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Monday, July 10, 2017

Milwaukee Marathon Half Marathon Training: Week 4 Recap

This was a bit of a crazy week!  I got all the workouts in but switched around a lot of them to accommodate the duathlon.  I was happy that I still got all the miles in.  This week was all about getting it done.  CHECK!  Additionally I was able to enjoy some other sports - I waterskied, tried stand-up paddleboarding for the first time and cycling!

Monday, July 3
Plan says: 1.5 mile warm up, 6 x 800 at 5k/10k pace with 400 m recovery in between, 1.5 mile cool down

What I do:  Set my alarm for 4:45 AM.  Even though I was in bed by 9 the night before, it was a struggle to get out of bed.  I eventually did, got dressed and made it out the door by 5:10.  I ran to the track, per usual, and it was locked!  I hadn't thought about the fact that our village launches fireworks from the track the night of July 3.  RATS.  I was going to have to do the 800s on the road (aka 0.5 miles).  Not a deal breaker, but I had carried some hydration and my phone (to take a track pic!) and so I was 1.8 miles from home and not really in a place where I felt comfortable ditching my phone.  Thus, I was carrying my huge phone in my left hand and my Nathan hydration handheld bottle in my left hand for the first three 800s.  It was annoying to say the least but the last 3 felt so easy after ditching my phone at my house and finishing up in my neighborhood.

While I was bummed to miss out on 800s on the track, this workout felt great.  I was VERY likely reaping the benefits of having an off day the day before.

1.81 mile warm up, 14:22 (7:56 avg pace)

6 x 800m with 400m recovery  (Goal pace for 800m = 3:05, although I wanted to try to push it to 3:00)

1 - 3:03 / 2:01  (6:02 avg pace / 8:03 avg pace)
2 - 2:59 / 2:09  (5:57 / 8:42)
3 - 3:01 / 2:25  (6:03 / 9:42)
4 - 2:53 / 2:09  (5:43 / 8:35)
5 - 2:55 / 2:10  (5:48 / 8:43)
6 - 2:54 / (5:51)

1.75 mile cool down, 13:43 (7:49 avg pace)

I've made it a habit to check back on where I was with these speed workouts earlier this year.  This same workout on March 13 was in the cold and on the road and my post about it reflects that I felt great during them.  Here were my 6 800s on 3/6/17:

1- 3:04
2- 3:04
3- 3:06
4- 3:07
5- 3:02
6- 3:04

So this is a big improvement (I think) in the 800s land and I think a fair comparison since both were "road" 800s, both were early morning workouts, and by all accounts, I felt good for both workouts.

Tuesday, July 4
Plan says: 0 miles

What I do:  No running.  My family and I were at the lake for the 4th so I got in some waterskiing and I tried stand up paddleboarding for the first time! It was fun! I look forward to going on a longer trek some upcoming weekend.

Wednesday, July 5
Plan says: 1.5 mile warm up, 3 miles at half-marathon pace (6:44), 1.5 mile cool down

What I do:  Thankfully my son woke me up at 4:50 to get out of bed, otherwise I may have slept in.  This was a tough one for me.  My legs were really tired, likely from the previous day's activities.

1.51 mile warm up, 12:25 (8:14 avg pace)
3.01 miles tempo, 19:53 (6:37 avg pace)
1.51 mile cool down, 11:31 (7:37 avg pace)

6.03 miles total

Thursday, July 6
Plan says: 4 miles easy

What I do:  I stayed up late to read so didn't turn my light out until 10PM and then randomly woke up to go to the bathroom around 2 AM and tossed and turned for a bit.  Point being, I did NOT want to get up for this workout.  BUT I had bought a Wonder Woman top the night before and was excited to wear it and legitimately THAT is what got me out of bed.  I switched Thursday and Friday workouts around since I had the duathlon on Saturday.

6 miles, 47:39 (7:56 avg pace)

My calf had been bothering me all day so I did the Jasyoga Calf Reset and Post LR Reset videos as well as used my R8 roller and foam roller to try to loosen it up.  It didn't seem to help so I put some biofreeze on before bed.

Friday, July 7
Plan says: 6 miles easy

What I do:  4 easy miles in the morning.  Again, my children to the rescue.  My alarm went off and I was like "UGH".  And then my daughter came in needing some itch cream for mosquito bites so I had to get out of bed.  Since I was up, I got out there.

4.03 miles, 32:32 (8:05 avg pace)

After the run, I did the hip flexor reset video from Jasyoga on my deck.  It was so nice.  I really should do more of these 5 minute resets post-run.  Again, my calf was bothering me.

Saturday, July 8
Plan says: 8 miles easy

What I do:  I switched Saturday and Sunday because I had the Pewaukee Duathlon on my calendar.  I know this sort of messes up a lot of the philosophy of Hansen's but at this point (week 4 of 18), I think the half marathon is far enough into the future that it shouldn't matter that much.

I ran 4 miles total as part of the race, broken down into two 2-mile segments.  Race report here.

Sunday, July 9
Plan says: 4 miles easy

What I do:  The only run left for the week was the 8 mile long run.  I had 4 days of really bad sleep in a row so I did not set an alarm for Sunday morning and was happy I didn't because I had very restful sleep and slept in a bit.  Because of that, I got my run in after kids were in bed.  My legs didn't feel very tired all day but when I started running, I knew I was going to have to slog it out.  My lower back was bothering me a bit but I finished all 8 miles.  WOOHOO!!  I also felt that I didn't really mess too much of the plan up because this was supposed to be done on tired legs and it indeed was.

8 miles, 1:03:53 (7:59 avg pace)

Plan Miles: 35
Total Weekly Miles: 35.89 miles running, 14.7 miles biking!

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