Tuesday (9/13/16): Easy run, 5 miles. My legs felt fine after giving them the full Monday off after the race on Sunday. On Monday, I contemplated going for a run, but forced myself to stick to my plan, which was definitely the right decision. In the past, I have made the mistake of overtraining and then getting injured to one degree or another. I'm determined not to do that this time around.
The run felt good and I ran the entire way, which was great. Weather was nice and dry and much more fall-like, which was good. The pace was a bit too fast for what I would like to see when I run "easy", but that's OK. I made the mistake of not having a snack when I came home before heading out to run, which meant I was really hungry the entire time. Reinforced that as I get faster or simply run longer distances, nutrition will be a bigger factor.
Wednesday (9/14/16): Hill repeats 6 by ~400 meters. A solid workout, as I tried not to strain too much and run so fast that the later repeats were slow and low quality. I had a snack before going out and that helped a lot. I also had some chocolate milk when I came ba
ck, as I'm going to try that after my hardest workouts to see if that helps recovery. We'll see. Worst case scenario is it's just delicious and not helpful!
ck, as I'm going to try that after my hardest workouts to see if that helps recovery. We'll see. Worst case scenario is it's just delicious and not helpful!
Thursday (9/15/16): Easy 4 miles. Here's where I changed the schedule up a bit. Because I'd be spending all day Saturday down in Washington, my long run would be on Sunday this week. Therefore, I preferred to run slightly shorter runs on both Thursday and Friday, rather than to take both Thursday and Saturday off. Nothing very remarkable about this run, but it was slower than my run on Tuesday, which was good.
Friday (9/16/16): My first foray into fartlek runs. All I did was run my usual 4 mile loop, but I sped up my pace a bit at four different points along the way. I only sped up a little bit and for about 45 seconds to a minute each time, so I wouldn't flame out. That felt good overall; challenging, but not demoralizing! Obviously, the effects of these runs will take some time to show up, so we'll see. But I think it was a decent start for a novice.
Saturday (9/17/16): Off day.
Sunday (9/18/16): Long, slow, distance run 10 miles. My second 10-miler and it was overall successful. Rather than retype everything, I've pasted in my notes from my running log below. Here's the route I took:
Pre-run nutrition: protein bar and several ounces of Gatorade.
Felt OK for first mile or so, but then felt a bit nauseous for a couple miles afterward; may want to avoid PowerBar and stick with the usual "granola" like pre-run bars. Less stomach issues. Felt OK but not great for entire run.
During run nutrition: 22oz of Gatorade and took along 4 GU lemon Chomp gels. Only ate three due to early on stomach issues and feeling not great, which probably haunted me later in the run. Ate one gel at ~4 mile mark and two more at the turnaround (roughly 5-6 miles). Didn't eat the fourth gel, which likely hurt me miles 8-10.
Next week nutrition goals: sports drink for liquids and either remainder of GU Chomps or one gel packet. Pre-run: granola-like protein bar and water rather than sports drink to lower sugars hitting stomach in the AM.
Goal for this run was to get full 10 miles in without really focusing on pace. Accomplished this, although was still slightly disappointed with the 11 minute plus pace. But, primary goal was met. Only second 10-miler I've run so pace should improve as I run more.
Weather was humid again, but not super hot. Low 70's when I left and cloudy for most of the run. Humidity was high: dew points upper 60's, which is not ideal. Probably contributed to slower pace.
Course was hillier than I anticipated (forgot that miles up to Mt. Vernon are basically all uphill) so this was hillier than course from previous 10-miler in Federal Hill. Probably factor in slower pace, too.
Stops were mostly at intersections for traffic; more around harbor than in neighborhoods. Stopped briefly to eat Chomp chews as well, and final stop at Canton Waterfront Park before final couple miles back to Greektown. Not bad, and again, final stop was partly due to stomach feeling not great for much of the run.
Pre-run nutrition: protein bar and several ounces of Gatorade.
Felt OK for first mile or so, but then felt a bit nauseous for a couple miles afterward; may want to avoid PowerBar and stick with the usual "granola" like pre-run bars. Less stomach issues. Felt OK but not great for entire run.
During run nutrition: 22oz of Gatorade and took along 4 GU lemon Chomp gels. Only ate three due to early on stomach issues and feeling not great, which probably haunted me later in the run. Ate one gel at ~4 mile mark and two more at the turnaround (roughly 5-6 miles). Didn't eat the fourth gel, which likely hurt me miles 8-10.
Next week nutrition goals: sports drink for liquids and either remainder of GU Chomps or one gel packet. Pre-run: granola-like protein bar and water rather than sports drink to lower sugars hitting stomach in the AM.
Goal for this run was to get full 10 miles in without really focusing on pace. Accomplished this, although was still slightly disappointed with the 11 minute plus pace. But, primary goal was met. Only second 10-miler I've run so pace should improve as I run more.
Weather was humid again, but not super hot. Low 70's when I left and cloudy for most of the run. Humidity was high: dew points upper 60's, which is not ideal. Probably contributed to slower pace.
Course was hillier than I anticipated (forgot that miles up to Mt. Vernon are basically all uphill) so this was hillier than course from previous 10-miler in Federal Hill. Probably factor in slower pace, too.
Stops were mostly at intersections for traffic; more around harbor than in neighborhoods. Stopped briefly to eat Chomp chews as well, and final stop at Canton Waterfront Park before final couple miles back to Greektown. Not bad, and again, final stop was partly due to stomach feeling not great for much of the run.
Overall, a good week, but certainly some areas I want to improve upon like nutrition, foot striking, and pacing during both easy and long runs. Works in progress, all. But, the total distance was just under 30 miles (~29) which is great. I'm happy with that.
Week Ahead (9/19/16 thru 9/25/16)
This week should be fairly similar to last, with some room for adjustments as we get to the weekend. We have family coming into town (DC and then Baltimore) and they'll be visiting us here in Baltimore on Sunday, so I will likely do my long run on Saturday instead. Here's the tentative schedule:
Monday (9/19/16): Rest. Maybe do some stretching and such?
Tuesday (9/20/16): Easy run 5 miles
Wednesday (9/21/16): Hill repeats 6 by ~400 meters
Thursday (9/22/16): Easy run 5 miles
Friday (9/23/16): Fartlek run 4 miles
Saturday (9/24/16): Long run 10 miles
Sunday (9/25/16): Rest day.
Week Ahead (9/19/16 thru 9/25/16)
This week should be fairly similar to last, with some room for adjustments as we get to the weekend. We have family coming into town (DC and then Baltimore) and they'll be visiting us here in Baltimore on Sunday, so I will likely do my long run on Saturday instead. Here's the tentative schedule:
Monday (9/19/16): Rest. Maybe do some stretching and such?
Tuesday (9/20/16): Easy run 5 miles
Wednesday (9/21/16): Hill repeats 6 by ~400 meters
Thursday (9/22/16): Easy run 5 miles
Friday (9/23/16): Fartlek run 4 miles
Saturday (9/24/16): Long run 10 miles
Sunday (9/25/16): Rest day.
We'll see how the schedule pans out. Friday's run is the biggest uncertainty, as I may take that day as a rest day before Saturday's 10 miler.
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