Hello! I hope you all had a great weekend.

The title of this post might be a little misleading. I have been training for the half marathon for a few weeks now but this is the first week that I’ll be talking about it here. I posted a schedule in last weeks’ post off of which I will be loosely basing my training; there are only 12 weeks in the schedule, though, and there are about 14 weeks until the race, so I’m going to be repeating a week here and there when I think I need it. I guess what I’m saying is…I’m kind of winging it.

Still there? Good! Here’s a recap of last week’s training.

Note 1: I’m starting on week 2 of the schedule.
Note 2: Sometimes the schedule calls for “x miles pace”. That refers to the pace that you plan on running in your race, so maybe a little faster than you would usually run. I’m not completely sure what I will aim for during the race, but probably somewhere between 9:15-9:30 minute miles. I think that that is a realistic average pace for me to keep for a race this long.

Monday
On the schedule: rest
What I did: 3.5 miles
I went out for a run after work today even though the schedule called for a rest day for a couple of reasons:
1. I hadn’t been out for a run since the previous Thursday, so I figured I didn’t really need a rest after a weekend of resting.
2. I didn’t have any plans after work so I though I would get a run out of the way in case something came up later on in the week.
I headed out after work and right off the bat was intimidated by the weather – it was WINDY! The gale-force winds that had plagued us over the weekend hadn’t let up. The first mile and a half or so was pretty uncomfortable. I got inside my own head and kept on focusing on how windy it was and as a result, slowed my pace a lot. I was also having trouble getting my breathing under control. I was getting discouraged but eventually it occurred to me that if I was running into the wind for the first part of my run, I would be running WITH the wind for the second part! That raised my spirits considerably and I cruised through the next 2 miles. Running is such a silly mental game. All in all, this was an okay run; it started off tough but it ended on a positive note so I was happy.

Tuesday
On the schedule: 3 miles
What I did: 3.5 miles pace
I went out after work with yesterday’s run in mind. I was determined not to let myself get in my own head again, and I’m happy to say that I didn’t! I ran the exact same route as yesterday and I tried to pick up my pace. I felt good during the run and did finish the run quicker than yesterday, but I admit that it felt as though I was running faster than I was – I would rather it be the other way around, so I think that I’m going to start adding some speed-work into my training. But all-in-all a good run!

I’m glad that I got runs in on Monday and Tuesday because we got some pretty crazy weather on Wednesday and Thursday so I ended up taking 2 rest days in a row. It’s probably for the best since I was able to give my legs a break from Tuesday’s run and to avoid the inevitable wipeout on the snowy sidewalk.

Friday
On the schedule: rest
What I did: 3 miles
I really went out of my comfort zone today and got up early to run. I was surprised that I kind of enjoyed it! It took a mile or so for my legs to warm up but after that it was pretty comfortable. I hope it wasn’t just a fluke that I liked running in the morning, it really woke me up and got me ready for the day and I wasn’t left having to try to squeeze in a run after work.

Saturday
On the schedule: 5 miles
What I did: 6 miles
I felt good going into this run. Sometimes I get nervous about the long runs on the weekend but this week I was really excited for it. The weather was tough in the morning but cleared up a little in the afternoon so Justin and I headed out with 5 miles in mind. Justin was nice enough to run with his backpack full of bricks to level the playing field a little. The run went really well for the first 4 miles or so and then we stopped to stretch and that seemed to throw me off a little; my legs started to feel heavy when we started running again (time to do some strength training) but then something great happened! I heard a high-pitched noise in the distance that gradually grew louder and louder until the source showed itself: a car full of what appeared to be 9-year old girls who saw us running and started cheering from about 1/2 a mile up the road. We smiled and waved and they kept on cheering until they drove out of site. How nice! That really gave us some extra energy and we were able to bang out another 2 miles. Moral of the story: I think that having someone drive by me every once in awhile and cheer wildly would really help me reach my goal.

Any takers?

No?

All righty, ain’t no thang.

Here is a flattering picture of me and B$ celebrating my longest training run yet:

Good thing its blurry.

Crosstraining was on the agenda for Sunday. I did a little weight training and then B and I had a dance party. Done and done.