I expected this holiday week to be more of the same as last week, piling up on the rest days before derby tryouts coexist with Gasparilla training. My (adapted) Higdon Novice II training plan called for three runs this week: a 3-miler, 4-miler, and an 8-miler. Since I fell short of my 7-mile run because of the rain last weekend, I gave myself a flexible “between 7 and 8 miles” commitment for this week’s long run. I skipped my 4-mile run this week because of being super tired. Yay, holidays!
MONDAY: One hour of spin class at the Y; our instructor programmed a lot of inclines in this session! Side note: is it weird that I don’t sweat in spinning? I know it’s low-impact and it’s an old, cold building… but I find it strange.
TUESDAY: REST DAY [walked home from the hair salon, lol]
WEDNESDAY: run//yoga//run//club at UEC — I was so happy when I saw online that there was a run club meet-up because, BOY, did I need it! I knew that I planned to run but I was trying to decide whether I dropped in for another CrossFit WOD or yoga. My body was definitely leaning towards yoga, so 75 hot sweaty minutes of flow helped focus some of my intentions for the new year and my continuing yoga practice.
3.23 miles at average 10:30 pace (total time 33:58).
THURSDAY and FRIDAY: REST DAYS [Happy New Year!] My original plan was to go to CrossFit on Friday, but I didn’t think ahead about the gym being closed for the holiday.
SATURDAY: Went for my monthly 60-minute sports massage.
SUNDAY: Winter training has finally arrived! About 30 degrees (and holy moly, the wind!) for this run, so fleece was a necessity. When I first stepped out I thought that I didn’t have enough layers on, but I quickly warmed up. I legit love this lulu half zip with its built-in “cuffins” so that I can alternate between having my hands covered and not. Though my legs did feel SUPER heavy and like sandbags hitting the ground with every step, I started to feel “lighter” by Mile 4. I consciously tried to keep at a 9:45 pace to start and then the mental fun began — halfway through at a pretty consistent pace, I tested my abilities (mental and physical) to maintain this pace for the entire run.
And I did good! 7.60 miles at average 9:23 pace (total time 1:11:21)
Splits: 9:40 (1) / 9:47 (2) / 9:41 (3) / 9:39 (4) / 9:24 (5) / 8:48 (6) / 9:02 (7)
If I can keep this pace for 7+ miles, I can definitely keep this pace for a half marathon. Runs like this make me feel like I am (eventually) capable of a 2-hour half. IT’S ON.
TOTAL CROSS-TRAINING WORKOUTS: 2 (1 yoga, 1 spinning)
TOTAL RUNS: 2
TOTAL WEEKLY MILES: 10.83
TOTAL TRAINING MILES: 40.53