This post begins a series of posts in which I share the thoughts I had about my build up to Houston and then culminates with my race recap which had a far different result than I expected.
Week 1
Monday, October 24 – 80 minutes with last 20 minutes at a faster pace
I want to focus on mental training in this cycle. This run emphasized the need for that. Going into my run, I started to psych myself out about my ability to run 20 minutes faster. Ridiculous. During the first few miles, I kept finding things to doubt even though I did not have any real reason to. I recognized those doubts and focused on keeping this strong and steady. Then, I surprised myself with how comparatively “easy” the 20 minutes felt at the end. I need to keep that in mind.
Tuesday, October 25 – 50 minutes easy
My legs did not feel fresh but they did not feel tired either. I could hear those negative thoughts and used this run as training in ignoring them. The last ten minutes felt like they lasted forever but I got them done.
Wednesday, October 26 – streak mile
I thought that switching out the runs on the original plan would work better both because my body felt tired earlier in the week and because tomorrow I will be on the same side of town as my old school and could use that track for the intervals. When I got out for the mile, I knew I made the right decision from how good I felt through that mile.
Thursday, October 27 – 1.5 mile warm up, 12 x 400m (1:49-1:56), 3 x 200m strides, 1 mile warm down
I headed back to my old school to use the track for this workout. I was a little nervous both for the awkward potential of seeing people I used to work with and also for the pace I needed to hit for the intervals. It turned out that neither thing ended up being a problem.
Of course, I wondered during the warm up whether I could hit the pace because the warm up felt more difficult than I expected. The first couple intervals felt a little bit difficult too but I kept going. I walked for the recovery intervals which made my overall pace slower than a speed workout would suggest. Then I realized that I could hold the paces I needed for the intervals and felt better, except for the fact that I had a lovely little headache behind my right eye which made me wonder if I would have to cut the intervals short. I kept going and thankfully the headache abated.
When the cool down came, it felt so much better than the warm up. Plus, I felt accomplished.
Friday, October 28 – 50 minutes easy
I got started fairly soon after getting home and felt good from the start. I didn’t even remember the work that I put in during yesterday’s track workout until a little ways into the run. I could feel a little bit of soreness but overall, my stride came easy throughout. The slightly lower temps probably helped significantly.
Saturday, October 29 – 14.5 miles with 10k in the middle
Race recap here.
Sunday, October 30 – streak mile
I didn’t realize until the evening when writing out my plan for the next week in my planner that I should have run longer than I actually did. Since I did not glance at my planner before heading out, I ended up reverting to habit and running a mile to keep up my streak, a mile which felt surprisingly good. I keep expecting these miles the day after long runs to feel worse than they actually do. I obviously do not mind that they don’t.
Week 2
Monday, October 31 – 20 min WU, 14 x 1 minute fartlek at slightly faster than 5k pace with 1 minute recovery, 20 minute WD
I chose to run inside because of lower visibility due to fog and the sun going down. I hadn’t felt strong on the treadmill for a while, hence why I had not run on it for quite some time but today I felt really good during the warm up. Then I started the fartlek intervals and they felt a little faster than I might have achieved on my own on the roads. However, I knew I could do it, I ran the recovery slowly but didn’t feel as recovered so on the other intervals, I ran slowly for a little, walked the middle section and then ran slowly before starting the next interval.
After the first couple intervals, I wondered about the total number but breaking the intervals into those short minute long segments made the time go by so quickly. I also wondered how my legs would feel during the cool down and they felt great!
Tuesday, November 1 – 60 minutes cut to 30 minutes
Mental stress has such an impact. I didn’t feel it at the start of the runn during the first twenty minute segment. However, just before starting the run, I texted Mom to cancel strength training and then my admin to confirm the sub coverage for the YIG trip or rather the lack thereof. I needed to know because if I went to the conference, I also had to pack along with a whole bunch of other stuff. At the walk break, everything got confirmed, aka I had less to do since I would not go to YIG. (The whole backstory on this would take far too long to explain.) Something about that relief let all the mental tension sink in and my legs felt so heavy. At the same time, I wondered if I could possibly finish the hour, I identified why I felt the way that I did and gave myself permission to cut the run short and practice self-care.
Wednesday, November 2 – 40 minutes easy
I felt so much better in this run and once again could see clearly the effect that emotions and mental stress can have on the body. Unfortunately, I ran out of time on the day of the run to write about it so I have forgotten some of the other details.
Thursday, November 3 – 1 mile WU, 8 x 800m @ 7:48, 400m recovery, 1 mile WD
For various reasons, I did not start this run until later so I chose the treadmill rather than driving over to the track. The warm up went well, especially since I did not approach the intervals with wariness. I felt strong during each interval, definitely capable of completing each one fully. I walked the first part of ecah recovery interval before resuming a slow run before the next work interval. The overall time passed quickly, much more than I expected. I love feeling strong.
Friday, November 4 – 50 minutes easy
I did not make it a priority to write down my thoughts on the same day. Thus, I have only vague recollections. The run felt solid. I felt stronger than I normally do towards the end of the week. My effort level did feel a little increased but only due to the warmer than normal temperatures.
Saturday, November 5 – 30 minutes easy
We waited until we reached Hilton Head to run, always preferring to run on the island. This day, even though the calendar said November, the weather said it was summer with afternoon temps somewhere in the high 70s, low 80s. I felt decent during the easy run but definitely kept up a slower pace thanks to my body’s distinct lack of preference for running in warm temps. All of the other mechanics of the run felt great.
Sunday, November 6 – HHI Half Marathon
See race recap.
Week 3
Monday, November 7 – 50 minutes easy
I switched out this run with Tuesday’s to get an easier run for the day after the half. I can tell that I pushed the pace during the half thanks to plenty of soreness in my legs. Thus, I lowered the pace and didn’t do too bad. It started to sprinkle which I didn’t mind but then, around five minutes out from the house the clouds opened up so I had to finish up on the treadmill.
Tuesday, November 8 – 60 minutes easy
While I felt better than Monday, my legs still felt tired and the weather, while ti didn’t rain, was still quite warm. I don’t remember exactly when I made the decision but I decided to run 60 minutes instead of 80 to focus on recovery after running hard last Saturday. I felt so much better on the last 20 minutes than on the first 40 but I have no idea why.
Wednesday, November 9 – 10 minutes WU, 5 x 1000m cruise interval, 200m recovery, 10 min WD
The work out got foiled by encroaching darkness and a lack of a headlamp. I got started later thanks to an utterly useless faculty meeting. Since I no longer have access to the inside of my old school building, I stopped quickly at Starbucks for the restroom. On the way to the track and as I started the run, I spent a bit of time trying to figure out how many intervals I could squeeze in, settling with five which turned out to be the exact amount I could have finished. These cruise intervals felt easy to accomplish and left me wanting more. I need to bring my headlamp with me now that winter has arrived.
Thursday, November 10 – 40 minutes easy
Thanks to the tropical storm and the rain it brought, I ended up using the treadmill for the run. SInce I have run more outside lately, I have lost a lot of stamina when it comes to the treadmill, mental stamina that is. The forty minutes went by a lot slower than I expected but physically I felt solid. I had to pause a couple times for pitstops, only one of which I needed but at least it broke it up into smaller, more manageable chunks.
Friday, November 11 – 50 minutes easy
Once again, the train, mist really, and the early dusk meant a treadmill run. I don’t know what made the difference between the runs but this run did not feel as long mentally even though it lasted ten minutes longer. Other than that, nothing really sticks out, as usual for treadmill runs.
Saturday, November 12 – 16 miles
Once again, I chose to not run a half marathon I registered for a while back, this time because I want to focus on the marathon. Mom and I got started a little later but I do not mind since I had a good book to read while I waited.I felt good as we started and appreciated the twenty degrees cooler temperatures. I also appreciated the slower pace for this run. Somewhere around the four mile mark I briefly wondered if I should cut the run down a couple miles but quickly banished that thought by reminding my brain how solid and strong the rest of my body felt. A little after this, Mom got a really strong (and painful) side stitch that didn’t really go away. Since we had 3.5 miles to go before turning around, I suggested that she go ahead and make the turn but she refused so we walked a bit and then continued running. After a mile or so, her side stitch finally went away. Then we encountered something completely new, something absolutely hilarious. At nearly the same moment we saw it, a groundhog darted right in front of us causing us both to shriek in surprise as Mom pulled back and I tried to jump over it. I nearly succeeded but did feel a little scrabbling at my heel when my right foot came down. As we kept running, I glanced back to see the groundhog on the opposite side of the trail looking back at us, probably in either judgement or terror. I could not stop laughing, something difficult to do while maintaining a run. Apart from that oddity, the remainder of the run passed without incident and both of us successfully finished 16 miles.
Sunday, November 13 – streak mile
I will always appreciate the days when I set out for just a mile the day after a long run and feel good. My legs felt so strong. It always gets me amped for the upcoming training week.
Week 4
Monday, November 14 – 55 minutes easy
I brought my headlamp with me because I started later than usual and left it at the corner of my street because I still had light at the start of the run. I felt so strong and wanted to run faster. The timing worked out for me to pass by where I stashed the headlamp just when I needed it. I genuinely loved the cooler weather.
Tuesday, November 15 – 50 minutes easy
Rain meant that I headed onto the treadmill. My right hamstring has felt a little sore but not while running. The pace felt easy and I guess my mental stamina has started to return. I didn’t have enough time for a cool down though.
Wednesday, November 16 – 1 mile WU, 6 miles tempo (goal pace) 1 mile WD
Tempo runs always make me nervous even after countless times of proving to myself that I can. Because of that, I opted to runo n the treadmill. When I started the tempo portion I felt so good and once again challenged my brain. Unfortunately, I had to pause quickly a few times to text Mom back. I normally wait to respond when this happens during a run but this time I needed to respond right away because she was at Costco picking up some items. After those quick breaks, I managed to complete the remainder of the tempo portion without breaks. The challenge came on the mental side, not the physically. Physically, I felt really strong.
Thursday, November 17 – 40 minutes easy
I should have brought my gloves with me because when the sun started to go down, so did the temps. Before that though, I felt really strong as I ran. I might have run a little too fast but this time I made sure to stretch.
Friday, November 18 – 55 minutes easy
I started later since I had to meet with a colleague briefly after school. That meant that I brought my headlamp along with me. I left it at the same place I mentioned earlier. This time, though, I got a couple startled looks from some reno workers in the front yard of that house. As I got a little ways into the run, I realized that the sun was going down faster than I would get back to my headlamp so I adjusted my route which ended up working out perfectly. As far as how I felt physically, I continued to feel so strong that once again I had to pull myself back a bit to make the run easy.
Saturday, November 19 – 17 miles long run
I loved this run so much! We started a lot later than normal but I did not mind. I don’t have a lot to write about this run because I felt so good throughout and I also wrote a lot about several other runs on the day of the run so I don’t have many thoughts left about this run.
Sunday, November 20 – streak mile
I really zoned out or focused more on other things so I remember nothing of this mile.
Stay tuned for part 2 to come next week!