Indy Women’s Half Marathon Training Week 8 Recap

Tags

Exercise, Half Marathon, Training

Alright- this is it. Actually, I might do one more recap to show what my recovery looks like, but after doing training recaps almost every week of this year, I finally have about a 2 month break before I hit training again. I have great plans for the summer in terms of my running and physical fitness, and I’ll share that along the way. Here’s how my final week of training (and taper) looked:

• Friday (5/30): 30 minutes barre (while teaching), 1 mile walk, 25 minutes strength training (arms)
• Saturday: 3.1 mile walk (with a friend from high school who came to visit!)
• Sunday: 2.15 mile run
• Monday: 30 minutes barre (while teaching), 25 minutes strength training (arms)
• Tuesday: 40 minutes gentle pilates, .75 mile slow walk
• Wednesday: 20 minutes strength training, 20 minutes pilates (while teaching), 1.25 mile run (last run of training cycle)
• Thursday: 1 mile slow walk
• Friday: REST
• Saturday: 13.1 mile half marathon race, 1.8 mile recovery walk

The time I spent working out the week leading up to the race was about 1/3 of the time I normally spend, and I could really feel it. My runs were gentle, my walks were at a slower pace, and pilates was gentle as well. I wanted to keep moving and keep my muscles loose, but wanted to let them fully recover too! Thanks for following along with my training!

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Group Riding

Tags

Biking, Exercise, Training

In the fall of 2013 I was invited to join a group ride through a cycling shop in town. I’m not the fastest rider, and biking scares me a little bit (especially in large groups), so I held off on going all fall. Then I went into the bike shop to get my back tire changed (since the tread was rubbed off due to the constant rubbing on the trainer), and the guy invited me to join the ride. I told him my average pace, and he said they had a slower group that I’d be fine riding with.

I got there on Tuesday (this was May 20th), and was the only female there. Everyone else looked like they were solid riders, and I was sitting there in my running shoes and my white and pink helmet. I felt ridiculous, but also couldn’t help but laugh at how silly I was in the middle of this group of solid male riders. Luckily right before the ride started another female came in, and she stuck with me. She said her average pace was in the 15 mile range, and I said that right now most of my rides are about 14 but I wanted to get faster.

Within a few miles we were dropped by the male riders (see- I’m so glad she showed up or I would’ve been stranded out in the country on roads I don’t know!), but we had a great time riding together. Around mile 10 I stopped to get some sports beans. At this point I really realized my mistake. When I’m on my trainer in the winter, I usually went through about 16 ounces of water and no fuel for a 20 mile ride. However, the bike trainer doesn’t have wind resistance or hills, so it wasn’t as intense. I had grabbed about 20 ounces of water and a half a packet of sports beans before I headed out the door, and that was clearly not enough.

By mile 15 I was almost completely out of water and felt really depleted. The woman that I was with had forgotten fuel as well, so we were stuck. I kept trying to power through as best as I could. The last 4 miles I rode with another guy in the group who had also hit a wall due to a lack of fuel (clearly it’s the start of the season and we’re all trying to remember what we need to bring), so it was a struggle-fest for us as we got back to the shop.

These rides intimidate me. They are FAST, but I also know that, as I stick with the woman who is faster than I am, I can also get faster. When I got back to my car, I realized that perhaps my pace had something to due with why I sort of hit the wall during my ride: I was hitting 14.5-15.5 mph while on hills, with wind. While this is great to push myself, 20 miles at this pace when I’m not used to it at all, and only my 2nd ride on the road for the year, was a little rough. I’ll be back, but it’ll have to wait a few weeks because of my upcoming half marathon.

At least the next 20 miler I did brought a little redemption…

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Indy Women’s Half Marathon Training Week 7 Recap

Tags

Exercise, Half Marathon, Training

First of all- Happy June! Seriously- how are we in the 6th month of the year already? I feel like this year has flown so quickly- yikes! I wish it would slow down a bit!

Well, this training cycle has been a short(er) one, but I can’t believe that it’s almost over! The next time I post a training recap, my race will be over. EEK! This week was pretty solid on the fitness front, but tapering didn’t quite happen the way that I wanted it to. I cut down on running but increased walking mileage, which I will force myself to decrease next week too. I seriously need to buckle down a bit more to let my legs rest up! Here’s how the week looked:

• Friday (5/23): .5 mile walk, 30 minute strength training (arms)
• Saturday: 4.5 mile walk
• Sunday: 3.6 mile run (5k Memorial Day Race plus an extra .5 cooldown), .75 mi walk
• Monday: 3.5 mile walk, 20 minutes core/abs
• Tuesday: 21.5 mile bike, 2.25 mile walk
• Wednesday: 20 minutes pilates (while teaching), strength training (arms)
• Thursday: REST

So, there you have it! I got in an extra lifting session this week, which was nice! Now that my brother isn’t here anymore, I’m left to lifting on my own. I’m trying to keep up the intensity I lifted at with him, and am trying not to take a break from it. I know if I stop I won’t pick it back up in the same way since he isn’t here.

Now it’s your turn to share! Do you lift? If so- do you do it by yourself, with others, or by following a pre-written plan?

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Indy Women’s Half Marathon Training Week 6 Recap

Tags

Exercise, Half Marathon, Training

This is my final hard workout week, as next week starts taper time. Oh boy. I’m still hoping that race day is nice and cool so I can run fast (for me) and not run one of my slowest half times. We’ll see- that’s definitely not something I can control 🙂 Here’s how the week looked:

• Friday (5/16): 30 minutes pilates
• Saturday: 9.8 mile run
• Sunday: 40 minutes pilates, 13.75 mile bike (first on the road for the season), 1.75 mile walk
• Monday:40 minute strength training (arms & abs with my brother!), 4 mile walk
• Tuesday: 23 mile bike ride (my first group ride!)
• Wednesday: REST (active rest) 1 mile walk (needed to rest but needed to try to move my legs a bit after my ride the day before)
• Thursday: Active REST- 1.8 mile walk (nice and slow with a co-worker at lunch- awesome way to enjoy the sunshine!)

So there’s the week. Not only did I hit my peak running mileage, but this is pretty much the highest number of miles biked in any given week since sometime in late summer/early fall. I’m trying to keep my legs moving (nice, slow walks) to avoid them getting stiff, and adding pilates in there to keep myself stretched out! I’m definitely looking forward to some more light pilates during taper to keep me nice and loose! Good thing I made homemade peanut butter cups to keep me fueled this week 🙂

Now it’s your turn to share! What was your favorite exercise for the week?

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First Bike Ride Of The Season

Tags

Biking, Training

On Saturday I finally sucked it up and took my bike to the shop to get my back tire changed. Because I’ve been riding on my trainer since the start of December, my back tire has been rubbed down such that it wouldn’t be that safe to ride out on the road. (I just checked and I rode about 462 miles on my trainer from December-mid May).

While I was excited to finally hit the road biking again, I was also a little nervous. Biking has been a nerve-wracking thing for me. These nerves kept me from biking for 11 years, but biking has also been a place where I’ve gotten to practice overcoming fears. Biking has led to exciting moments, like my first triathlon, as well as my second triathlon, and a great 40 mile ride at the end of last summer. To me, biking feels like fear, but it also feels like freedom.

So, while I was nervous, I knew I just needed to get back out there to re-discover why I loved it so much. The first three miles felt a little tough. I wasn’t used to standing up while going over bumps, I wasn’t used to biking against the wind, and I had just done my long run 24 hours before, so my legs were a bit tired.

By mile 4, I’m pretty sure that a smile had found its way to my face, and I felt like I was flying again. I forgot that biking gives a sense of freedom that running and walking can’t give- to fly down the road with the wind feels awesome.

All winter I wondered if I was going to lose any of my biking fitness over the months; I wondered if my pace would drop back down again. When I finished the ride, I was happy to see that, even with tired legs, my pace matched my two fastest rides last year, which happened right before I switched back to my trainer.

So, I’d say that I’m happy with the way I trained over the winter, and I’m happy where I’m at going into the summer. My goal for the summer is to try and pick my pace up 2 mph or so for many of my bike rides- we’ll see how it goes!

Now it’s your turn to share! Have you done anything lately that’s scared you?

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My Best Long Run I’ve Had {and 9.8 miles}

Tags

Half Marathon, Running, Training

Saturday I ended up going on what turned out to be probably my best long training run I’ve ever done! I woke up at 7:30 intending to head out within an hour for my run, but a friend ended up stopping by, so I didn’t start running until around 10. Luckily, unlike last week, it was much cooler. We had a few days where the temperature dropped from the 70s and 80s back down to the 40s, so it was absolutely fantastic running weather. Although the weather provided a great environment for running, I know that my half marathon won’t be so chilly, so part of me was hopping for some hotter weather to get myself used to running in that weather. As this was my last long run before my half, I guess my run last week is the only real race that’ll give me that weather!

I felt pretty great right off the bat on my run, which is more rare than not. It often takes me 1-2 miles to really warm up and get going. Around the 3 mile mark I heard a text come through, so I pulled out my phone on a walk break to text my cousin back. I realized at that point I was holding an 11:03 pace- WOAH. I don’t really ever hold that pace during long runs, even during a race! I pulled my phone out right past mile 6 to text my cousin again, and was still hovering right around 11:06 pace. That felt really awesome, and right on par with my 9.8 miler back in March.

Right around mile 8 I could tell that my pace had slowed slightly- I was really fighting for it, but it felt great! I took a small handful of sports beans at mile 4, and had about 10 ounces of nuun on the run. I’ve been carrying my handheld on my longer runs the last few weeks just to get my body used to it. Depending on how hot race day is, I may want to carry it with me. To replicate race day, I decided to run with it. I thought it might bother me to hold it for so many miles, but it didn’t at all!

I came back to the driveway and saw this:

BAM- AWESOME run and a full 1 minute 25 second per mile pace faster than my run last week. As I had mentioned in the spring, I had been having the start of leg cramps on my runs, but since I’ve been regularly stretching my calf muscles on an almost daily basis, this hasn’t been a problem. I didn’t have any pain or cramps at all, despite my faster than normal pace. I also down a salt packet before each of my runs.

This run was a truly excellent run. I listened to podcasts, enjoyed the flowers blooming and the squirrels and birds hopping around, and ran with a smile on my face most of the time. This is the type of run that keeps me coming back…

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Indy Women’s Half Marathon Training Week 5 Recap

Tags

Exercise, Half Marathon, Training

Week 5 down! BAM. Only one more actual week of training before taper begins for my next half marathon! This week felt pretty solid. Allergies have been a bit more sleepy than normal (but I’m sleeping worse than normal too due to them), so I know that’s made work outs feel just a bit more difficult (this got much better later in the week when the rainy came…). Here’s how the week looked:

• Friday (5/9): REST
• Saturday: 8.85 mi run, 1.5 mi walk
• Sunday: 1 hour pilates, 1.75 mi walk
• Monday: 45 mins strength training (arms & core), 1.25 mi walk
• Tuesday: taught barre class, 1.1 mi walk, 12 mi bike ride
• Wednesday: 9.5 mi bike ride
• Thursday: 15 mins pilates (while teaching class)- mostly REST day- just wanted to get in a few good stretches

Pretty good week overall, with lots of good cross training. I’m stretching almost every day to try to keep myself from getting too tight in any places. My left hamstring has been a little tighter than normal the last few weeks, but I stretch it out daily and that’s been that. I hope it stays that way 🙂

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Running According To Effort {and 8.8 miles}

Tags

Running, Training

Saturday morning I was up and on the road by about 9 am to run. My plan was to get out earlier, but I ended up being called out on Friday evening for a work situation, and didn’t get to bed until much later than I had hoped. I ate my normal pre-run breakfast, followed by my packet of salt to try to help avoid cramps on the run. While I wasn’t really down about my run, I knew it was likely to be tough- this is the hottest run I’d had since sometime in early fall (in the 60s with humidity above 50%), the sun was out without any clouds, and my allergies had been pretty bad that week (but the flowering trees are totally worth it!). Even with all that, I was excited to hit the road and run.

On my 7 miler last week my IT bands had flared up a tiny bit (I had to stop a few times at the end to stretch them out, which hasn’t happened in my training since 2013), so I had no idea what the run would look like. I had about 8.5 miles in my mind, and hoped I could hit that. I filled my handheld 16 ounce water bottle with nuun and brought half a packet of sports beans with me.

Given everything I mentioned above, I decided to not watch my pace during my run, but instead run based on effort. I know that mentally I can start falling apart when I can’t keep my pace where I want it to be (and I knew that today was not a day where my pace would be on point), so I thought I’d do better running based on how I felt.

Around mile 3 I wondered how I could ever make it 5 more miles- I was definitely feeling spent. Around mile 4 I hit some shade, and that definitely helped a bit. At mile 5.5 I popped in a building to get some cold water from the drinking fountain, and that definitely perked me up a it. Those last miles, while hot, felt much easier.

The funny thing is that my miles were about 1:15 slower than normal, but my effort felt more difficult than normal. If I had been watching my pace, I would’ve been pretty down on myself. Instead, I tried to take how I felt in stride, proud of myself that I was continuing to push myself as I could. I ended up going 8.85 miles instead of the 8.5 I had planned because I just wasn’t quite ready to stop running yet. Beyond the difficulty breathing due to allergies and needing to slow down due to the heat, my body felt great- and no IT band pain at all!

This weekend’s run was a great reminder as we head into summer- our pace generally has to change, and that’s perfectly fine. Running based on effort instead of numbers is an excellent way to combat the heat and humidity of summer!

Now it’s your turn to share! How does your running change in the summer? Any warm-weather running tips?

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Indy Women’s Half Marathon Training Week 4 Recap

Tags

Exercise, Half Marathon, Training

Another week of training complete. This week was absolutely beautiful, and I ended up going outside quite a bit. Sometimes my clients want to go outside for the hour, so we might walk, but of course it’s at a slow pace (really it’s activity more than exercise). Either way, I’ve been excited to get outside a bit more in the 80 degree sunshine! Here’s how the week looked:

• Friday (5/2): REST
• Saturday: 7.25 mile run
• Sunday: 45 minutes pilates, 1.5 mi walk
• Monday: 45 minutes strength training (arms w/a bit of abs at the end)
• Tuesday: taught barre class, .85 mi walk (lunch stroll), 9.5 mi bike
• Wednesday: 3.2 mile walk
• Thursday:9.5 mile bike, 2.9 mile walk

My run on Saturday was really great, but the last mile or so I had some IT band pain (such that I had to stop twice to stretch it out a bit). I haven’t had IT band pain like that since the fall, so it had me a bit worried. I used my stick quite a bit this week 🙂 I called a friend on Wednesday and headed out for a walk after work- it was great to be able to catch up and get some time in the sunshine!

Overall the week felt really great, and I enjoyed the schedule that I had throughout the week. Pilates and regularly stretching my calf muscles has been critical 🙂 I’m a month out from race day now- what a short time in between these races!

Happy Mother’s Day to all you mamas out there!

Now it’s your turn to share! What’s one thing you’re doing that you really like in training right now? Any mother’s day plans?

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Indy Women’s Half Marathon Training Week 3 Recap

Tags

Exercise, Half Marathon, Training

First of all, happy star wars day, and may the fourth be with you! Last year I ran the Indy Mini on May 4th, and they had some star wars characters at one point on the course, which was fun 🙂

After two weeks of recovery from my fifth half marathon, this week jumped back into full on training! My body feels totally unlike it normally does after half marathons, and I feel like it’s recovered much faster than normal. That being said, my piriformis has flared up a bit, which is annoying. At this point I’m not concerned. The last two times this happened (October and January) it was fine in a week or two. I’m stretching it out and hoping for the best. Here’s what the week looked like:

• Friday (4/25): 6.3 mile run
• Saturday: 29 mile bike
• Sunday: 45 minutes pilates, 1.75 mi walk
• Monday: REST
• Tuesday: 30 minutes barre, 1.35 mi walk
• Wednesday: 45 minute strength training (arms), .8 mi walk
• Thursday: 45 minutes pilates

Overall the week felt pretty solid, and I had a great time working out! I’ve been icing, foam rolling, and stretching almost daily, and I’m hoping that’ll help keep me loose and uninjured!

Now it’s your turn to share! What’s one thing you’re focusing on with your health this week?