Last week was challenging, and there is no way to get around that. I worked hard and worked through some seriously sore muscles. Luckily this week is more of a step back week with Philadelphia Half Marathon on Sunday.
| Monday: | Easy | Core |
| Tuesday: | Easy Run | |
| Wednesday: | 6X1 mile repeats | Core |
| Thursday: | Rest | |
| Friday: | Easy Run | Core |
| Saturday: | Local 5k (19:30) | |
| Sunday: | KISS Cancer away 5k (19:00) | |
| Total: | 69 miles |
All of my easy runs were uneventful and around the neighborhoods. There isn’t a lot to say, and I didn’t wear a watch for most them. I just ran the same route.
Workout Wednesday: 4-mile warmup, 6X1 mile repeats with 90 seconds rest, 4-mile cooldown
It was a hard workout to be honest. I averaged 6:23 pace. Since school starting this fall I’ve done my speed work in my neighborhoods. The majority of tracks are closed, and since I race on the roads, it makes more sense anyways. I would like to get back to the track for a few workouts sometime in the future, but the roads have been fine too.
The loop I chose for my mile repeats has a hill at the end, and my quads felt it. I feel good knowing I could conquer that hill and still run a 6:38 mile. My range of splits (dependent on the elevation change) was between 6:05-6:39.
It caused me to be very sore on both Thursday and Friday.
Saturday I ran a race that helped fundraise for a fallen soldier. It was right on the water in New Jersey. This was important because it was extremely windy. My splits were (6:06, 6:19, 6:15). To be honest, because of the wind, I’m surprised that my middle mile was that fast. When we hit the wind, I thought I might blow away. I ran the race in 19:30. Similar to last week but in harder conditions. I think I’m heading into another lull of racing. I plan to continue doing races despite none of them being as fast as the Bone Run or Runners World. Hopefully, I break through a plateau again sooner versus later!
Finally on Sunday I went down to Delaware to race again. To be honest, my effort the day before felt like a hard effort but I knew I had more in me if it wasn’t for the wind. Despite racing the day before I felt good and I ran a 19:00 exactly. I should have cut the tangents better I guess. My splits were (6:02, 6:06, 6:11).
Thoughts for next week:
Today I’m extremely sore. I’m getting a deep tissue massage this evening. My goal for the Philadelphia half next weekend is to run around the same time as RnR Philadelphia (1:25.45). I don’t feel as if I’m made any big fitness gains since RnR, but I did race not feeling the greatest last month at the race. RnR Philadelphia is one of the flattest and fastest courses in the country while Philadelphia half is a much harder course. So if I can run the same time on a more challenging course, I’ll consider it a success!
Questions for you:
Do you like hills?
Where do you do your speed work?