Sunday, August 16, 2015

Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon: Week Three

I had been really looking forward to this week, the first of my step-back weeks. I was surprised at first that my overall energy level was lower, but I think I've seen around blogs that other people experience the same effect, so I'm going to assume I will bounce back tomorrow morning.

I really gave it my all the first two weeks of training, and I enjoyed only having easy runs on the schedule this week. I stuck to my subdivision for a lot of it, since it is much less hilly than the surrounding country roads, and that built in some extra recovery. I also spent most nights catching up on sleep, which led to my next decision - I am going to cut my planned swimming out of my schedule.

Swimming is really fun cross-training for me, but I knew I needed to re-evaluate my plan when I got excited when I saw the pool would be closed at for two weeks for cleaning. I wrestled with this for a few days, feeling lazy, but I eventually recognized getting up early to swim an extra two days a week was really cutting into my sleep. And, after all, gains are made during recovery, not during the workouts! I think part of the struggle is I trained for my first marathon in college when I had a much more flexible schedule and, let's be real, a lot more free time. There's nothing wrong with recognizing I'm under different constraints now with a full-time job and a long commute.

And speaking of the commute - my office just moved about three blocks away, but it seriously saves me 15 minutes each way. That's an extra 30 minutes I've gotten back each day! It was like amazing magic on Friday (our first day in the new building), and I can't wait to experience the thrill of leaving at 5 and getting home before 6 every day this week.

This intro is getting wordy, but I guess I had a lot happen this week! I got my first round of allergy injections (yay for finally finding a great allergist!!). I've been discovering that my last allergist sort of did some shady things (but I didn't have a choice before, so I can't be blamed!). The old allergist always gave me one injection, but the new one said I'm allergic to so many things, they have to give me two a time. That's one way to make a girl feel special. (And this new allergist confirmed my suspicion was correct - despite the MI allergist saying I had a severe cat allergy, I don't have and have never had one. I gave Faramir some extra snuggles to celebrate.)

If you've napped your way through to this point, on to my actual training:

Sunday, August 9
rest

My friend from Germany and I finally made time to catch-up, and it was great getting to talk to her again. I was also relieved that after a bit of a shaky start, my German came back pretty well! I definitely need to be better about practicing regularly.

Monday, August 10
AM - 3 mi easy (11:36 min/mile)
PM - 10 min spin WU, NROLFW Stage 2A-3

My legs felt so, so heavy on my run, so I focused on going as slow as I needed to. My last mile was a little too fast, but it was so humid out, that I just wanted to stop being covered in sweat.

Tuesday, August 11
PM - 6 mi easy (11:36 min/mile)

Apparently 11:36 min/miles were my jam this week! My legs were a little achy, but again I focused on going super slow and found the run very enjoyable.

Wednesday, August 12
AM - 3 mi easy (11:28 min/mile)
PM - 10 min spin WU, NROLFW Stage 2B-3

I felt pretty tired when I got up in the morning to run, but I was totally fine when I was out the door. I got really excited when it felt cool, but then it quickly got humid. I'm basically over summer at this point - I am ready for college football and crisp weather.

Thursday, August 13
rest

Friday, August 14
PM - 6 mi easy (11:21 min/mile)

This was our move day at work, and it was giving me a lot of anxiety. I know it was totally silly, because all I had to do was drive to a different building, but change is hard for me. This meant I opted to sleep in and run after work. I headed out around my house and really enjoyed a change of scenery.

Saturday, August 15
PM - 8 mi long (11:22 min/mile)

I followed my fueling/salt plan from prior weeks and again noticed the salt making a big difference. However, I think if it is very humid for my next long run, I might try taking a tablet every three miles instead of four. I really enjoyed having a "shorter" long run this week.

Run Miles: 26 mi
Bike Miles: 4.7 mi
Lifting Time: 1:15
Total Time: 6:33

I thoroughly enjoyed my rest week, and I feel refreshed for the next two weeks of harder training. Having all my workouts back-loaded in the week means I can ride this feeling for a couple more days. I'm also hoping spending a lot less time in my car will give me an extra energy boost too. 

I'm just a little worried this summer weather is going to melt me first!

2 comments:

  1. The Jayhawk has been on allergy shots for years and they work wonders. I hope they are as much help for you as they have been for him.

    I've been mean to ask what NROLFW stands for? I've taken a few wild guesses, but I don't think they are right. Great week!

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    1. Yes, when I got allergy shots before, they helped a ton! I'm glad I finally found someone in Ohio to start back up again. I just know the next month or two will be rough while the shots get back in my system.

      NROLFW is New Rules of Lifting for Women, which is the book I use for strength training. I'm sure your guesses were probably a lot more fun than what it actually is!

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