I mentioned this in my last post but I’ve decided to focus on my half marathon time for the rest of the year and focus on getting stronger and hopefully faster before training for my next marathon.
I’ve worked with 3 different coaches over the last year and a half and I think I’ve finally found someone who is going to be the best fit for my goals, etc. It also helps that for the first time in a long time, I’m finally mostly healthy so I can actually focus on things other than just endurance. Focusing on the half marathon for an extended period of time, gives me a lot more flexibility in my workouts, I don’t have to worry about doing 20+ mile runs in the extreme heat this year – yea!!
Now why do I work with a coach? I equate it to having a personal trainer, someone there who will motivate me, push me and keep me accountable. I have run a lot of races, so could I do my own training plan? Sure, but I really like having someone with more experience do it for me.
My newest coach, is also my physical therapist and thus, knows me and my injuries well so I think that it is a pretty good fit.
My schedule is given to me via an app/website called Training Peaks, at first I wasn’t very impressed, but now that I’ve started using it pretty consistently, I like it. I can download my workouts from my Garmin.
Week 1 (May 5 – 11)
Mon: Easy Recovery Run 30 min – I did 2.85 mi in 31:17 – tried to keep low heartrate but didn’t succeed – ended up walking a lot to keep it down
Tues: 30 minute Core Work out
Wed: 45 min run – negative splits – 5.08 mi – 9:09, 9:08, 8:57, 8:48, 8:22 and then 7:45 for the .08 mi
Thur: 30 min Leg Strengthening Workout – 3 sets of 12
Fri: Rest Day
Sat: Night Run 10K – Read more about that here 🙂
Sun: 75 min run 9:30 – 10 min pace – actual 7.86 mi – 10:07, 9:47, 9:39, 9:39, 9:37, 9:23, 9:18, last .86 8:57
Total: 22 miles running, 60 min cross training
Week 2 (May 12 – 18)
Mon: Rest Day
Tues: Tempo Run – didn’t quite work out the way it was supposed to – I wanted to run on the treadmill at work, but they were all full so I went outside, my Garmin says it was only 84 but it felt way hotter and so windy. I ended up walking a lot so 5.01 miles 45:01
Wed: 30 min Negative Split Run – 3.46 mi – 9:16, 8:46, 8:16, last .46 8:04
Thur: Strength Workout: 30 minutes – 3 x 12 reps of each of these :
Squats, One arm rows, modified push-ups, overhead presses, bicep curls, burpees, tricep dips, crunches, reverse crunches, side arm plank with hip touch, tick tocks, superman
Fri: Was supposed to be spin class but I don’t belong to a gym so I used my dad’s total gym bike for 50 min/18.3 mi
Sat: Hill Repeats – 2.3 mi warm-up, 1.78 mi hill repeats (90 sec up, 3 min down) x 6, 2 mile cool-down walk
Sun: 75 min run 9:30 – 10 min pace – again a bit faster than I was supposed to be – negative splits 9:41, 9:44, 9:23, 9:09, 9:13, 8:54, 8:54, 8:28, last .2 8:11
Totals: 20.5 mi run, 18.3 mi bike, 30 min strength workout
All in all both weeks went well. My legs are tired, but I feel really good, surprisingly good. Now let me find some wood to knock on – LOL. A little recovery in & by the pool and I’m ready to start week 3 🙂
