May Training: A Surprise for Everyone

Hollie

3 years ago

Stats:

Miles run: 314

Range of Paces: 6:25-18:30-untimed

Workouts: 4

Races:

Cinco De Miles 5 Miler (34:49)

La Jolla Half Marathon (1:37.43)

Menifee Memorial Day 5K (20:37)

Swimming: 33.97 miles

Thoughts:

It was a good month of staying consistent and moving forward. I’m trying to run as many 5ks as possible this summer (without burning out, of course). I thrives on racing often, and I’ve realized I missed that. It can be a pain to drive “all the way into LA or OC or San Diego” for a 5k, but as mentioned the Menifee Memorial Day 5k, I don’t really think of it that way. I think of it more as a day trip with some fun.

When I ran a 20:37 at the Menifee Memorial 5k, it really showed me I think I’m in better fitness than I originally thought. I assumed I would barely squeak under 21 and even that was a stretch. After then running a 20:30 at the Corona Del Mar Scenic 5k, a challenging and hilly course, I realized it wasn’t a fluke!

Last month, I had some decent workouts and also some nongreat ones. I mean don’t we all every month? I was feeling a little stale after the La Jolla Half Marathon and not meeting my goals, so I took a down week. And I felt a lot better after that. It’s been unusually windy in the desert lately, and that also makes it unusually cool, but the wind beats you up mentally.

Swimming:

I’ve also been working on swimming more. I find swimming outside to (usually) be so relaxing so it’s nice to swim outdoors when the weather corporates. I say “usually” because occasionally the wind is unenjoyable and swimming in wind is actually harder than running in wind. My friend and I will likely do a swim meet in June which will be super fun.

I can see some glimmers of fitness coming through that I haven’t seen in quite some time. Running a 6:25 mile in a 5k? I haven’t done that in a couple of years. I hope I can keep improving.

For Next Month:

My goal for June is to continue to work on top-end speed as I work on my goal for a sub-20-minute 5k before the end of the summer. I want to get some longer+faster workouts on the track, which will likely benefit me more. I’ve also been working on shorter and faster reps versus longer intervals. I’ve neglected my top-end speed for so long that it will take a while to come back.

As I progress into harder and faster workouts, I want to get 4-5 miles of hard work. I usually end with about 3 miles of hard work but I would like to increase the hard work component to help increase endurance and speed.