13.1 Miles: Training Week 9

Oh boy, where do I begin with Training Week 9?  This training week was a little different than last week’s and the weeks before, since I only got 2 days of running in.

After traveling this month, my training schedule seemed to finally be back on track…until NBA All-Star (and a pretty nasty head cold) came to town.

Speaking of colds, yup…I played with rain fire and got in trouble, again.

Let me explain…

Day 33

Monday: February 20, 2012

Have I mentioned how much I love running around my neighborhood lately?

I absolutely love running outside, when weather permits of course. Monday was an easy 3 miles…done.

Miles: 3

Time: 25:37

Speed: 7 mil/hour

Pace: 8:33 min/mi

Post-Run Meal:

Lunch consisted of a new popular wrap of the household: deli ham, a slice of Swiss cheese, fresh spinach & diced up pickles and black olives all on a Carbsmart Whole Wheat Tortilla.

Oh, and there was a fabulous snack of Dannon Light & Fit Vanilla yogurt topped with fresh berries a few minutes after that.

YUM.

Day 34

Wednesday: February 22, 2012

Speaking of running outside, what Scott and I thought might be a little “drizzle” turned into a serious torrential downpour on Day 34!  I should have learned my lesson about running in the rain, but I guess I didn’t.  You see, I had just taken Roadie down for a walk – without rain – 5 minutes earlier.  I was determined to get our 4 miles in and just get ‘er done.

Bad idea!

After mile 1, it really started pouring down and after mile 2.5 I started hearing thunder and seeing lightening.  Once that hit, I ran my little behind home as quickly as possible! 3.83 miles out of 4 was good enough for me, and if nothing else the rainstorm really sped up my pace. 😉

Miles: 3.83

Time: 32:05

Speed: 7.2 mil/hour

Pace: 8:22 min/mi

Post-Run Meal:

After getting upstairs – drenched from head to toe – I hopped in the shower and made the quickest meal possible.

Within 5 minutes I had a meal complete with a Morning Star Veggie Corn Dog, an ear of left over corn on the cob, and a serving of Baby Broccoli Blend from Birdseye Steamfresh.  Steamfresh veggies might be my favorite thing to pop in the microwave these days, especially when I’m wanting something nutritious in a hurry.

Due to the craziness and sickness this weekend, I didn’t get my other two training days in.  As much as the thought of this drove me crazy, I’m starting to realize we’re all human and I’m sure I’m not the only one who had to skip a day or two of training during preparing for a half-marathon.  My most important goal of getting through the 12 miler last weekend is reached, and I’m still confident I can do this!

What I’ve learned this week:

• If you have to miss training day runs, still save your long ones for the weekend.
• A great way to challenge yourself is to aim for speeding up your pace on low mile days.
• No matter how much you don’t want to skip a training day, sometimes life gets in the way and it’s inevitable.

Goals for next week:

Learn to be okay with resting.  There’s only a few days standing between me and the Gasparilla Distance Classic, and at this point I’m okay with missing a few training days.

I’m adding a few miles onto Day 37, but other than that my last training week will remain easy.  Almost there!

A combined Training Week 9 & 10 Playlist coming soon… 🙂