half marathon training

IMT Des Moines Half Marathon: Training Week #7

- Mel

I had another week that I cut out my second easy run. While I at least fit in a short circuit workout, the weekend was just too busy. All things considered, I only took one rest day from being active — AND I did something new! — so I am still happy with this training week. My chat with my coach this week really helped me think a little bit about my mental game and my ability to push a little harder. It’s there, but I can’t let self-doubt win.

My goal for the week: Stay in the moment.

WEEK AT A GLANCE:

  • One strength workout
  • One circuit workout
  • One easy run
  • One speed workout
  • One long run
  • And one fun hour of trail-skating!
mel iowa blogger trail skating des moines
Skating the trails!

MONDAY
My scheduled rest day in my training plan, but I went down to Gray’s Lake and skated the trail to downtown. A nice 5-ish mile loop on a very sweaty day! Having not been on my skates in six months, it felt really good. Though I forgot how much I had to carry with me when I skate alone!

TUESDAY
My weekly strength workout.

WEDNESDAY
Pick-ups scheduled, and I was in that headspace where I wanted to flip my speed and easy days. But once I got my 10-minute warm-up done, I wanted to do the speed work. Because I didn’t have my watch set up for that, I forgot to hit the lap button on each interval AND they weren’t exactly on the minute mark – but I got it done!

And then when filling in my training plan spreadsheet, I realized that I forgot to do my core workout. Whoops!

All said and done, I completed just shy of 4 miles (3.93) in 43:00 minutes.

THURSDAY
Four miles easy run on the treadmill at 10:23 pace

Splits: 10:04 / 10:18 / 10:29 / 10:41

FRIDAY
Attended the Go Blog Social networking and happy hour events, as part of the fun conference weekend here in Des Moines. I’ll have a blog post up about the event this week! It was a very fun rest day. 😉

SATURDAY
Krave Fitness Gym, a fitness center in West Des Moines and one of the partners of the Go Blog Social conference, held a workout in the morning before breakfast. It was circuit-based, with a focus on body strength workouts and core. I was really happy – as a fitness blogger and active person – to have the organizers schedule a workout as part of the conference.

I spent all day at the conference, and then went to my first Iowa-Iowa State party. I had another easy run on the calendar for Saturday, but just couldn’t fit it in.

mel iowa blogger runner treadmill long run
A girl and her treadmill — 10 miles done!

SUNDAY
On Sundays, we do long runs!

Because I had exhausted all of my mental energy from socializing for two days straight and I was experiencing some digestive distress in the morning, I kept this one on the treadmill (sad cakes, as it was BEAUTIFUL weather). I was moving SLOOOOOWWWWW for an “easy” pace. My splits were pretty consistently in the 11:15-11:25 range (with one outlier at 11:45, woof).

The first of my back-to-back 10-miler weekends is complete, and I look forward to this weekend’s Capital Pursuit 10-miler Race!

WEEKLY RUNS: 3
WEEKLY MILES: 17.9 miles
TOTAL TRAINING MILES: 110.56 miles — I hit the century mark!

IMT Des Moines Half Marathon: Training Week #6

- Mel

Woahhhhhh, we’re half way there… halfway through half marathon training. The humidity finally broke this week, and I’m feeling recharged. I still have a LOT of work to do in order to meet my goal for the half, but I’m slowly (POOR WORD CHOICE, MEL!) meeting some of my paces.

iowa running blogger summer humidity
Running in my new xx2i sunglasses that I won during #BibChat a couple weeks ago!

MONDAY
Rest Day — foam rolling routine before bed (and no, I still haven’t developed into a nightly habit).

TUESDAY
Strength Day! I focused on being really intentional with the workout, rather than rushing to complete it. I felt good and it was almost meditative (and I got to catch up on Bachelor in Paradise). I also worked on rolling my feet and calves before bed, since this is where I’ve been feeling some soreness lately.

WEDNESDAY
Took to the treadmill after work for my Easy Run — which seems like the first in a long while of getting negative splits. Each mile felt better than the last, and this is exactly the kind of confidence that I’ve been trying to build with these easy run days.

44:14, 4.02 miles
Splits: 11:17 / 11:06 / 10:54 / 10:45

iowa running blogger trail sidewalks end
Where the sidewalk ends… the hills begin.

THURSDAY
This was one of those days where I needed to push myself out the door to run something. My plan called for 45 minutes, but I was going to try for at least 30 minutes. My leg foot, left shin and left knee all felt ugly tight and sore for the start (and loosened up after the first mile). I went in a new direction outside and kept hitting trail sidewalks that went nowhere. But, SURPRISE: I started getting into my run — eventually going right past my house and completed another 15 minutes around my development. Total highlight of this run (besides Doing the Work!): That dang humidity is GONE. Finally.

45:36, 4.41 miles
Splits: 10:05 / 10:18 / 10:13 / 10:39

FRIDAY
Rest Day – hung out a bit with some neighbors after work, and then turned into bed early for Saturday’s early morning race.

SATURDAY
Five-mile race — read my recap of the Madrid Milers Labor Day Run!

iowa running blogger chocolate milk race day
A successful race calls for TWO chocolate milks!

SUNDAY
Sooooo, taking this whole non-labor Labor Day stuff to heart, I took an extra rest day. I was considerably lazy for most of the day, but I’m not guilty of it one bit. I’m planning on trail skating today, which replaces my early week rest day on the training plan — I haven’t had my skates on for almost 6 months, though. This should be fun.

Looking ahead: trying not to freak out about the two weekends of 10-milers in a row (10-mile long run scheduled this weekend, and a 10-mile race next weekend). I’ve been here before; I can do this! This current cut-back week was much-needed for recharging my mental space, and I feel like it fulfilled its purpose of re-motivating me, while also allowing for some actual physical rest.

WEEKLY RUNS: 3
WEEKLY MILES: 14.1 miles
TOTAL TRAINING MILES: 92.66 miles

TOTAL MILES FOR AUGUST: 69.88 miles

Real talk: The month that I ran my marathon last year, I ran a total of 73.89 miles, which included the marathon itself AND my 20-miler training run (which, HOW?!). August of 2015, I ran a total of 60.66 miles while training for a full marathon (there were a couple weeks where I only ran once a week!). My commitment to my training mileage has increased exponentially from over a year ago. But I’m still a little dumbfounded over how little training I did to run a full!

Race Recap: Madrid Milers Labor Day Run

- Mel 2 Comments

You know you’re at a small town race when… the parking directions tell you to turn left at the only stoplight in town. And Madrid is a small town race (pronounced MAAA-drid, unlike the city in Spain, if you’re not from Iowa). This was the 38th annual Madrid Milers Labor Day Run.

Madrid Iowa runners labor day race blogger
Flat Mel — no bib before race day!

There were three race distances as part of the Labor Day festival: 2 mile, 5 mile and a 15 mile (!!!). Next year, I definitely want to go do the 15-mile race, as you get to run over the High Trestle Bridge. I thought the 5-milers got to do that too (same with another woman that I talked to at the end of the race), and realized on race morning that it was the High Trestle Trail.

I planned this race with my coach during a much-needed cut-back week. My coach created a race plan for me, which started with a one mile warm-up (wut?!). Yeah, I have never run immediately BEFORE a race, but I had to trust the process (and I ended up feeling great while I was running, so…):

I was supposed to start nice and controlled; naturally, the race started downhill and I took off not realizing that I was pacing with some (apparently) 8-minute 15-milers. Uh, NOPE. I regained control just in time for the first uphill. I paced with two local guys soon after and stayed with them for most of the race — until I really picked up pace at the 4-mile mark. This strategy actually worked out well for me to keep my pace controlled. I did start out too fast, but ended up laughing and talking with these two guys and they kept me just about where I wanted to be.

Registration and Cost: $25 (+ fees) through Active.com, with race day registration available as well.

Packet Pick-Up and Free Swag: Bib pickup at Madrid Elementary School the morning of the race opened up an hour before start time. I misread their event details that there would be chip time, but there was a bib and electronic timer at the finish. All race entries came with a free t-shirt. No finishers medals for this race.

Start Line: Ha, we started with a whistle — the 5-milers lined up with the 15-milers, and the 2-milers started in the opposite direction on the other side of the street.

Weather: OMG THE BEST. I did my warm-up in long sleeves because of the chill in the air, and it was a perfect high-50s come race time. FALL, GUYS!

Course: We started at the elementary school (down the street from that only traffic light in town) and the course contained various terrains and experiences: part road, part trail, part county gravel (mud) road, part neighborhood; and finished in downtown Madrid — the CUTEST late 1800s, small town kind of downtown. I loved it! I’m thankful to have connected with a couple locals who have completed the race before because, honestly, I think I would have got lost at a few points. There were colored arrows denoting each race course and a few volunteers sprinkled around, but at some turns I would have had no idea on on my own. It’s always good advice to print a copy of the course map when doing one of these small races, and I’ll definitely do that for next time.

Experience: Everything that you love about small races — generally, really friendly runners and volunteers (seriously, the two guys I ran with were born and raised in Madrid and knew every single person we ran by).

Madrid Iowa finish line milers race labor day
Finish Line chute!

Finish Line: There was a mini chute and an electronic sign for finish times (with a woman reading the times out loud as you crossed). There were bananas and water available, which you had to cross back over the finish to get to. But, small race, so just look both ways before crossing!

Running it in, I was actually really confused where the finish chute was, as it just looked like a bunch of people clustered around, and I almost turned down another street until I asked the group “where’s the finish?!” HA. I was in fastest sprint mode and I’m sure it sounded like I was yelling.

After Party: I stuck around for the results and award ceremony for the 5-milers, which started about 20 minutes after I finished. When I saw 3rd place announced for my age group, and it was the chick who I passed at the 4.5 mark, I got so excited knowing that I would take home a medal. That’s rare to do when you’re at the tail end of a 30-39 age group bracket, but such a confidence booster, despite knowing it was a small race and runner pool.

Madrid Iowa chocolate milk anderson erickson iowa blogger
Our Des Moines local brand: Anderson Erickson chocolate milk available at the finish line!

Bonus: CHOCOLATE MILK AT THE FINISH LINE!

Random Awesome: There was a guy running the 5 who has completed the race in the same shoes for 34 years (!!!). It was really cool to see him finish, and he took home one of his own age group awards.

madrid milers labor day old shoes guy race
Seriously, these shoes have some stories! I love this so much!

OVERALL
The Great: I placed 2nd in my age group AND got a PR!
The Good: The weather!
The Bad: Can’t find race results posted online. Whomp, whomp.
The Ugly: I always get so anxious about the lack of race details and communication before a race. I had to only assume that I picked my bib up the morning of the race with the same-day registration peeps. Again, always something to remember when doing small races, if you’re someone who is super Type A!

Madrid Iowa runners labor day blog
SILVER! I love that the race is marked on the back of the keychain — what a clever idea!

RESULTS
A new PR: 47:24 (ish; didn’t catch the final split seconds, though it’s about a 1:30 faster than my previous PR!)
AND 2nd in my 30-39 age group (holy shit!)

IMT Des Moines Half Marathon: Training Week #5

- Mel

Whoooo boy, do I feel tired this week. I knew that traveling would take some energy out of me, but I feel like I’m FOR REAL half marathon training (as opposed to faking half marathon training, I guess. HA!) That said, I feel like I’m oscillating between GOOD RUN DAY! YAY! and Whomp, Bad Day in my consecutive runs. I feel like I still have no grasp on what I’m doing for speed workouts despite doing the work (and usually feeling miserably slow and ineffective), and I’m struggling with any kind of awareness of what my race pace should be. I’ve said that I want to run a 2-hour half — I honestly don’t know if the Des Moines Half Marathon will be the goal race that I want it to be.

Alas, I have a couple races coming up in the next few weeks of my training schedule to practice, which I’m excited about (I’m also excited about having a nice little recovery and mileage cutback this week because TIRED): The Madrid Miler Labor Day Run (there’s a 2-mile, 5-mile and 15-mile series; next year, I definitely want to do the 15!) — I’m excited about running the High Trestle bridge and I guess there are some serious hills on this route; and the Capital Pursuit 10-miler here in Des Moines is on September 18.

WEEK AT A GLANCE:

  • One strength workout
  • Two core workouts
  • Two easy runs – one by time, one by mileage
  • One tempo interval run
  • One long progression run

summer running iowa aftershokz

Working on that summer running tan. HA!

MONDAY
The perfect rest day, after flying back in Sunday night and returning to Hell Week at work. Lordy, I was gloriously in bed by 8pm.

TUESDAY
Strength workout and WHEW, did this workout take more out of me than I expected! I’m trying to be more aware that I needed to allow myself a little recovery time from the harried travel over 4 days and the time zone change. I did some foam rolling before bed, and I intend to make it part of my future training weeks to do just 5 minutes with my regular nighttime routine. I mean, if I can wake up at 6am for weekend runs now, I can give myself 5 minutes of additional torture in the evenings, right?

WEDNESDAY
Tempo interval workout that felt really hard and really slow. UGH.

30 something runner treadmill intervals

Testing out my new Pink headphones — review coming soon!

1-mi warm-up: 11:08 pace
10:47 / 11:13
10:54 / 11:24
10:47 / 11:12
1-mi cool down: 11:23 pace

5.19 miles

THURSDAY
I want to bottle up the feeling of my legs from this day and pull from it any time the struggle bus hits me. This run felt great! And I almost considered waiting until Friday to do it since it was late. But I got done around 8pm and I’m happy with how the run felt – like it was super easy mentally and physically, and my legs were light. And, I dunno, like I was running fast for once.

Splits: 9:26 / 9:07 / 9:27 / 9:34

4.02 miles

FRIDAY
REST! (And trying not to drink ALL the wine while I moved around my living room furniture.)

SATURDAY
I was ticked at my Garmin, as I updated this workout before leaving for my run and synced my watch. The updated version didn’t sync. I guess I should’ve just created a new workout. Technology sometimes, man.

So, instead of doing the 35-minute run + strides that I was supposed to, I did a 30-minute run, strides, then another 5-minute run. It was supposed to be my second core workout of the week, too, and I had zero energy left. That’s what I get for waiting to do this run in the evening, after doing errands all afternoon. Still trying to shrug it off, but I felt like total crap afterward — and it’s lingered still, and I think affected me even on Sunday.

35 minutes + strides = 3.6 miles

Urbandale, IA vs. Pittsburgh, PA elevation – I CAN'T EVEN.

A photo posted by Mel! (@melliesmel) on

SUNDAY
I don’t think I’ve had any success with my progression runs yet — and this week’s was no different. I woke up early to do this run and was SO HAPPY about the 67 degree temps… until I realized the humidity was 95%. Again, I couldn’t finish the whole progression run.

Splits: 11:21 / 11:35 / 11:18 / 11:27 / 11:21 / 10:55 / 11:00

If I felt like I had no energy left on Saturday, my tank ran empty on Sunday. Empty, nearly broken down on the side of the road, flagging down a truck driver. EMPTY. (I didn’t do that, of course, but something instinctively in me told me to change course and run towards home). It also took a long time for me to feel like I was cooled down (even after jolting myself with a cold shower). It seems like all the runners the world over on Instagram had similar weather suffering this weekend, so I guess I’m in good company.

7.4 miles (supposed to do 8 miles; supposed to be progression… EHHHHH I TRIED).

And then I spent the rest of my afternoon embarrassing myself on the golf course! lol

WEEKLY RUNS: 4
WEEKLY MILES: 20.21 miles
TOTAL TRAINING MILES: 78.56 miles

IMT Des Moines Half Marathon: Training Week #4

- Mel

Any of the cumulative fatigue that I felt lingering last week (if that is even possible after three weeks of half marathon training) felt like it lifted this week. I was hitting some faster paces, managing to get outside for a couple runs AND waking my tired ass up for TWO early runs over the weekend. I was traveling Thursday through Sunday, and I didn’t miss a single workout!

Look at me, eating hills (thanks, Pittsburgh!) AND goals for breakfast.

Week at a glance:

  • Five states, four flights, a two-hour road trip and an 8-mile run! LOL
  • Four total runs – two easy, one long, one speed workout
  • One core workout
  • One strength training day

I didn’t foam roll as much as I do when I’m at home (since I was traveling), but I did pack my RAD roller in my suitcase to get in a little bit of trigger point therapy and continue some work on my calves.

MONDAY
Rest Day is the Best Day!

TUESDAY
Strength workout

WEDNESDAY
I talked to my coach about flipping my Wednesday and Thursday workouts, only because after traveling, I KNEW I would be setting myself up for failure if I had to do speed work. So, Wednesday was another fun pick-ups workout (I seriously love doing these!). I did 4 sets of 2-minute alternating fast pace and my moderate pace, then another 3 sets of 1-minute alternating sprinting pace and a slower pace.

I guess that I was supposed to do my core workout too, but I totally missed it on my spreadsheet. WHOOPS! (I ended up doing it after my Thursday easy run at the hotel).

4.4 miles

THURSDAY
It’s weird that my mid-week easy runs are up to 4 miles now. I never really paid attention to the importance of doing these extra easy runs in my previous training plans (or, I paid attention and thought that I didn’t need them). But I honestly kind of find them mentally refreshing.

We stayed at the new Hilton downtown, which has a really impressive workout space — with a great view of Lake Erie and downtown!

downtown cleveland hilton treadmill view blogger
Treadmill with a view!

4.0 miles

FRIDAY
REST! We were in Cleveland, so we ate gloriously and had a little fun date night out.

SATURDAY
If 9am is wrong… well, yeah, it’s wrong. It was humid AF. Cleveland promised me a cool 70-degree morning, and I got another 85 degree humid run. I had a few total newbie runner fails on this run (despite “being” a runner for almost two years): I didn’t have auto-pause turned on on my new Garmin watch (what?!) and I wanted to take a few touristy pictures, since I WAS in my hometown, I intentionally paused my runs at several points. Welp, sure enough, I forgot to UNpause my watch and this was a timed run. Darn it. It also happened on that big climb from the lakefront into downtown. So, I didn’t get to capture that spectacular awfulness.

Cleveland running blogger free runs
But I captured this awesome selfie!

Because I had my watch set to my workout to do Strides at the end, I ended up running closer to 40 minutes instead of 30. Yeah, and then I had to do those strides. It’s amazing how 20 seconds can seem like an eternity when your legs feel like lead. Definitely didn’t feel the greatness as I did during my mid-week runs, but I was having fun (believe it or not). I didn’t use my headphones on this run either!

Cleveland running blogger free runs
Sightseeing while running – one of my favorite things to do when traveling!

2.9 miles (that felt like 5, holy crap). DONE.

SUNDAY
Oh, hey — I woke up in a different city! 😉

Oh. This place looks familiar! ?? #lovepgh #roadtrip #timeformargaritas

A photo posted by Mel! (@melliesmel) on

Sundays are my long run days, so I pre-planned to have a couple friends meet me in downtown Pittsburgh to do my EARLY 8 miles at a slower pace. We started in kinda humid temperatures, anticipating a storm — which sprinkled on us a few times during the run. But it felt amazing! By the end of the run, the temperature cooled and it was breezy, and I almost felt like myself again (though, really really tired and hungry… oh wait, yeah. That’s me!) I had to be REALLY intentional about slowing down because I kept falling behind and have the tendency to “catch up” to the group. I loved being back in the city where I spent the last six years of my life and running through my old stomping grounds. I cried more during this visit than I expected to.

Pittsburgh blogger runner chocolate milk
No crying over Chocolate Milk though! Fueled by Turner’s, when in Pittsburgh.

8.01 miles / 11:20 avg pace

WEEKLY RUNS: 4
WEEKLY MILES: 19.3 miles
TOTAL TRAINING MILES: 58.35 miles

IMT Des Moines Half Marathon: Training Week #3

- Mel

I don’t know if it’s a personal problem or a runners problem, but there have already been two Saturdays in my training plan where I felt like complete SHIT because I decided to drink the night before. This past Saturday was a complete failure, in that I couldn’t function for an entire day. An ENTIRE day. From just a few glasses of wine at a dinner party. I’m seriously considering not drinking at all for the duration of my training.

That said, this week I was feeling pretty sore and REALLY tired. I’m feeling really slow, which… I don’t know, it’s kind of mentally deflating. Even though I’ve had to take a few of my runs indoors, I still feel really uncomfortably warm when I’m running. I haven’t been able to muster the energy to run in the mornings (yet? probably never lol), so all of my workouts are after work during the week and late afternoon on the weekends. I’m starting to play around with gels during my long runs on the weekends, and I’m researching more about being a salty sweater (and at what point I’ll likely need to start working in salt tabs to my runs, too). And I probably, definitely need to start bringing along a bottle of Cytomax with me instead of just water. I just feel really BLAH.

The plan this week:

  • Two rest days
  • Two easy runs
  • Two core workouts
  • One strength workout
  • One tempo workout
  • One long progression run

MONDAY
My 5th golf lesson focused on chipping and pitching. Working on the short game was actually super fun, despite it feeling really weird on the set-up.

Before bed, I foam rolled for 10 minutes (lots of focus on calves again).

TUESDAY
A flip-flop in the training plan from the last couple weeks, moving the strength workout to Tuesday and easy run to Wednesday. Honestly, I really wanted to run, but I stayed focused on the scheduled workout.

Finished up the evening with another 5 minutes of foam rolling.

WEDNESDAY
Treadmill – run for 35 minutes, around 3.1 miles. I totally forgot to turn off my watch after I got off the treadmill, and my Garmin captured me foam rolling and walking all around the house with my chocolate milk LOL. By the way, does anyone know how to edit a workout on Garmin Connect, so I can remove those random post-workout paces and distance that don’t belong?

THURSDAY
Tempo intervals workout – with 100+ heat index again and storms, it was another speed workout on the treadmill (which is so frustrating and annoying because paces don’t match up and GAH, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I’M DOING).

Mile 1 warm-up at 10:40 pace.
.5 = 5:06.3 / .25 = 2:41.5
.5 = 5:17.3 / .25 = 2:43.3
.5 = 4:55.3 / .25 = 2:41.3

About 3.25 miles.

FRIDAY
Rest Day

SATURDAY
AKA: UGH DAY. I’m definitely re-evaluating how I spend my Rest Days because I can’t keep wasting my weekends this way! In any event, I had to skip today’s easy run (3 miles) + core workout.

SUNDAY
Long Progression Run Day, and OMG it felt good to eat again. I seriously had dreams of eating GU because I was likely so dehydrated. I was feeling a little weak in the morning, so I waited to complete this run in the afternoon. It was still 80 degrees outside, but felt tolerable given the low humidity and a nice breeze. I went back to the Greenbelt Trail since I knew where the 6-mile course took me from last week’s run. But then I was on the trail, it felt 20 degrees warmer than what it was at my house, and… I couldn’t finish my progression run. I was completely tapped out after mile 4, and tried my best to eek out 5. My body was completely cramping up and I felt overheated and like I couldn’t get enough water — I’m being totally serious that I think I was starting to hallucinate (but that deer was definitely real and definitely blocking the trail around mile 3). All around AWFUL.

5.4 miles, average 11:22 pace (5-min warm-up walk / 10:50 / 10:51 / 10:45 / 10:50 / 12:09)

Definitely not a successful-feeling week.

TOTAL RUN DAYS: 3
WEEKLY MILES: 11.75 miles (2.45 fewer miles than last week)
TOTAL TRAINING MILES: 39.05 miles

Flashback Fact: Week #3 when I was training for the Pittsburgh Half in 2015, I only had 18.83 total training miles in at this point (and basically running 1-2 times per week) — I’ve already doubled that mileage. BUT my splits were in the 9:00-9:20 range and it was winter and WAHHHHHH, I HATE THIS WEATHER!

[back to my coconut water]

IMT Des Moines Half Marathon: Training Week #2

- Mel 1 Comment

Week #2 of half marathon training felt great — it was nice to finally get outdoors for a couple runs (even though we had several days over 100 degrees for heat index this week). My schedule happened to coordinate with some great outdoor temps, particularly over the weekend. Again, I didn’t need to switch around any of my run or workout days this week (and I seriously considered it with Thursday’s weather), and did all my workouts as prescribed.

My week at a glance:

  • Two easy run days
  • Long run (6 miles)
  • Pick-ups speed workout
  • One strength workout
  • Two core workouts
  • MUCH foam rolling and trigger point on my calves

MONDAY
Rest Day — and my bi-weekly phone call with my Coach. Everything feels pretty good right now regarding my training program. My legs definitely feel tired though from running 4 times per week, and I’m trying to focus on doing a lot more foam rolling (a massage soon is definitely in order, too). I also need some practice with pacing my speed workouts, which feels very much a practice in Runner 101: Don’t start too fast!

TUESDAY
Easy three-mile run on the treadmill and first of two core workouts for the week.

WEDNESDAY
Strength workout felt tough, despite it being the same workout that I did last week.

THURSDAY
Pick-ups! Something new for my weekly speed workout… which I had to do indoor on the treadmill because it was 105 outdoors.

It was also very sweaty indoors.

iowa running blogger 30something hot in here

I *LOVED* this workout, and I actually wanted to do more! But, I’m sticking to my training plan and trying not to overtrain. Overall, the workout was about 3.10 miles — warming up with 10 minutes at an easy pace with 6 repeats of 1:00 fast and 1:00 not-that-fast (my splits were all over the place — I’m still learning!); finished up with a cool-down, easy pace for another 10 minutes.

I also spent a good 10 minutes of foam rolling my calves after this workout, since they felt so knotted and sore for most of the week. It definitely helped!

FRIDAY
Much-enjoyed rest day — we made a ridiculous amount of food and a giant cheese plate and watched the Olympics opening ceremony until we both passed out on the couch.

SATURDAY
Easy 2 miles — OUTSIDE! It was awesome! Followed up with my 2nd Core workout of the week.

iowa running blog half marathon training

SUNDAY
We drove to the Greenbelt Trailhead in Clive, and I did my 6 miles out on the trails while the boyfriend rode his bike. It was too beautiful of a day to waste inside on the treadmill, and I saw so many fun things on my run. It’s also nice to see how the different trails connect for when I need to venture further. I’m still getting my bearings out here, but absolutely love running out in the woods.

iowa run blogger greenbelt trail
(I’m really interested to know what that little gingerbread house was all about… and look at that tiny library on the TRAILS!!! Made me *squee* when I ran past it.)

This run was a battle of efforts between my legs and the rest of my body. The legs wanted to go fast, and the rest of me felt the makings of maybe working a bit too hard. But any time that I tried to slow up, my legs felt heavy and almost like I was tripping over my own feet getting them to move at all. So, I opted for a kinda-higher effort level because my legs said so, and I did OK on keeping mostly even splits.

6 miles, 1:01:22 / 10:13 overall pace
9:56 (1) / 10:02 (2) / 10:01 (3) / 10:13 (4) / 11:01 (5) / 10:07 (6)

(I have no idea what happened in Mile 5 because at four miles in was when I was eating a GU and slowing up to intentionally digest it). ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

TOTAL RUN DAYS: 4
WEEKLY MILES: 14.2
TOTAL TRAINING MILES: 27.3 miles

IMT Des Moines Half Marathon:: Training Week #1

- Mel

Doing something a little different this training cycle — besides upgrading my running watch and running in Iowa — I hired a coach! My big, hopeful goal for the IMT Des Moines Half Marathon in October is based on time, but I’m focused on seeing through this 12-week training plan and its required weekly workouts to see what happens when I really put my feet where my mouth is. Or something.

And I feel more motivated than ever.

My week at a glance:

  • Two easy run days
  • Tempo Interval run
  • Long run
  • One strength workout
  • Two core workouts

The training plan for Week #1 worked well with my schedule, and I didn’t need to flip around any workouts. On the weekend, I *still* could not wake up early enough for the local run groups (though I was out of bed by 7am both days), even with one of my running friends texting me.

MONDAY
Scheduled rest day, and I had my 4th golf lesson. I’m getting so much better that I’m almost in shock over it. I’m making more consistent contact with the ball — and some of them even go 80 yards and straight! 😉

TUESDAY
30-minute easy run. Tuesday’s workout was also a good test recording my treadmill run on my new Garmin. I still have to read up about the accuracy of the distance and pace — but it’s a pretty sweet feature (among others) of the Forerunner 230.

WEDNESDAY
Strength workout — with the realization that I need to get some heavier weights at home for squats and deadlifts because I don’t intend to go to the gym only for those two things. But I am sincerely considering putting my gym membership on hold for a few months.

THURSDAY
I took Thursday’s run outside, for a tempo intervals workout, which… SUCKED. I know much of the suckiness was due to the heat, but I sincerely wanted to quit everything after my second repeat. But it’s new, so I’ll suck it up and continue to do the work (and hope that it gets easier, which… HAAAAAA!). I followed up with a core-focused workout and foam rolling.

FRIDAY
Rest day!

SATURDAY
Afternoon on the treadmill again (outside is back up to, like, 80% humidity again) – an easy 2 miles. Afterward, I repeated my core workout and did some upper body reps on my TRX.

SUNDAY
Prescribed was an hour-long hilly workout that I did on my treadmill again. I didn’t feel well for most of the morning (and early afternoon), and I wasn’t sure it was best to run outside — in case I REALLY didn’t feel well, and I was a couple miles away from home feeling dreadful. But I maintained a pretty easy pace and managed the inclines OK (I inadvertently picked a map that went to 12% incline OMG).

iowa running blogger treadmill training
Tales from the Treadmill

All said, I’m happy with my first week of training AND my commitment to following my training program. Despite my speed work needing some work, I feel good and I like the variety in my weekly workouts.

TOTAL RUN DAYS: 4
WEEKLY/TOTAL TRAINING MILEAGE: 13.1 — hey, that’s kind of an awesomely-ironic number!

Weekly Therapy: Brevity is the soul of wit.

- Mel

the week:
I had one of the most inspiring and empowering experiences at work this week — invited by a coworker to a women’s networking event, which was lead by an incredible speaker (a senior executive at my workplace). The event encouraged these feelings of female camaraderie that I’ve never had at ANY of my jobs, and also helped me make the decision to post to an open position. I really, really like my job, and well… I’m feeling pretty pumped this week.

weekend:
This morning is Bootcamp & BBQ at Life Time. One of my coworkers had a part in putting together the obstacle course, and a few others from work will be out for the fun. I’m pretty excited about this event (and also for some much-needed pool time) for something new to do and getting outside for a dirty, sweaty workout.

seven things, seven days:
1. I hired a running coach for my half marathon training! More on that in a later post.
2. Many thanks to several other runners online who helped with recommendations on their favorite running watch. You know that I’ve NEVER, in over two years, connected my current Garmin to the Connect software because wires? I upgraded to the 230, which OMG BLUETOOTH SYNC! is exactly what I needed.
3. I got two separate kudos at our team meeting this week. WHOOP!
4. The power randomly cut off at work on Wednesday, so they sent everyone in our building home an hour or so early.
5. Our weather got up to 115 degrees this week, and it was as awful as you think.
6. I LOVED Hootie & The Blowfish, so I LOVED THIS ARTICLE: My Life in the Bush of Hootie about signing the band to their first record deal. {via Observer}
7. If it doesn’t suck, it’s not worth doing — the science of the anticipation of an event and pushing past your capabilities {via Medium}

Sunday Lately for this 30-Something:: Week 81

- Mel

Blogger Tribe_Sunday Lately I really look forward to these posts every Sunday. Not only do I have a weekly ritual on Sunday of setting up my week for success, but blogging regularly helps me decompress from the previous week.

Sunday Lately is a weekly linkup hosted by the Blogger Tribe (lead by Angelica, Meghan, Nicole, and Katy) where everyone is welcome to pop a tent and share some S’mores. Catch up and read all of my Sunday Lately posts and camp out with the Tribe on Facebook

The prompts for July 17 (Week 81) :: Planning, Loving, Reading, Wishing, Feeling.

Planning:: My half marathon training! I’ve been working on adding all my runs to my calendar, and searching for races nearby that fit into that training schedule. I’m SO EXCITED to start this training next week!

Also, I’m thinking about what other races I can add into my post-half calendar, since I strongly prefer racing and training in the Fall. I want to enjoy as much of the season as possible (yes, even into the winter months). Have any recommendations for not-to-miss fall/winter races in the Midwest(ish) area?

Loving:: this wildflower bouquet that the boyfriend brought home! It was cut from a local farm (sold at Hy-Vee), and most of these flowers and greens I’ve never seen. It’s really lovely. And yes, you can see my weekend “workspace” at the end of the kitchen island back there. 😉

sunflowers wildflowers iowa blogger
Sunflowers are my favorite!

Reading:: three books at once again. I’m a couple chapters into Liz Pryor’s book: Look at You Now, and The Three Laws of Performance. I started (finally) reading my Blogging for Books request from MONTHS ago: “He Wanted the Moon,” which… is not the book I expected (nor want to really read when I’m trying to relax), so I’m having trouble picking it up consistently.

Next up, I’ve got Peak (the science of expertise!), Fearless Golf (for golf and beyond!), and the Science of Running (which, awesomely, Amazon sent me a digital copy to download once I purchased the actual book!) — as I’m apparently in my performance psychology space again. When this group of prompts comes around again, I hope to have them finished. 🙂

Wishing:: for another weather day like Friday. There was no humidity at lunch, so our department’s informal Lunch Club ate outside. It was only 73 degrees when I left that day, which felt SO COMFORTABLE! We opened all the windows in the house again, and it was just the perfect evening. It only lasted one day because I went outside for a run yesterday and it was MISERABLY HUMID once again.

Feeling:: As I mentioned above, I’m feeling really pumped about my upcoming running season, since I didn’t get much of anything done in the spring (and totally flaked out on marathon training). I’m reading all the articles about time goals and speed work — and even reached out for possibility of working with a coach this year. I feel like I have a constant runner’s high!