Half Marathon Training - Week 2, Day 1

After Friday night's ice storm left the roads and sidewalks covered in snow, sleet and ice which made them impossible to run on, I had to reschedule my long run for today. For the most part, the roads were pretty much clear, dry in most places, wet in some and ice patches here and there but Wadsworth Trail (asphalt) was a different story. It still was covered completely in snow/ice/slush in areas where you couldn't even see the pavement. But I went on my run anyway.

The first mile and a half which was on Wadsworth Trail, was a bit tricky. I had to watch my step on the slushy snow and ice as well as jump over large puddles to avoid getting my feet too wet. Once I got onto the roads of Woodrigde, things became much easier since the road was pretty much clear. I did my usual run 4 min/walk 1 min intervals and at 70 mins, this would be my longest and furthest I've ever ran. I ended up going 6.21 miles...whoohoo...a 10K! Finishing under 70 mins is actually my goal finish time and I will keep it at that since race nerves and adrenaline actually make racing a lot harder than training runs.

Today's run felt great but the balls of my feet did start to hurt during the last 3 intervals so that concerns me as I will be increasing mileage for the half marathon. Other than that, I finished pretty strong. I pushed it the final 5 mins which was completely uphill and that took a lot out of me. I was quite surprised at my average pace given the wintry conditions and because I felt like I was running much slower than usual. Guess the hills on Thursday paid off.

Today's Workout: 70 min run (run 4/walk 1 intervals)
Weather: 40°F Sunny, Winds Calm

Half Marathon Training - Week 1, Day 4

I decided to do a 1.5 mile out and back route of the most hilly part of my neighborhood. The first mile felt fantastic, I made it up both the smaller steep hills and even up the long 1/2 mile gradual hill which is the first time I ever was able to do that without walking. I passed the park and then started heading up the first long steep hill. I made it up 2/3rds of the way before I had to walk. A short rest and then continued on to run another 1/2 mile to hit my 1.5 miles before turning around.

At this point, I was realizing just how tired my legs were becoming already. I was ready for the run to be over but had another mile to go. At 2.75 miles is what I nicknamed "heart attack hill", a steep hill that by the time you get to the top, you feel like you're going to have a heart attack and that's just walking up it! Jogging up it is an entire differently story and I only was able to jog up about half way. Walking up the last half on tired legs took everything out of me. I walked slowly for about 30 secs to recover and then jogged until my 3 miles were complete. Wow, was I tired! I probably couldn't of gone another mile.

Today's Workout: 3 Miles - Hills
Weather: 46° F Sunny, Wind WSW 6 mph

Half Marathon Training - Week 1, Day 3

I started out with a very slow warmup jog. I always tend to start out with a fast pace and I'm trying to keep myself from doing that. The first tempo run felt really good. I got into a nice pace and rhythm and kept it there. I focused on my form and breathing. The 2nd interval felt really close to the first but I was on the rolling hills so it was a bit tougher but still managed to keep a consistent pace. The third interval started with an uphill and into the wind and that wasn't fun. My body wanted to stop and walk but my brain said no so I pushed myself to keep going even if it was a slower pace. Once I got to the top of the hill and turned back onto Caldwell, it got much easier and was back into my 9:40 tempo pace.

The weather was beautiful. It was sunny and yes it was windy but compared to yesterday, it really wasn't that bad. And it sure didn't feel like 38° with the sun out, more like 48°. I finally didn't overdressed and had my running tights, a long/sleeve tech tee and a light jacket, gloves and headband. It was perfect and I never got too hot.

Today's Workout: 10 min warmup, 3 x 5 min tempo with 5 min recovery in between.
Weather: 38° F Sunny, Wind W 12 mph.