Soaring Wings Half-Training week #1

Week 1 is a wrap! Here’s what was supposed to happen~what actually happened:

SUNDAY – Arms/legs/core strength training +30 mins cross training ~ 40 mins A/L/C strength +10 mins elliptical +2.1 treadmill miles

Sunday didn’t call for any running, but after finding my new Brooks Launch 4’s the day before, I HAD to log some miles. We had some big storms roll through and the power kept flickering and ultimately went out completely, so I had to cut my workout a little short. But all-in-all, did pretty good sticking to the schedule.

MONDAY – Rest day ~ Active rest-10,000+ steps

I was super sore on Monday! I made sure to do my stretching and foam rolling/massage stick. My diet on the other hand…was quite horrible. Meals were healthy…but I ate numerous pieces of candy at work and after dinner, I indulged with a half-priced sonic shake. I felt gross. I’ve been way off on my diet, but that will be changing as of right NOW.

TUESDAY – 3 miles ~ 3 miles @ 11:25avg

Tuesday was a long day at work and quite frankly, I didn’t want to wait around until it got cooler to run outside. So I took it to the gym to get my 3 miles in. Splits were: 11:42/11:03/12:09. The last mile I actually walked the first 1/4 mile and finished out with some sprints to lower my time and to be able to leave sooner! LOL! I just wasn’t feeling it(had a little “argument” with my SO about how long a half and a marathon were. Imagine that….he called back and said I was right *eye-roll* still love his craziness tho!), so I was ready to go! But I got it in and day 3 of half marathon training was a wrap! ❤

WEDNESDAY – 3 miles + leg/core strength ~ 3.25 miles @11:44 avg + 10 lunges 😦

I finally ventured back out in the heat and humidity for Wednesday’s run. It wasn’t terrible. I tried pretty hard to go slow and keep my heart rate down. First half of the run it stayed around 160. As I started to fatigue and {tried to}speed up a bit, it eventually hovered around 180(on the way home there was a horrible headwind-its cooled me off tho!) with an average of 174.

When I got home I was bound and determined to get some squats and lunges in, but my knees were just not having it. I definitely don’t want to hurt them more so I’ve got to figure out another way of fitting a few more minutes a week for strength training. Maybe next Wednesday I’ll do them in the morning, then run at night.

THURSDAY – 2 miles ~ Active rest – 11,000+ steps

All day I felt EXHAUSTED. Not sure why, but I decided I’d rather lay on the couch and watch TV after work, instead of doing my 2 miles 😉 Is it a bad sign that during week 1 I’ve already altered my plan? LOL! Sweet Pea wasn’t so sure about my being lazy…she was all up in my business! ❤

Friday – (original rest day-making up yesterday) 2 miles ~ 2 miles @11:55+20 min elliptical+ 5 mins rowing

I got off work a little early, so decided I would spend a little more time at the gym than what was “required” per the schedule. It felt nice to get a good sweat in after a long work week!

SATURDAY – 5 mile long run ~ 5 miles @ 11:35

It was the PERFECT morning for a run! Got up early, ate a decent breakfast, and enjoyed some coffee while the food settled. I took a short drive to a nearby park and ran the paved trail. I really enjoy running this trail, especially on the weekends. There are usually quite a few people running, walking, or biking….so I get to enjoy nature and a podcast while not worrying about someone possibly trying to sneak up and hurt me since there are so many people around. (It’s such a big fear of mine…being alone and unable to call for help if I’m “attacked”! That’s the main reason I usually stick to the busy street/sidewalks near my apartment.)

Seriously, how cute is this bridge?! Sadly, it just leads to a gate to someone’s backyard, but I had to stop and snap a quick picture!

Overall, I’m quite pleased with how well week 1 went. I had 13 miles on the schedule, but ended up doing 15.35. Since I got my new Brooks Launch 4’s, I think the extra 2.35 miles was necessary 😉

This coming Tuesday, my love, My Tommy, will be back in town for a little over a week and I’m soooo excited! We celebrate 3 years together over the July 4th holiday weekend, so it’s nice that he will be in town. (He lived by me for the first 1.5 years, then took a job out of state for the last 1.5 years. He is in the process of moving back and should be back permanently within a month or 2!) I’m hoping that while he is here, I can still complete all my runs and extra workouts. He knows that I’ve started my training, but honestly….he isn’t exactly the most supportive of my running. During the time he lived by me, I wasn’t the most active person. But I’ve made it extremely clear to him how important this is to me and that he needs to realize our relationship will be a little different once he moves back. As—I don’t plan to be the couch potato I once was. I will not give up running. I will not quit on my dream. So…! We shall see how this goes 🙂

 

~Alyssa Marie