#gostl half marathon training: week 4
This was honestly my BEST week of training in probably the past year. Running felt effortless. Easy runs felt easy. Hard runs felt hard but manageable. My paces were spot on, and I felt like I'm finally back to where I was 2 years ago, before I got pregnant with Miles.My goal for this past week was to just really focus on trying to finish my workouts and hit the times I needed too. Running for me is probably 90% mental. I second guess myself constantly and talk myself out of doing the workout I'm supposed to do all the time. I know it doesn't seem like that from the looks of my training, but I promise you, my head is constantly telling my body that it can't do it.Being competitive is part of what helps me get past wanting to quit. I want to be the best at everything I do and I feel like with running, I am the ONLY person who is in control of that. My job, parenting, etc. - I'm not 100% in control. But, running, I am. If I want to be the best, I have to really push myself in my training. No quitting, no giving up, no mediocrity. I'm not OK with being mediocre, so I have to give 100% with every run. I'd say that happens 90% of the time, which pushes me through the mental toughness part of the training. (How I can teach that to my athletes, I have no clue? If anyone figures that out, let me know!)This is the first week where I've felt like pushing past those mental challenges is actually starting to pay off. I saw times I haven't seen in almost 2 years and the only way I was able to do that was by getting out of my comfort zone. And you know what? It felt GREAT!
Monday: 45 minute easy run (5.42 miles @ 8:18/mile)WOD: 3 rounds:DB Push-Press 21x, 15 lbsSDHP 21x, 20 lbsBox Jumps 21x, 18"Situps 21x
Tuesday: 5 minute warm-up, 15 x 20 seconds with 1 minute recoveries, 5 minute cool down (3.66 miles @ 8:12/mile - 20s intervals @ 10.0 mph)I had to do this one on the treadmill because I typically can't hit my paces on the pavement in these sorts of runs. This is still probably one of my favorite runs - short + tough!WOD: AMRAP in 15 minutes:Run 200mBox Jumps 20x, 12"DB Push-Press 15x, 15 lbs
Wednesday: 30 minute easy run (3.74 miles @ 8:02/mile)Yoga: 21 Day Fix Yoga Fix (thank goodness for Beachbody on Demand on my new Roku!)Thursday: 40 minute tempo run - 10 minutes easy, 20 minutes at 7:00-7:18/mile, 10 minutes easy (5.17 miles @ 7:44/mile)I was super nervous about this run. 20 minutes at that pace is something I haven't done in months. But, once I got going, it felt almost (almost!) effortless!Mile 1 - 8:02Mile 2 - 7:34Mile 3 - 7:18Mile 4 - 7:13Mile 5 - 8:27Mile .17 - 1:24WOD:SDHP 30x, 20 lbsInverted Row 30xPushups 30xSDHP 30x
Friday: 5 minutes barefoot on the treadmill (0.6 miles @ 8:23/mile)WOD: 21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps:Power Clean, 45 lbsPistol Squat - rightPistol Squat - leftMy traps were screaming after that one, thanks to the power cleans!Saturday: 70 minute long run (8.5 miles @ 8:14/mile)I tried to run this one as blind as possible - meaning without looking at my watch. I could feel it vibrate every mile and had to look at it to make sure I knew when I hit my turn around time, but the rest was watch-less. (It helps that I was on low battery the last 3 miles, so I couldn't even check my watch if I wanted to.) Without worrying about my pace, this run felt so easy and went by pretty quickly too. Such a change from just 6 months ago!
Sunday: OFFTotal Weekly Mileage: 27.81 miles (big bump up in miles from last week!)Total Mileage for January: 146 milesDefinitely one of the best months of training in a long time. And it was my first one for GO! St. Louis. Let's see what February has to offer! Have a great start to your week/month!