This trip is turning out to be quite the foodie adventure. Yesterday’s meals included tri-tip tacos for lunch, self-serve frozen yogurt and a Thai feast for dinner. All of which made up for the fact that I missed breakfast. We had a late meeting so I used the time in the morning to get my 4 mile tempo run in and misjudged the time I had to get ready before the hotel breakfast ended. I walked down just after 10am to find out breakfast had closed just minutes before. Luckily, I had grabbed a banana and peanut butter before the run so I wasn’t starving but, I don’t like missing meals. Not my style.
It feels like forever since I talked about running so I figured what better time than around the half way mark in training for my upcoming 10k race?
Here was the initial training plan I came up with when I registered for the race.
And here’s what’s actually happened so far (in green).
The good news? I’ve gotten in all my long runs and they’ve actually felt great (minus the whole towed car part of the 5 miler). Running 7 miles this Monday was the first time I’ve run that distance in over 8 months and it was an awesome run. The cooler temperatures have made all the difference recently and I’ve found myself really looking forward to running every time I lace up.
The bad news? Strength training (NROLFW) has been hard to fit in. I’ve only gotten in 3 sessions in 2.5 weeks. This isn’t really due to the race training but more so my schedule. I was naïve in thinking I could complete any NROLFW workouts while at the beach. I thought about bringing the equipment necessary to do at least most of the workouts for all of 1 minute before realizing how ridiculous that would actually be. So, that was an entire week off I didn’t plan on. I’m hoping to fit in 2 sessions this week when I’m back home. I think it’s more realistic to plan on 2 workouts a week until after this race rather than the 3 I was doing before. Not ideal but better than nothing. I’ve been supplementing with pushups everyday and some other random strength moves when I remember so I hopefully keep whatever muscle I built up over Stage 1 of NROLFW.
Other thoughts? Tempo runs rock, intervals suck. Also, I love being able to fit in biking as a form of cross training. I get excited for the days it’s on the agenda because it’s still so new and fun.
The cooler temperatures and the higher distances have really made me want to sign up for another half marathon so I’m pretty sure I’m going to run the Philly half but, I’m waiting to actually register until after this race. I really don’t want to spend $100 on a race that I’m not 100% sure about and to think that not even 2 months ago I was saying I had no desire to run another half makes me hesitant. It’s like a switch got flipped though and all of a sudden long distance running sounds appealing again. The fall is such a perfect time to train around here it’s hard to pass up the opportunity. Plus, I really want to beat my half marathon PR and I know I can.
Anyone else running a race over Labor Day weekend?
Do you find you enjoy running more or less during different times of the year?
What’s your favorite speed workout?
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.
That schedule is so impressive. DO you really make a spreadsheet for every month??
yes. I’m slightly OCD :)
Glad your training is going well, you will keep your strength and catch up with all the weight training quickly I’m sure! :) I’m definitely less motivated to run at certain times of the year. Summer and winter being the worst and spring and autumn being the best! Here anyway… in the uk it’s all about spring and summer! :)
I’d say just jump right back in where you left off in NROL. If you need to drop down, you’ll be able to tell:) I’m doing NROL for abs right now! I did NROLFW a couple years ago, and loved it!
I’m running a half marathon the 24th of next month and am SO busy until then. I’m kind of nervous about getting all my runs in before then. You’ve done a great job though!