running.  That continued well into mile 7.  I kept pushing through as I figured eventually it would go away as it wasn’t a side stitch where I needed to stretch it out.  Once that had passed I felt SO MUCH BETTER.  Getting past mile 8 into my “stretch” miles, I felt really good.  Didn’t feel too tired and my legs were still feeling strong.  Until I got into the last mile it wasn’t bad at all and even then my legs were just getting a bit tired.  Compared to finishing the 10 miler I felt 200x better. We did the 11 miles in 2:13:33 so on a 12:08 pace which I was very happy with.

This was a big boost of confidence since I had worked so hard all week to take care of myself so I could have a good long run.  And it paid off!  I didn’t do any other running over the weekend but did go and spectate the Chattanooga Ironman Competition on Sunday which ended up being a lot of walking and standing which my back didn’t enjoy too terribly much.

So now onto this week.  Since I was still a week behind in the training plan and wanting to give myself enough time to taper 3 week before the race, I decided to jump ahead to the 12 miler week.  Monday I really wasn’t feeling great.  I was tired, PMSing and just not in the mood to do more than 3 miles…well so I thought.  My legs were tight for the first 1.5 miles and I ran mile 2 WAY too fast (like under 10 minutes fast).  So this left me finishing what was supposed to be 3 miles in 35 to 3 miles in 32.  My legs were feeling good so I decided I’d just keep going and run another mile.  Then another mile led to 2 more miles and I ended up completing my 10k for the week. Not only did I complete it but I KILLED IT!  I completed it in 1:04:58 which is a 10:47 pace!  I’ve never consistently run that fast for that long before.  For comparison my first 10k race in June took m 1:13 to run. Now I don’t think this will be a normal “new” pace for me to run but it felt good coming off a long run having a very successful run.

Tuesday I decided to do my 35 minute run.  I again wasn’t feeling overly great going into this run but knew all I needed to power out was an easy 3 miler.  Things weren’t flowing quite as well as they were on Monday but I was able to maintain some speed in mile 2 which was good.  Mile 3 was definitely slower which was okay.  My mapmyrun stopped working around 1.45 and I didn’t realize this until i was into 2.10 miles.  So I reset it and just ran back to my car with that obviously being my starting place.  I’m not exactly sure what I did because the time was all messed up.  When I reset the last mile it wasn’t recording properly and told me I ran 0.07 at a 152:22 minute pace…yeah so just deleted that and recorded a 33:19 total and a pace around 11:06..may have actually been a little more or a little less I’m really not sure since I didn’t check to see what time I actually started.

Today is cross training so working out with my trainer and no running (my legs appreciate it).  Tomorrow the plan only has a 20 minute run so I’ll probably do 2 miles total.  Seems like nothing in comparison to what I have been doing!  Depending on the weather I’d like to do the 12 miler on Friday but will most likely have to wait until Saturday morning.  There is a set of storms coming through that is supposed to cool things off drastically (its 85 right now…) which will make for a nice morning run on Saturday.

Overall feeling good about where I am in the training plan being a little less than a month out from the half marathon.  So just have to keep giving it my all for the final push this month.

Half Marathon Training Day 4: Am I having fun yet or what?

So “day 4” of my half marathon training was majority cross/weight training with a 2 mile run.  I was unable to run on Monday due to a very long day at work which is why I attempted my 3 miles on Tuesday and scheduled my 2 miles on Wednesday after my training session.  I will be traveling this evening for a weekend in Atlanta so today is a rest day which I am happily taking.

About 8 years ago I injured my lower back and I’ve been having very bad soreness there all week.  Unfortonately I am out of my  Deep Blue Rub, very similar to an Icy Hot type product except it uses all natural oils :).  Thankfully my mom and sister have some which I will be applying as soon as I arrive at their house tonight!  I did just apply my Aromatouch, lemongrass and cypress which will aid in healing but it doesn’t do much for the pain as I sit at work.  I have my northface (why that was in my office I don’t know) scrunched up behind my back like a pillow to force me to sit up straight.  So far not doing much…

Tomorrow I have my 6 mile long run of the week.  I haven’t run 6 miles since my 10k about 7 weeks ago.  I’m nervous about it since my runs this week have been REALLY crappy.  Its just so hot and humid.  My breathing gets so thrown off and I end up getting a side stitch so quickly.  I’m planning to do the run on part of the half marathon course I’ll be running in November.  Apparently it is one of the most popular courses in the Atlanta area for long distance running.  I’m planning to get up at 6 and out the door by 6:30 to arrive at the course by 7am.  Hopefully that will get me going before the humidity and heat set in too much.

My training plan advises I go slower than normal pace the first 4 miles and half marathon race pace the last 2.  So i’m going to have to work very hard to not rush it.  In my brain I get this idea that the faster I run the sooner it will be over!  But all that does is wear me down faster.  Slow and steady especially for a training run.  I have the entire day to enjoy at the pool after I finish and a Luke Bryan concert to have a nice cold beer (or two) at tomorrow evening :).

I’ve got my race pack I purchased for the 10k and will put some gummies in there.  I am not going to have time to run to Academy Sports so i’m planning to pop into CVS and pick up some Gatorade gummies.  I’ve never tried them before but figure its better than nothing!

 

This morning I popped into walmart and purchased a 12oz handheld water bottle for my run.  I haven’t decided what kind of carrier I want to commit to for longer training runs and this bottle was like $7 so figured might as well try it.  If i like holding it, I may try to find something where I can hold my phone as well in a pocket.  I get very adhd with my music and really don’t like having my phone on my arm since its fairly large.

While I was in the fitness aisle my eye was drawn to a “cooling towel” it was only $8 so I figured I might as well try it since my tolerance for this southern summer weather is minimal.

 

Hopefully these items help and not hinder my running tomorrow.  I’m expecting it to be a bit of a challenge.  I’ve loaded my spotify up with new running tunes so hoping that will keep me motivated…and my Luke Bryan Concert :).