Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Run Less Run Faster: Week Thirteen

Let's start up front right away again. This week didn't quite go as planned, but I dealt with some obstacles that came my way and actually listened to my body on my long run, so I'm going to count it as a win.


I will admit that not being able to go the full 20 miles on Saturday has really screwed with my confidence. My legs felt tired from the get go, and my breathing was labored. But I made myself take a step back and honestly evaluate it. My run on Thursday involved 10 miles in sugar snow and really took a toll, the snow on Saturday had turned even more powdery, and I think my iron is low since it's that time of the month.

All of those things are either fixable (I've started taking my iron supplement again) or just won't be a factor at Myrtle Beach. (If I have to run through snow in South Carolina, I will probably just go drown myself in the ocean instead.)


I'm going to wait to see how this week goes before making the final call on my time goal for race, since my marathon pace tempo run Thursday honestly went great. There is one section of the trail kept completely clear, and, as much as I don't want to run laps on it, I've committed to doing so Saturday if that's what I need to to properly evaluate my fitness.

Monday, January 19
1000 yd swim


This workout brought me back to 20 minutes of continuous swimming. It was honestly harder than last time because I knew I could do it, so I got restless and bored.

Tuesday, January 20
7 mi easy + lift


My start group celebrated our one year anniversary at work (woohoo!) with Chinese for lunch. Totally worth doubling up my workouts in the evening. I thought seven miles on the track would be bad, but I broke it up as 50-25-25 in my mind, and it surprisingly went pretty quickly.

It's honestly nice to understand how to do my job now.
Wednesday, January 21
Love Yourself


I wasn't able to swim at lunch, so I did a new-to-me yoga video in the evening. It was incredibly gentle and almost felt like a waste of time, but then I slept amazingly well that night, so apparently it was exactly what my mind needed.

Thursday, January 22
lunch - lift
PM - 1 mi WU, 8 mi @ 10:53, 1 mi CD

I was amazed how quickly this run went by, and I only had some minor fatigue at the end. To me that's a very good indicator of my fitness being in the right place a few weeks out from my goal race. And let me just say, it's so weird to think about how hard running 4 miles was for me a couple years ago, to now being able to say 10 miles is "easy."

Friday, January 23
rest


I felt totally wiped from running the day before, so I tucked myself in early and slept for 11 hours. Magical.

Saturday, January 24
14.5 mi long @ 11:24


I won't rehash too much what I said above, but this run was rough. My quads got very tight, and my low back started absolutely aching, so I think cutting the run short was the right thing to do.

Sunday, January 25
Slow Flow Yoga


I didn't do a very good job of quieting my mind in class, but I felt much more relaxed and calm afterwards. I feel like I've finally gotten the hang of the flow we move through. (Only took nine classes! I must be some kind of prodigy.)

Run Miles: 31.5  
Swim Miles: .6
Lifting Time: 46 mins
Yoga Time: 1 hr, 33 mins
Total Time: 8:43

This coming week officially marks the start of taper. Even with the three week layoff for my injury, this training cycle has flown by! I remember when my countdown at work for Myrtle Beach was over 100 days. Today it's down to 18. I will have some final thoughts to share on RLRF when it's all said and done, but at the very least I don't feel burned out. (Very important with all the marathons I have planned!)


I'm looking forward to only having seven miles to run Thursday, and only 13 miles for my long run Saturday! (Ok, I didn't run that much further this past Saturday, but I procrastinate more the longer the run will be.) We're supposed to get some snow Thursday, but nothing like the East Coast, so hopefully conditions will stay pleasant.


Time to soak up every minute of training before the taper crazies really hit!

Have you ever had to cut a long run short?
Any tips for measuring fitness when running in snow? 

2 comments:

  1. Not to freak you out, but they did have snow a few years ago at Myrtle. The bonus is that you would probably win the race because of all your snow training and the fact that southerners don't got outside when they see it. I've cut a longrun short before because of tired legs and it was the right decision. My legs needed rest and I felt strong on the next one.

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    1. I think I read past reviews that mentioned the bad weather and then purposefully forgot them! I'm hoping I will have a relatively warm vacation, but at least I can handle the snow if it comes. I'm hoping this weekend long run feels much better!

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