As of last Sunday, we’re 10 weeks out from CIM! At this point I’m feeling good about where I’m at, especially with a lot of time to make more progress. Last week started off a bit slower due to some leftover fatigue from working hard at the trail 10k race, but ended great with a really solid 16 mile long run.
Monday:
PM: Easy 5 mile run at Torrey Pines with Brooke and Mike. We ran up to the top of Torrey and down one of the trails, and then down the beach and back to the car. We were all dragging a bit on this run. Brooke had a big Ironman training weekend and Mike and I were tired from our tough runs over the weekend. That 10k really took a lot out of me since I pushed it to the max and then also ran the next day. Mike did a time trial run on Saturday so he was tired as well.
Tuesday:
AM: 50 Min Club Pilates Level 2
PM: I had a run planned but I had a busy day at work and was tired from the weekend so I skipped it. I actually came home and took an hour nap after work! Looking back I definitely think it was the right decision! That race took more out of me than I originally thought it would.
Wednesday:
AM: 7 easy miles with Asia. I am getting so spoiled with all of these runs with friends! soon Asia will be on her honeymoon (her wedding is October 18th) and my pre-work running buddy won’t be around anymore. But for now, I’m loving having someone to chat with before the sun rises.
Thursday:
AM: Ladder Intervals. 8.4 miles in total – 2 mile warm-up, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1 minute intervals (faster on the shorter intervals, slower on the longer) with the same time for recovery, ~2 mile cool-down. I felt good on this run despite it being early in the morning! The 1 minute segments were at about a 6:35 average, the 2 minute segments 6:50 and the 3 minute segments a 7 min/mile average. This was a fun one because time really went quickly and the intervals were so short it didn’t take a ton of focus to keep up the pace!
Friday:
AM: 6 easy miles with Asia (again!). I didn’t wear a heart rate monitor but I’m pretty sure this was a Zone1-low Zone 2 effort. Nice and easy.
Lunch: 50 minutes of Pilates Level 2.5. Killer, as always. My instructor looks like she’s somewhere in her 60s but she is super strong and has a killer bod. She knows how to kick serious ass and is my future-self inspiration!
Saturday:
16 mile long run with Fartlek intervals and fast finish. After a 6 mile warm-up (which Mike ran with me and then he split off and did his own thing for the intervals), 5 miles with 90 seconds at 10k pace, 90 seconds recovery (ended up being 15 intervals + 15 rest segments), 2 miles easy, 3 miles hard. I honestly have no idea what my 10k pace is (despite just running one) so I focused on a hard, but not all out effort for the 90 second segments. In my head I was hoping for a 7:30 average or so and it turned out that I was close – 7:28 average for all 15 segments. The actual averages are all over the place because the majority of the segments were either going uphill or downhill. But it all evens out! I was surprised as how great I felt after I finished this part of the workout – at 11 miles, I was feeling good. I ran the next 2 miles easy and then was excited to see what I had under the hood for the final 3 miles. My plan simply said “hard” effort. I decided I wanted to run the final 3 at an average under 8 minute miles. I succeeded and ran them at an average of 7:55, with the final mile being a 7:38! This was definitely a confidence boosting long run and is one I’ll definitely be remembering during tough moments during the marathon. For me, a strong finish on a long run is more rewarding than any track workout.
After the run Mike and I headed up to Dana Point for a night in a wonderful bed and breakfast to celebrate our anniversary. Dana Point is a gorgeous coastal town that neither of us had really explored despite it being only 45 minutes away. We had a great time looking back on our wedding day and plotting our next year. We also drank one of the bottles of wine we brought back from Tuscany on our honeymoon during our fancy Italian dinner and got to enjoy the fresh made cake that our wedding cake bakery provided us free of charge!
Sunday:
Since it felt like a workout, I’m going to count it! I tried Stand Up Paddle Boarding for the first time and it was hard! We SUPed for 60 minutes and my shoulders, back and core definitely got a workout! I also got a major sunburn because I forgot sunscreen!
Weekly Totals:
- Miles Run: 42.5
- Hours Strength (including SUP!): 2.75
- Total Time: 9.5 hours
Have you ever Stand Up Paddle Boarded? Do you get more of a confidence boost from a good track workout or a solid long run?
Yay for running buddies! It’s really nice that we get to run together so much now! What will you do when I’m on my honeymoon!?
I will be sad! I’ve already been thinking about it!
Can’t believe CIM is 10 weeks away- it’s coming quickly!
Another impressive week! That interval workout does look like it would be kind of fun- nice to change it up like that.
Your long run sounds like it went really well, a great confidence booster for sure!
Ah- your anniversary pics look so fun! (And I love that places like that are literally in your backyard.) After my SUP race this summer, it hurt to breath since my back adn shoulders were so sore!
Nice week of training, I like all the fun cross training mixed in! I have never tried SUPing but always wanted to! I think I probably get more confidence from long runs while training for marathons but I get a serious runners high after kick ass track workouts too.
Thanks!
Great week!! Especially on the track work out and LR. Are you hooked on the Suping? I Supped a couple of months ago. It was super fun and I loved the “core” work out!! I haven’t gone again but still dying too. I think it is getting too cold now but maybe on vacay in November!
I love having a good track work out. I feel really strong after those. I love having a good LR because that helps me with the mental part and the confidence that I can run long. I have really been working hard on negative splitting my LR! I think it really helps! 🙂
I would definitely be hooked if it weren’t so expensive! Maybe I can find a used board on Craig’s list!
So fun to follow your training. I’m getting excited for CIM! Great work, keep it up! I’m super impressed/jealous of your cross training! I’m working on mine, but still only at about 50 min/week. Thinking of a way to get in more 🙂 anyhoo, keep up the good work! (Ps I’m going to go catch up on your older posts, so sorry if you get a bunch of comment notifications, lol)