Week 2 of training is officially done, 8 more to go!

Philly half training: week 1

I almost feel like weeks 1 and 2 were more like “pre-training.” Long runs of 5 and 6 miles are barely “long” enough to make training feel legit to me. A 7 miler planned for later today though finally makes it start to feel real. I don’t just randomly run 7 miles unless I’ve got a reason!

Here’s what the plan looked like for week 2:

Philadelphia Half Marathon Training: Week 2

And here’s what went down:

Philadelphia Half Marathon Training: Week 2

Besides a switch up of my rest day, all went according to plan.

Monday:

Unlike week 1’s long run this one felt much easier. I started off slowly, didn’t take any breaks besides a quick stop to get the bug that flew directly into my eyeball out and finished with a 8:53 pace overall. Some random guy on a bike flew past me (scaring the crap out of me since I had my headphones on and didn’t hear him) around mile 4.5 and yelled back “looking great!” I have no idea if he was being serious or sarcastic but it kept me motivated nonetheless.

Tuesday:

I started NROLFW stage 3A and OH MY GOD my legs! Let’s just say that ending an already tough workout with 2 “body matrix” intervals of squats, lunges, and jumping squats & lunges makes it difficult to move the next couple of days. It was like Jillian Michaels in 30 day shred on steroids.

Wednesday:

How I even made my legs bike 15+ miles after NROLFW the previous day, I don’t know. Somehow I did it though and maintained a pretty good 14.4 mph on baby blue.

Thursday:

Mind wanted to run, legs did not. Ended up switching my rest day to give them one more day to recuperate.

Friday:

A wet tempo run on fresh legs.

Tempo run

The best part about running in the rain? Having the bike trail to myself. I passed one other runner and we both head nodded like “yeah, you must be training too otherwise you wouldn’t be out here.”

Saturday:

An 11+ mile bike ride with about a million dead bugs caught on my shirt, in my eyes and in my mouth. I might wear Ulysses’ motorcycle helmet next time because swallowing bugs is really getting old. After the bike ride I made my way to the basement for NROLFW 3B. This workout was way more arms oriented than Tuesday’s. Thank the good Lord.

Sunday:

3M pace run. My initial goal for these runs was to average 8:20-8:25 miles. I’m finding it very hard to maintain that pace though. My body either does 8:45 or 8:00. My average pace this run was 7:59. I need to work on slowing down a bit because there’s no point in running that fast, I definitely can’t maintain it for 13.1 miles.

Total Weekly Round-up

  • Run: 13.5 miles
  • Bike: 26.6 miles
  • Strength training sessions: 2

On to week 3!

What did you do this weekend?

What distance do you consider a “long” run? I think half training warped my mind last year because now I’d say 7 but last year probably would’ve said 5. It’s all relative I guess!

Founder and Writer at Running to the Kitchen | About

Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.

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23 Comments

  1. Well done so far… Keep running and writing about it. It’s inspiring 4 all of us, that are training for a race…

  2. I totally think half marathon training warps the mind as it relates to definitions of a “long” run. Prior to my last round of half training (which is now intermingled with a continuation of half training now), I’d say “long” was maybe 6 miles? Now I’d say 8 or 9 is “long.” Last year? I’d say 5 miles was “long.” So funny how perspective changes over time huh? Great job on your training!

  3. I stumbled across your blog from KERF and just wanted to wish you luck on the Philly Half!! That was my first half back in ’06 and I LOVED it! :)

  4. Seeing how you train for an upcoming marathon is helpful! Breaking it down by days and then to follow up on what was actually done is a good idea.

  5. oooo great runs girlie!! And I so wanna run in the rain!! I think I tried it ONCE when I was younger, and it only sprinkled? lol :P Maybe running “around” in the rain like a kid counts too, since I love doing that. Have a blessed day!!