Workouts - June 8, 2015
This week has been a real breakthrough for running. I feel like I am almost "back," meaning the horrendous uphill slog that has been regaining running-specific aerobic fitness in the dead of a record-shattering heatwave is OVER.
I ran slightly over 25 miles this week, which is what I consider minimal "base level" for mileage. I also had a 10-mile long run where I felt comfortable and relaxed at a 9:40 pace. And, I've been fairly dedicated with the early morning workouts...a virtual necessity in this heat, and the best way to schedule around work and a toddler. So, here you go....
June 1 - June 7
Monday: 3.1 miles in the (flat) park, 8:58 pace
Tuesday: 5-mile speed session on the gym treadmill, 8:56 pace
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 4.2 miles on the gorgeous Lakeshore Running Trail at the crack of dawn, 9:19 pace. Then, I stopped in at my gym to rinse off and eat before heading to a three-hour physical therapy session. An hour of that was heavy weights and I let my HR monitor run through it.
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Long run with the Birmingham Track Club, 10 miles at 9:40 pace. These are always fairly hilly but scenic.
Saturday: 2.7 miles easy recovery in the park, 9:10 pace
Overall, I am proud of the running performance this week. I wish I had done more cross training and more strength, but I can't have it all unless I have unlimited time. I do want to build back up to 35-40 miles per week by the end of summer. I have already decided that the next three weeks are going to be a hard little push to get back to where I was before my injury. After the July 4 Peavine Falls race, I will reevaluate where I am and set some pace and mileage goals for fall. My physical therapist says he considers my injury to be healed, so I'm going to hit the next several weeks hard.
There are several things I am planning to do differently with this fall training cycle. I want to run fewer times per week, and concentrate my running energy into quality speed sessions and longer long runs. I want to keep up the weight training I have been doing and build more muscle to become a more well-rounded athlete. I want to cross train in the pool or on the bike each week. And I want to focus more on diet, because let's be honest, at the end of my spring marathon training cycle I was eating more sugar and more fat than is probably reasonable for an "athlete."
A few people have asked me whether I am worried about "losing" all this hard work during another pregnancy next year. And I'm not really. Ever since my early teen years, I have had a fairly decent aerobic fitness base. My body responds very quickly to intense training. I feel like I can go from "scratch" (ie. several months off) to 10k racing shape in about 8-12 weeks. While I was pregnant with W, I was able to maintain a decent running schedule until the almost the bitter end. We'll see how things go, but I'm not stressed about it at all.
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| From Saturday's long run with the Track Club. I'm in a neon green shimmel. You can see by my friend Matt's and my body language that We Mean Business. |
I ran slightly over 25 miles this week, which is what I consider minimal "base level" for mileage. I also had a 10-mile long run where I felt comfortable and relaxed at a 9:40 pace. And, I've been fairly dedicated with the early morning workouts...a virtual necessity in this heat, and the best way to schedule around work and a toddler. So, here you go....
June 1 - June 7
Monday: 3.1 miles in the (flat) park, 8:58 pace
Tuesday: 5-mile speed session on the gym treadmill, 8:56 pace
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 4.2 miles on the gorgeous Lakeshore Running Trail at the crack of dawn, 9:19 pace. Then, I stopped in at my gym to rinse off and eat before heading to a three-hour physical therapy session. An hour of that was heavy weights and I let my HR monitor run through it.
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Long run with the Birmingham Track Club, 10 miles at 9:40 pace. These are always fairly hilly but scenic.
Saturday: 2.7 miles easy recovery in the park, 9:10 pace
Overall, I am proud of the running performance this week. I wish I had done more cross training and more strength, but I can't have it all unless I have unlimited time. I do want to build back up to 35-40 miles per week by the end of summer. I have already decided that the next three weeks are going to be a hard little push to get back to where I was before my injury. After the July 4 Peavine Falls race, I will reevaluate where I am and set some pace and mileage goals for fall. My physical therapist says he considers my injury to be healed, so I'm going to hit the next several weeks hard.
There are several things I am planning to do differently with this fall training cycle. I want to run fewer times per week, and concentrate my running energy into quality speed sessions and longer long runs. I want to keep up the weight training I have been doing and build more muscle to become a more well-rounded athlete. I want to cross train in the pool or on the bike each week. And I want to focus more on diet, because let's be honest, at the end of my spring marathon training cycle I was eating more sugar and more fat than is probably reasonable for an "athlete."
A few people have asked me whether I am worried about "losing" all this hard work during another pregnancy next year. And I'm not really. Ever since my early teen years, I have had a fairly decent aerobic fitness base. My body responds very quickly to intense training. I feel like I can go from "scratch" (ie. several months off) to 10k racing shape in about 8-12 weeks. While I was pregnant with W, I was able to maintain a decent running schedule until the almost the bitter end. We'll see how things go, but I'm not stressed about it at all.
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