Training to Explore (78 Miles)

After the half marathon last weekend I wasn’t sure what to expect.  Would I be sore or would I not be sore?

Well the honest answer is I don’t feel half bad.  I don’t feel bad at all.  It gives me hope that the race in general was a fluke and my fitness is a bit higher than it showed.  I hope it oesn’t mean that my body is just in for a rude awakening next week.

Last snow fall from Monday.  (Hopefully)
Last snow fall from Monday. (Hopefully)

I actually made an effort to foam roll and recover quickly.  My runs have been especially early this week but this warm weather it hasn’t been bad at all.  In fact, I’ve even worn shorts a few times this week.  Shocking.  With no speed work this week all of my runs felt easy and relaxed.  I’ve found if I don’t do any speed or race my runs tend to be 10-20 seconds faster per mile.

Monday

Off (drive home)

Tuesday

12.25

8:12

Nike Training Club

Wednesday

13.2

8:24

P90x

Thursday

13.3

7:59

Friday

12.2

8:12

Saturday

15 miles with Tim

P90X

Sunday

12 miles with Tim

Total:

78

 

Thoughts:

This week is a rather boring and calm week. I’ve honestly felt strong during my runs and haven’t felt bad at all.  Part of me is a little bit annoyed because I feel like I should have been sore after last weeks half marathon.  It does give me hope that I’m still capable of PRing in a couple of weeks in my next half.

I spent my time just relaxing and discovering new trails and paths near me in the woods.

Finding new pathways
Finding new pathways

This week wore me out.  Not because of training but because of outside life.  I had to be up around 5 am a few days which meant even though I was getting 8 hours of sleep (going to bed around 9) I have been used to 9.  (I know it was a luxury).  That being said this was a rather productive week for me and I’m honestly happy of how it went.  I know I was lucky with being able to get 9 hours of sleep the past few months but I think that time is up.

I had toyed around with doing a 5k this weekend but decided not to do anything fast and just keep recovering. Next week I plan to get in a speed workout and hopefully race a 5 miler in Philadelphia.

Question for you:

How much sleep do you average?

I honestly put sleep as a high prority.  I like to get between 8-9.  I know I need more sleep than the average person and I’m not pleasant to be around when I don’t get it.  Some people can run off of 5 or 6 hours of sleep and I’m not one of those people.

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23 Comments

  1. Great week of runs and that trail looks beautiful! I definitely need sleep, but my body once it isn’t sleep deprived wakes up naturally after 7 1/2 hours so I let it. I can always tell when I’m stressed or overreaching in my training because my sleep suffers and that negatively affects every other area of my life!

  2. Ah sleep… I feel pretty strongly that sleep is a necessity is a pretty important part of any good training regimen – not enough sleep and you won’t properly heal and rest – need that REM. Of course, I have two small children so that becomes a trick… Usually bed by 10:30, up a 5:30. Little more on the weekends.

  3. I actually average 9 and my body naturally wakes up then. If I get 7-8 I know it’s technically enough but I feel sluggish all day so I try to keep those days at a minimum. It seems like so much sleep though, especially since my husband gets around 6 and feels just fine.

  4. I’m sort of jealous that you get 8-9 hours…but there’s really no sense in being jealous, since it’s my own fault that I only get 5-6! It’s not like I’m so busy or important, I just waste time watching Netflix 🙂

  5. I am sleep deprived. I get up at 0230 for 0330 work, work 12+ hours. I have such a hard time getting to bed at such an early time. Usually I am in bed by 2130. My wife always begs me to get more sleep.

  6. Looks like a solid week, particularly after such a great half marathon time.

    I snatch hours of sleep where I can – it’s ‘normal’ for me to have several days where I don’t get any sleep at all, and when I do I think the max I’ve managed has been 4 hours. I’ve been that way since I was a baby. Sometimes when I’ve been really ill or I’m in the depths of SAD in the winter my body will ‘binge sleep’ through one night of 12-13 hours for some reason, but after that I feel far worse than during the nights I don’t sleep at all.

    xxx

  7. The amount of sleep I get really depends… I tend to go to bed at 10:30 or so most nights, but then sometimes I don’t fall asleep right away, or I wake up in the middle of the night and cannot go back to sleep. The week before my last race (10k), I didn’t sleep well that week.. time change just threw me off big time. Also, it’s starting to get hot here, and when it does, I’ll have to do more morning running which means I’ll have to adjust (no waking up at 7:30 or 8, more like 5-6). I always hope for 7-8 hours. I get it if I’m lucky.

    Glad you had a good week of training. I don’t blame you not to race the 5K if you find your runs are faster, easier, more comfortable if you’re not racing or doing speedwork. Sounds like you know what’s right for you and thats definitely what you should be doing, good luck in your next half!

  8. I’m lucky if I get more than 6 hours. I have to work to get to bed early because I can never sleep late. Even on the weekend with nothing to do I still wake up around 6AM.

  9. I need 8 hours of sleep. With kids I don’t always have a choice.
    That’s a ton of miles. My highest week mileage is in the 50s.
    Those trails look beautiful.

  10. Usually asleep at 10 and up by 5:30/6. I am on my feet all day at work so if I don’t get that much, I usually end up falling asleep as soon as I get home from work, which I do not prefer.
    I have to ask, if the 5 miler you might do sponsored by BOMF (1/2way to Broad)? I volunteer for the organization and will be there is so 🙂

  11. wow! your photo is absolutely stunning! think of it this way – if you weren’t sore, obviously the next time around you know you can push harder!

    lately i’ve been getting 4-5 hours of sleep a night. aka: not nearly enough! trying to adjust to a new schedule and higer (for me) mileage. although, this past thursday was an exception. after several nights of only getting 4 hours of sleep i definitely went to bed at 7 pm on thursday and skipped my friday morning run for 11 hours of sleep. it was so worth it.

  12. The more sleep I get, the better. In order to have productive workouts, I really need eight regularly. I may get nine on the weekends, but eight is the bare minimum. One day last week, I got six, and I couldn’t believe how much different I felt during my workout–simply flatter and not dialed in. For us, it’s so important to prioritize rest and recovery.

  13. I wish I could get 8 hours but with a baby we are not getting anything near that. It’s hard training with little sleep.
    Looks like you got a great solid week of runs in!!! YAY for exploring new areas too : )

  14. Nice weekly mileage Hollie! I get about 6 hours of sleep these days but I’m need more and will start getting back to an earlier bedtime hopefully soon. That looks like a beautiful pathway to run on by the way.

  15. Glad you felt okay! It is always a cross your fingers kind of thing getting out of bed the morning after a race!

    As much as I wish you were right, I dont think that was our last snow 🙁 Hopefully tomorrow is though! I miss running in trails, you have the most beautiful scenes.

    I am really trying to be better about sleep actually. I think that was definitely one of my weaknesses, and I have been using the sleep cycle app to help myself, and it seems to be working. I usually get between 8-9, but my darn body clock waking me up so early does not help!

  16. These days I range anywhere from 3-7 hours of sleep just depends on the night. I obviously would love more sleep but right now I am learning to function on less. I’m glad you had a good week though, I am excited for the new things going on with you and that running is going well. You make me want to go exploring and find new places to run now. I’ll find a running route from Rochester to Browns Mills or wherever the heck it is you reside these days.

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