Happy Sunday! I hope you guys are having a great weekend. I slept in and ate donuts so it’s been a pretty magical morning over here. More on that when I post the weekend recap tomorrow.
I’m a little over halfway done with my “informal” Thunder Road Half Marathon training. The race is November 14. Overall, I’m pleasantly surprised by how good I have felt on my runs and how motivated I am to get out on the road. I think several factors are at play here…
- I LOVE FALL RUNNING. The weather and scenery have been so gorgeous.
- I haven’t trained for anything since last year’s Thunder Road so it feels good to be working towards something.
- My totally relaxed approach to training.
So far I’ve been running 3-4 times per week. The first run of the week is 3 or 4 miles, second is 5ish, third (if included) is 3 and then the long run. I’ve supplemented the running with as much yoga as I can fit in and some strength training.
Long runs so far…
Week 1: 6 miles
Week 2: 8 miles
Week 3: 6 miles
Week 4: 11 miles
Week 5: 10 miles (this week)
Plan for the three remaining long runs:
Week 6: 9 miles
Week 7: 12 miles
Week 8: 8 miles
RACE DAY!
My long run pace has averaged 8:45-9ish (and that’s felt really manageable) so I’m anticipating an 8:30ish pace on race day which will give me a 1:50ish finish. I worked really hard for last year’s sub 1:45 finish and I just don’t think that’s in the cards for me this year. (And I am totally fine with that!)
I don’t know about you guys but it can be hard for me to break the mentality of racing without working towards a new PR but this has been such a refreshing training cycle because it’s reminded me how much I just love to get out there and run. I’m so excited about race day just to line up at the starting line and run through our beautiful city while soaking up the energy of all the other runners!
Monday
Hot yoga
Tuesday
4 mile run
Wednesday
Hot yoga
Thursday
5 mile run
Friday
REST
Saturday
10 mile run
Sunday
Hot yoga
You’ll notice a lack of strength training this week. Not my preference but just the way life shook out. I’ll get a couple of good lifting sessions in next week. All works out in the end! 🙂
Tell me about your current running goals, training, mindset, etc? Are you working to set a PR or tackle a new distance? Or just running for fun?
