Now that the race is getting relatively close. I want to document this journey a la Jenny. I am not very good remembering the after workout feeling the next day, thus can’t make informed adjustment as needed. By blogging about it, I hope to be more in tune with how I am feeling, and more disciplined following the plan (aka, not run more than prescribed).
Monday: rest day. 30 min yoga with Tim. I find his voice soothing so have been doing more his sessions.
Tuesday: 90 min progressive run (9.5 miles total). 35 min warm up at easy pace, 25 min at 8:40 min/mi, 15 min at 8:20, 5 min at 7:40, 10 min cool down. I didn’t sleep well, partly because I was worried I’d get up late and won’t be able to start at 5:30am, and also a bit nervous about this run since it’s the longest progressive run I’ve done for a long time. I didn’t check my oura because I know it won’t help knowing my readiness was low. I headed out after a toast with almond butter and 10 min dynamic warm up. I felt good for the first hour, pace on target, but then I couldn’t hit 8:20 min/mi for the second half. My effort level was higher while pace was slower, partly because I was on a uphill on the return. I really wanted to stop for a minute to catch my breath but kept on thinking that nothing hurts other than my HR was probably higher than it should be. I reminded myself that I was grateful to get this far, just push for less than 10 min and it would be over. 10 min after that, I did my slimfit class, which was bad planning as I would be better doing long unwind/stretch. BUT I enjoyed it anyway and noticed that in every single class we have 1 circuit focused on the hamstring, which is what avoided me back pain. I was quite tired by the combined effort and took the afternoon easy and ensured big lunch despite lack of appetite. I had lunch with a colleague who did 500 km bike race in Italy a month ago, over 56 hours. You can imagine our topic of lunch 😉
Wednesday: 80 min easy run on the book (8 miles). I woke up feeling well, slept very well, and nothing particular hurt. My oura said I didn’t recovered well as my HR stayed higher for 3/4 of the night. Oh well… I ate my toast and ready to enjoy whatever length of super easy recovery run. I finished 8 miles, averaging 10:36 with HR of 127. super chill and lovely run. I felt good the whole run and thinking this is what’s absorbing a good workout should feel like. I could feel the training but I feel good. Then I did 10 min stretch.
Thursday: two sets of 15 min marathon pace after warm up and cool down (7.2 miles total). On pace and felt good, although garmin continues to rate my runs unproductive. Not sure why and I choose to ignore it. slimfit followed and worked on stability, lower back and core. I enjoyed sharing the pain with fellow ladies.
Friday: woke up more tired than the day before. Did 30 min chill yoga and telling myself that I’m absorbing the training today, focus on refueling and rest.
Saturday: 6.5 miles easy run, feeling the flow, the sun in my face and plan my weekend plan. The rest of the day was spent at the swimming meet up and meal prepping few things, which left me a bit too tired than I should have.
Sunday: woke up not feeling fully recharged. weird dreams and mild headache. I made the mistake of checking my oura ring with 76 readiness. Sigh. I should know better. I did finish my LR of 12 miles, super slow as cardio felt more tired than usual, not sure if it’s physiological or mentally triggered by the oura readiness. I did want to over think about it, just focused on the mile. And then my phone died 1.5 miles to go. Instead of crying by the lack of music to push through the last uphill to get home, I embraced the experience of running without the music. my mind was a bit confused, not sure what to think. But I finished, feeling less bad than mid run. I did the stretching while talking to my mom and carried my day as usual, surprisingly not as exhausted as I thought.
Total miles 43. Next week will be reload week before the half. I will take the opportunity to rest. I am glad that my lower back discomfort disappeared almost completely after getting back to slimfit. Right knee also stopped complaining, left knee still here and there but usually recovered before the next run.
Our New Journey 
You’re doing so well!
The temptation to stop and catch your breath is real! I can’t tell you how often I want to do that… and sometimes I give in.
But I really like your thought: nothing hurts other than the HR probably being higher than it should be. I should remember that one. And nothing beats the feeling of a successful workout where you put in full effort.
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I’m reading closely here- so you do two harder run workouts on Tuesday and Thursday, and also slimfit. Then Wednesday and Friday are recovery days. And, you have two days in between slimfit and your long run. I’m struggling with how to put all these pieces together!
I’m glad you’re blogging about your workouts- I like seeing how other people manage their training. I’m glad everything is feeling good! I mean you had some difficult moments but were able to push through- that’s a successful week.
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Excited for your last 12 weeks of training. It really pays off to stick to a training plan but ALSO really pay attention to fueling and recovery. It’s such an important balance. It sounds like you’re doing well though. Keep going!
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