This was a busy week for me personally, so the only time I could fit runs in was on the treadmill. I also took them slow and easy so as not to risk injury. Training is starting to get intense, so now's not a good time to combine high mileage with high intensity. This is the first time I've had a double-digit long run, and the first 20+ mile week, so easy does it this time.
My weekday runs were straightforward once again. I'm getting comfortable at the 3 to 5 mile distance, so there's truly not much to say about it. If I wasn't training for a marathon I'd start doing some speedwork and interval training to improve my times, but that's a project for another day. Right now I'm just churning out miles.
That said, for the first time I ran before work on Wednesday and Thursday. It was tough to wake up so early and hit the treadmill, but I felt better for the rest of the day afterwards. I'll definitely have to start doing that more often; a morning run is really energizing to me.
I skipped the cross training on Saturday. My family was in town to visit and we went to see Haley perform in a musical, so I just didn't make training a priority. I ran my 10 miles on Sunday morning once everyone left. I ended up taking a brief walking break at around mile 7.5, but I finished my miles which is what counts. I won't always be able to finish the long runs without taking a walking break, so I'm not losing sleep over it.
The week ahead is a rest week, so I'm looking forward to the lower running volume.
Thanks for reading!
Nick
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Week 4 Review
Sorry for the late post. Last week was busy around here.
At any rate, my weekday runs were fairly uneventful. Tuesday and Wednesday were treadmill run nights. I took it fairly easy since I'm still coming off an injury and didn't want to put myself even further behind.
I had some errands to do in Mobile on Thursday after work, so I decided to run my 3 miles at a local park. This was the first time I started to push the pace a little. I took the first mile at an easy pace, then kicked it up a little for the second mile and hit it hard the last mile. At 31:59 it's nothing to brag about, but I'm starting to feel better about my Achilles.
Saturday was an easy cross training day for me since I wanted to spend as much time with Haley as I could; I walked for 30 minutes on the treadmill. My long run was on Sunday; I ran my 9 miles in 1:42:14. I hit a groove and just cruised for 8.5 miles.
The last half mile was rough, though. It felt like my legs gained 20 pounds in a matter of seconds. I pushed through and kept my pace, but I can tell this is going to be a tough wall to break through in the future.
Thanks for reading!
Nick
At any rate, my weekday runs were fairly uneventful. Tuesday and Wednesday were treadmill run nights. I took it fairly easy since I'm still coming off an injury and didn't want to put myself even further behind.
I had some errands to do in Mobile on Thursday after work, so I decided to run my 3 miles at a local park. This was the first time I started to push the pace a little. I took the first mile at an easy pace, then kicked it up a little for the second mile and hit it hard the last mile. At 31:59 it's nothing to brag about, but I'm starting to feel better about my Achilles.
Saturday was an easy cross training day for me since I wanted to spend as much time with Haley as I could; I walked for 30 minutes on the treadmill. My long run was on Sunday; I ran my 9 miles in 1:42:14. I hit a groove and just cruised for 8.5 miles.
The last half mile was rough, though. It felt like my legs gained 20 pounds in a matter of seconds. I pushed through and kept my pace, but I can tell this is going to be a tough wall to break through in the future.
Thanks for reading!
Nick
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Week 3 Review
Week 3 was a recovery week and it couldn't have come at a better time. I spent much of the week sidelined due to an injury; my Achilles Tendon flared up again after my long run last Sunday.
I ended up skipping Tuesday's workout entirely. I popped in a movie and spent the evening with my feet propped up on the the couch. I replaced Wednesday's 4 mile run with cross training; I rode a stationary bike for 45 minutes which is about how long it would take me to run that far. I also worked on my swimming in a lap pool, but since I was working on form it wasn't sustained aerobic exercise so I'm not counting it towards marathon training.
My ankle felt much better on Thursday, so I decided to try to run again. I walked a full 10 minutes to warm up, then started out very slow--like under 5 mph slow. I started speeding up slowly throughout the run and finished the 3 miles in 34:30. That's pretty far off my best time, but the last thing I wanted was to reinjure myself.
This weekend I was helping my sister move, so I skipped Saturday's workout entirely. It just wasn't a priority with everything going on. I ran my 5 mile long run on the treadmill when I got back tonight, and it was a very pleasant run! I had the AC going, some fans on, and Pandora blaring. I'm not the biggest fan of indoor running, but this was one of my favorite treadmill runs. I took it easy again, but I hit my groove and enjoyed just running without worrying about collapsing from heat stroke. I followed it up with a chocolate milk recovery drink to cap off a perfect run!
Thanks for reading!
Nick
I ended up skipping Tuesday's workout entirely. I popped in a movie and spent the evening with my feet propped up on the the couch. I replaced Wednesday's 4 mile run with cross training; I rode a stationary bike for 45 minutes which is about how long it would take me to run that far. I also worked on my swimming in a lap pool, but since I was working on form it wasn't sustained aerobic exercise so I'm not counting it towards marathon training.
My ankle felt much better on Thursday, so I decided to try to run again. I walked a full 10 minutes to warm up, then started out very slow--like under 5 mph slow. I started speeding up slowly throughout the run and finished the 3 miles in 34:30. That's pretty far off my best time, but the last thing I wanted was to reinjure myself.
This weekend I was helping my sister move, so I skipped Saturday's workout entirely. It just wasn't a priority with everything going on. I ran my 5 mile long run on the treadmill when I got back tonight, and it was a very pleasant run! I had the AC going, some fans on, and Pandora blaring. I'm not the biggest fan of indoor running, but this was one of my favorite treadmill runs. I took it easy again, but I hit my groove and enjoyed just running without worrying about collapsing from heat stroke. I followed it up with a chocolate milk recovery drink to cap off a perfect run!
Thanks for reading!
Nick
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Week 2 Review
Week 2 was a good week for me. My weekday 3 mile runs were all under 30 minutes, and Wednesday's run was one of my fastest ever. I placed respectably in a Duathlon on Saturday; I held my own during the run legs, but the biking held me back.
Sunday's long run was brutal, though. I started at 9:00 in Biloxi, but by then it was way too hot to be running. I had to stop twice for walk breaks, which is unusual for me since I've finished a few 6 and 7 milers without stopping before. The silver lining is that my 6 mile time was under 1:20:00, so even with the heat and walk breaks I beat my 6 mile time from last week. However, at around 15 minutes the last mile was one of my worst mile times, so I'm not celebrating yet.
My plan is to start these long runs at night; I'll either stay up late or wake up very early to get them done. The thought of 10+ miles on the treadmill doesn't excite me, but I don't want to risk heat stroke either.
Thanks for reading!
Nick
Sunday's long run was brutal, though. I started at 9:00 in Biloxi, but by then it was way too hot to be running. I had to stop twice for walk breaks, which is unusual for me since I've finished a few 6 and 7 milers without stopping before. The silver lining is that my 6 mile time was under 1:20:00, so even with the heat and walk breaks I beat my 6 mile time from last week. However, at around 15 minutes the last mile was one of my worst mile times, so I'm not celebrating yet.
My plan is to start these long runs at night; I'll either stay up late or wake up very early to get them done. The thought of 10+ miles on the treadmill doesn't excite me, but I don't want to risk heat stroke either.
Thanks for reading!
Nick
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