Weekly Running Report: January 10, 2021

Hi Everyone!

Hope you are all doing well! 

How's training going? Any races (IRL or virtual)?  

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This was Week 5 of 20 marathon training for Gettysburg North-South Marathon for me.

My Week in Training:

Monday: 6 miles. Oh Monday Monday. We meet again. Sunday, focus on "rest" day after a strong start to the year. Definitely feeling the extra miles. But.. hydrate, foam roll, stretch, massage gun. Did have a SundayFunday beverage or two. In bed on time. Up in the middle of the night, and then up way before my alarm. Up early! Coffee, full workout (core, arms, shoulders, chest), and out the door by 6. going for a comfy pace today. Don't think I would of had much say in that. lol.. Felt it early!  Extra miles over the three day weekend to start the year. Did rest Sunday, but still feeling it. Legs were a bit heavy. Going with the flow today. Wasn't horrible to the point of cussing or exhaustion, legs just a bit heavy. Other than that, was pretty decent.

Tuesday: 6.22 miles. Monday, hydrate, foam roll, stretch, in bed on time.. But.. up again at 3am. In horror movies, 3 am is the witching hour, wonder if I should be concerned? lol..  Try to fall back to sleep. Eventually, and hen the alarm hits. Tired to start. Coffee. Short workout in (arms/core), will try to do more sets later. Foam roll my back, light stretch, and ut the door by 6. So.. new plan this week, going fwd. (hopefully). Tuesday is speed day. 6 miles. Based on yesterday, had some doubts going in. But going to try to push a bit harder.  Got my speed shoes on at least. lol.. A little brisk out, but not bad. Going with no gloves/hat. Focus on breathing and then I'm off! Felt better than yesterday from the start. First couple pace alerts in 7:40's and getting it down to the 30's for a bit. Rolling along. Fading slightly as the inclines added up, but still looking good at the 3 mi mark before my fav hill. Trying not to over do it up the hill, without losing too much. around 7:50 as it levels out. Maintenance mode for a bit, still hangin in there at the gradual incline before a steep hill in mi 5. Pushed through to keep it sub 8. Briefly thought about doing an extra mi, but since it's my first week following this plan, sticking to it. for now, did .22 for 10k. Felt pretty good throughout. A slight pain recently in my right lower calf, but not bad. Breathing was rough to start, but got in rhythm. Crazy how rough the hills were yesterday, but felt good today. 

Wednesday: 3.11 miles. Well, the sleep pattern is consistent, and was rough this morning! Did focus on recovery Tuesday. In bed on time. Am falling asleep right away, but if I wake up a few hours later, issues falling back to sleep again. Up around 3. Also had heartburn this time. (spicy wings). Try not to think too much once up, but once the mind starts going, pressure to fall back to sleep adds up. Eventually got a few more minutes rest. That alarm clock was rough this morning! Up, coffee, got my workout going. (core/arms/shoulders/chest), and out the door around 6:15. Wed is my new "non" running day. Will try doing 5k's, if the plan gets too tough, may cut back more on wed/sun. We'll see. Nice and brisk. Going for a comfy pace today, no pressure. Started out around 8:20 and gradually brought it down. Wasn't pushing too hard, rolling along.  7:55 ish before my fav hill, 8:04 ish after. Brought it back down to 8. Another hill around 2.2 and 2.7. Hung in to keep it around 8. My workout was tough to start, but everything felt good after. I'm sure I'll have plenty of coffee later. lol.. 

Thursday: 7 miles. (scheduled for 6?) Wed, recovery steps and in bed on time. Ready for bed, but with all the craziness in the world, mind didnt shut off right away as it normally does. About an hr late, but quality rest, maybe up once, but not for long. Up just before my alarm. Coffee, workout (core/arms, shoulders), and out the door by 6. Nice and brisk. Probably should of worn gloves, but finding the more comfortable/warm, the more likely to just go with the flow. Briskness has me enjoying the air and trying to warm up. lol.. Comfy pace, started out a bit slow, but gradually brought it down. Picking it up and enjoying the air. Inclines adding up, per usual. Fav hill around 3.1, fading slightly. 8:08 ish as it levels. Not pushing it to bring it down, but focus on breathing and strike. Incline and steep hill at 5.3. Always do a countdown as I go up it. Maintain breathing and focus. Felt good as I got to the top. Smile for the camera (sec camera on a house/car right by as the hill levels.) :) Straight away would end 6 by my end point, but feeling good. Doing a couple more side streets for 7. Which includes a steady decline/incline and a little more incline before the end. Felt pretty good today. 

Friday: 5 miles. Thur, focus on recovery, yada-yada. Did participate in Thirsty Thursday (follow my untappd acct to see what I had.) :) Well behaved, in bed on time and got some rest! Up once, but able to fall back to sleep, and up just before my alarm. Felt somewhat refreshed. Short workout. (Core/chest), foam roll, stretch, and out the door a few min after 6. Was ready at 6, but dilly dallying. Looking fwd to my run, but not feeling work after. lol..  Brisk out! Mid 20's. Wearing gloves today, for sure! lol..  Pacing, planning on a comfortable pace. Felt pretty good early. Not going to over do it, but felt good. Focus on breathing and foot strike. Through the inclines with no issues. Fav hill at 3.2 ish. Pacing 8:03 ish as it levels. Still feeling good. Not going to add distance, or push too hard. After my hill, decided to cut some of the level section out to add another hill. Did have a decline back to get there though. Added one good extra hill before my short/steep hill. Was fun. As I approached my end point found that I could of added another hill. Diff route, mixing it up, had about .3 to add at the end, but no big hill nearby at that point. Felt pretty good today. Hope it carries into the weekend!

Saturday: 13.1 miles. Friday, carb load, foam roll, stretch, massage gun, relax. In bed on time, up once, but a decent night's rest. Alarm set for 5:15, up just before that. Coffee, taking my time, routine, go to warm up my car.. a bit chilly out! Taking my time even more after that. Daylight around 7, forecast for sun most of the day. Over to my trail around 7:20. Sun starting to warm things up, questioned if I needed my hat, started with it (definitely needed gloves to start). My trail Pennypack Creek. Park in the middle, Welsh and Terwood Rd. Starting towards the gradual incline side to Rocklege Park. Pacing: started out much faster than planned. Expecting to pull it back a bit, did slightly, and expected to fade a bit more up the incline. Not so much. Focus on breathing and foot strike. Pace mid 7:30's at the Rockledge Park turnaround. Continued focus and maintain on the return. Trail back/forth is 11 ish. Adding two ish on a side trail. Lorimar Park side trail to Pennypack Park. small rolling inclines, figured to fade a bit over here. Briefly thought about skipping this section for an easier section, but didn't want to take the easy way out. Trail overall is flat enough. Side trail for 10 min then back. Steep incline just before the main trail. Pacing 7:45 ish. Better than expected. Passed my car, skipped hydrating. May not be smart, but didn't feel the need. (was also distracted when parking earlier, talking to a friend, forgot to set my bottles out). Off to the more wooded side to ByBerry Rd and back. Once I passed the one hour mark, (before my car), had a count down going rest of the way. (probably also why I skipped stopping). 1:45:ss my unofficial PR, going to try hard to stay sub 8 for the remaining way. Passing more people, mask on/off (which was frozen for a while), fueled later than usual. Found a break from ppl, fueled with about 3 mi to go. Continued focus to maintain an unofficial PR. 1:42:29. Felt good throughout! (never felt bonked, etc) May have even been able to push a little more. My speedy friend once said I'll break 1:40 someday, thought he was crazy, not feeling so far fetched anymore. I know it's unofficial. Especially since I lose some to tangents in a race. Hopefully when it's go time, and with a taper, I'll be ready! Also still love my Saucony Endorphin Pro's! Got another pair for xmas for when these are retired!  

Full pics on Facebook

Sunday: 3.11 miles. Saturday, Epsom bath, foam roll, stretch, massage gun, and sure to hydrate before any shenanigans. Did have a few beverages, could of hydrated better along the way. Up past my bed time, did however get a good night's rest. Even slept in a bit. Coffee and really taking my time. Wasn't too motivated to get out the door. Not too tired or sore, just wasn't in a hurry. Out after 9:30. Brisk, but sunny. Didnt bother with gloves, but could of used them the first few minutes. Pace, not trying to push it too much, but better than just through the motions. Slow the first couple minutes, but gradually got it down. Faded up my fav hill. Brought it back down briefly before two more hills. Felt decent today, but definitely felt the few hills though. Will try to focus on recovery and behave somewhat to start the week off right tomorrow. 

Weekly Summary:

Miles: 43.6 miles running completed 

Year to date: 73.8

Strength Training: Goal 150 minutes, 214 minutes completed. What type of strength training do I do? Core: crunches, planks, leg raises. Weights: biceps, triceps, shoulders, chest. 

Hydration Goal:  7 days 

Foam Roll: 7 days 

Miscellaneous Cardio:  nada

Training Plan:  Week 5 of 20 using the below training plan. Plan titled "Advanced", please note, I in no way consider myself advanced. I have used the intermediate plan for four seasons, and want to try the next level. We shall see if I survive! lol.. 

Image from Coach Jenny Hadfield

Race Schedule: 

04.25.2021 Gettysburg North-South Marathon

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Good luck to everyone with training! Kick some butt! 

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