Towpath Half Marathon Training #3

This week was a bit of a challenge for me.  It was the first time my muscles felt sore and the workouts were difficult to complete.  Usually I look forward to my runs and have to hold myself back, but that wasn't the case this week.  I think it's finally time to really take those easy runs easier and focus more on eating enough, fueling properly, and preventing injury.

I did hit an exciting milestone this week- I ran over 100 miles for the month of August!  I believe this is the first time that I've ever hit that milestone in my running career, so I'm really excited and proud of myself.  I also started running with a training group this week, so it's not surprising that I'm feeling sore.  Here's to hoping my body will start to respond and get stronger!

Monday

4 miles easy / 38:00 / 9:30 pace

I felt really good, so it was hard for me to slow down and truly take these miles easy.  I ended up running on trails because it was really sunny out, and it was a great decision.  I felt great after this run!

Tuesday

Rest Day

I decided to take an unexpected rest day.  After running 4 days in a row (including a race and long run) I needed a day off.  I also met my sister and brother-in-law for dinner at Sonoma downtown.  They recently moved to Pittsburgh from California, so I wanted to take them to a California restaurant and wine bar.  I ordered a wine flight with a protein trio, including pork belly, salmon, and a diver scallop.  So good, even though my picture didn't turn out due to dark lighting.  

Wednesday

5 miles hill repeats

My first run with the True Runner 10 Mile training group!  We started with dynamic stretches, followed by a mile warmup and 12 repeats up the Schenley Park frisbee golf course.  I remember running up that hill in high school for cross country (the city schools all ran at Schenley Park for races) so it brought back all kinds of memories!  We finished with some striders on the track and a mile cool-down.    Overall a tough workout, but really motivating to run with a group.

Thursday

5 miles easy / 47:40 / 9:31 pace

My legs felt surprisingly good on this run, and I had trouble keeping my pace slow.  I listened to a podcast which always helps slow me down, but I was still about 15 seconds faster than my goal pace of 9:45.  It still felt really easy and a great recovery run though! 

After the run, I walked about a mile and a half to Shadyside to meet up with Lynne, who just moved from Denver!  We got a drink from Shady Grove, then attended a Ladies' Night at True Runner.  They were debuting Carrie Underwood's new Calia line and had tons of activities and freebies.  Unfortunately, neither of us won anything, but we still had a great time!

Friday

3 mile bike ride

I took out the bike for a  nice, easy ride in the morning.  It was a gorgeous day and I wanted to do something since I had a rest day planned.  It was a great active recovery day, and I followed it up with some easy yoga!

 

Saturday

3 miles fast / 26:17 / 8:45 pace

I woke up really sore this morning (maybe lingering effects from Wednesday's run?) so I decided to change my run from a fast 6 to a fast 3 miler.  It was a gorgeous morning, and I love this view from the Panther Hollow Bridge.  Even though the run wasn't easy, the pace didn't feel too fast and the three miles flew by!

Sunday

10 miles / 1:38:00 / 9:48 pace

I was really nervous about this run for a few reasons.  It was my first double digits run since the Biggest Loser Half Marathon back in June, I was sore all week and hadn't had the best runs, and I started my run at 2:30 when it was about 85 degrees out.  I just told myself to take it really slow from the beginning and just get in the 10 miles.  Surprisingly, this really helped and kept my paces pretty consistent for the entire run: 9:38, 9:50, 9:49, 10:05, 10:00, 9:26, 9:36, 9:46, 10:16, 9:40.  Taking into account the rolling hills at North Park (including the huge hill by the Boat House), I was super happy and felt great the entire time! 

 

Linking up with HoHoRuns and MissSippiPiddlin for the Weekly Wrap

How was your week of training?  
Any exciting milestones?
Is anyone else struggling at the moment?