Fall Half Training Week 1

And so we begin again...

Three weeks away from any sort of training plan was nice, but I like structure in my workouts so happy to get going again.

I'll be running the Scotiabank Waterfront Half Marathon in October for the third time. I have a bit of nostalgia for this race as it was my first half in 2011. Signed up a week or two after running my first 10K and my friend was all like "I'm going to start training for a half!" and got me excited. Two years later, I've run 6 halfs and he has yet to do his first (I try to peer pressure him every year).

As anyone who's been following my blog this year will probably know, a 2:30 half has been my goal for a bit. I came close at my last two (2:33 and 2:34) so it's most likely very do-able this fall. As added insurance, I just began my first running room clinic to keep me on track and to make sure I'm getting quality training in.

Thinking back to my spring training, the things that worked well for me:

• increasing my run/walk ratio from 5/1's to 10/1's 
• running 4 times per week instead of 3
• decent tempo runs
• yoga and quality post-run stretching

Things that need to be changed:

• incorporating hills and speed work (especially the hills)
• maintaining 10/1's on all long runs. This really falls apart for me when I get tired and start taking extra walk breaks.
• keeping up with lower body strength training. I dropped it early in my training because my legs were tired all the time (perhaps P90X Legs and Back was not the best choice). My hips/quads don't bother me when I've been doing squats and the such so I'm going to keep on with the lower body work. I'm currently in phase 2 of Chalean Extreme so will keep at that, switching from three strength training sessions per week to two.

The running room clinic will keep me on track with the first two changes and I kind of love strength training, so I'm fine with the third. My weeks will look something like this (providing work/life doesn't get in the way):

Monday - strength training

Tuesday - run (tempos by the looks of my training plan)

Wednesday - run either with clinic whenever possible or on own. Tempos, speed, hills.

Thursday - run clinic 

Friday - strength training

Saturday - rest day or yoga 

Sunday - long with with clinic

6 days per week is my usual workout schedule so this seems manageable. I'm not 100% sure about the three running days in a row but we'll see how that goes.

Onto last week's training:

Monday

Chalean Extreme Push Circuit 1 & Extreme Abs. I love Push Circuit - heavy weights, 6 to 8 reps. I feel bad ass. Biceps, triceps, lower body and core. Followed up with a bit of Rodney Yee yoga.

Tuesday

Tempo Run. 6.05K in 43 minutes (7:02/km)

Wednesday

Push Circuit 2 & Extreme Abs. Shoulders, lower body, core.

Thursday

Running Room Clinic - tiny little run. Was supposed to be 3K but Garmin said 2.78. 19 minutes = 6:53/km. Decided to walk to and from Running Room which was 8K in total. Might not do that anymore.

Friday

Push Circuit 3 & Extreme Abs. Chest, back, lower body, core.

Saturday

Hatha Flow. Went in expecting an easy class, but the levels at the new studio I'm going to seem to be different than my old studio. This class was pretty much exactly at my level, so I could focus on my alignment and breathing. Challenging enough though to get a sweat going.

Sunday

First LSD with running room (took the bus this time - no walking). 7km in 51 minutes, 7:17/km. I really enjoyed running with a group and that kept me with my 10/1's, no extra walk breaks. Thinking now that maybe this wasn't as slow as needed since my best half marathon pace is 7:16/km, but I'm sure we'll slow down as the distance increases.

Yin Yoga - I have a month long unlimited pass so I'm trying some classes that I might not normally go to. This was super boring. 75 minute class, we probably did 12 poses - held for longer periods. I'm sure it was super beneficial for my body, but really not my thing.   

All in all, a good first week of training.