Half-Marathon Training: Week 1

I wasn’t sure if I was going to share a breakdown of how my half-marathon training weeks are going this time around. After a handful of email requests to cover more about my training, I decided to bring them back!

To be honest, knowing I am going to do so really helps me to stay on track. At this point, I don’t plan on skipping any training days and include all of my workouts and rest days, along with my post-run and post-workout meals.

Please keep in mind that this is a six week half-marathon training plan I came up with on my own, specifically catered to what works best for me. Feel free to take a look in the archives for my first half-marathon training plan (you will find the section under the Fitness Page) that lasted a duration of ten weeks if you are looking for something closer to a beginner level.

Here’s how it all went down!

Half-Marathon Training: Week 1 Recap

The plan…

What I did (Week 1: September 8 – 14, 2014)

• Monday –  3 miles

I kicked off my half training with Alex! I already mentioned it this morning, but she is also racing with me for the Hope Water Project and runs about the same pace as me.

Her adorable pup, Macy, is twelve years old, so we dropped her off after a short walk and continued onto our run with Roadie. It was an easy, breezy first run around my neighborhood!

Distance: 3 miles

Time: 30:00(ish) – didn’t stop my watch

Pace: 10:00 min./mile

Neither of us cared much about time this run. We crossed a few busy streets without pausing and had to stop several times for Roadie.

Recovery:

We both ate (filling) Chipotle chicken salads for lunch, so we kept our post-run meal on the lighter side with a couple of fruit and protein smoothies.

Pineapple, watermelon, strawberries, blueberries, frozen grapes, Vanilla Designer Whey protein powder, ice.

• Tuesday – strength training

Taking a break from the miles, I joined Scott in a trip to Fitness Pilates class Tuesday night. It was killer!

 Recovery:

Romaine lettuce, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, red and green pepper, cucumbers, green olives, kalamata olives, a sliced hardboiled egg, feta cheese and rotisserie chicken drizzled in balsamic vinegar for dressing.

See a full list of Tuesday’s eats on last week’s WIAW.

• Wednesday – 4 miles (tempo run) 

This was my first time attempting a tempo run. Since the mileage wasn’t crazy high, I decided to break it up into a mile of slow/warm-up running, two miles of hard running, and finish with a mile of slow/cool-down running. I found a break between heavy rain clouds and did my best to dodge the puddles!

Distance: 4 miles

Time: 35:19

Pace: 8:49 min./mile

This average pace is very close to what I trained at last time. I hope to keep it under 9 minutes for most of my shorter training runs!

Recovery:

Gluten-free spaghetti noodles in marinara sauce with sweet Italian turkey sausage, mushrooms, and yellow and green peppers.

(With a glass of red wine with a side of Friends. Why not?)

• Thursday – barre class + 3 miles (easy pace)

Since this training day called for a slow run, I took advantage of it and wanted to try a new (to me) barre class at my gym that morning.

It was definitely a challenge!

I originally planned to knock out my easy paced three miles after class, but my legs were too weak. I held off and took Roadie out for a run around the neighborhood later that afternoon. It was chilly enough to wear a sweatshirt, which I still can’t decide is a good or bad thing.

Distance: 3 miles (easy pace)

Time: 30:56

Pace: 10:18 min./mile

I wasn’t expecting much out of this run. It was slow and steady. I’m assuming the point is to actively recover from the harder runs while upping my weekly mileage!

Recovery:

Leftovers!

(same pasta that is pictured above!)

• Friday – REST

Friday was a much needed rest day for the muscles. I spent a lot of our down time at an event I worked in the back stretching, massaging my legs, then foam rolling when I got home. Hey… you gotta do what you gotta do!

• Saturday – REST

Instead of completing my long training run for the week on Saturday, I pushed it back a day and enjoyed an easy two mile sunset walk around the neighborhood with Roadie.

The weather was glorious and it was just what I needed to unwind.

• Sunday – 7 miles

I included the details about this run in this morning’s post. Alex and I decided to run together and she took me down to the Paint Creek Trail. It was filled with gorgeous views and perfectly cool running weather!

Distance: 7 miles

Time: 1:09:39

Pace: 9:57 min./mile

Neither one of us are used to running longer than 6 miles at a time. In fact, this was Alex’s first time attempting it! I was so proud of her for powering through, and we pushed each other to keep going the entire time. I was very happy with how the run went, but I’m hoping to include at least a mile of faster running next time.

Recovery:

A grande non-fat cinnamon dolce cappuccino (<- thanks for getting me hooked on those, Julie!) while grocery shopping, several handfuls of corn tortilla chips with homemade guacamole, and chicken fajitas.

It was all so delicious!

Week 1 Thoughts

I am not training as “hard core” as I did the first time. I have confidence in my training plan and know that if I keep up with it and don’t miss any training days that I will be just fine come race time.

Since I am running with friends, I am not as worried about my time and have an overall goal of finishing the race. If I happen to cross the finish line anywhere close to the 2 hour mark, I will be thrilled!

***

After running around like a mad woman most of the morning and taking care of some adult responsibilities this afternoon, I’m excited to get back outdoors with the pup and knock out the first training day of Week 2 as soon as I sign off. See ya back in the morning!

Questions of the Afternoon

• Have you ever trained for a long distance race?

• If you have done more than one at the same distance, how similar was your training the second or third time around?