Week 5... it would've been much easier to drive 12 miles
A coworker, upon hearing that I was going to train for a marathon, told me "You know, most people who want to go 26 miles just get in their cars and drive it. It's a lot easier, you know." Yes, I know. But, crazy runners like myself aren't looking for the easy way. We're looking for the FUN way. The way that gives us a sense of accomplishment. And yes, I realize FUN means different things to different people, and for a large percentage of the population, going 26 miles on foot does not constitute fun. Fair enough. To each his own, I say. ;-)
Alas, I have a LOT more training to go before I'll ever go that kind of distance on foot. Every week presents new challenges as I prepare my body for the hours and hours of running (shuffling, hobbling, and crawling, too, perhaps) that I will be doing on January 7. This morning I did my longest training run ever - 12 miles. I have run this far only once before, and that was at the Mad City Half Marathon earlier this year (May 28). Most half-marathon training plans train you up to 10 miles, and then you finish those last 3 miles of the actual race on "inspiration". I recall the last 3 miles of my half marathon being very very difficult, and not very inspirational. This was probably because it was 95 degrees with 206% humidity (or so it felt). So, in an effort to feel better prepared for the Chicago Half Marathon on October 1, I decided I was going to train up to 12 miles. And that 12 miler was today.
For those who might not know, I am running the Chicago Half Marathon on my own, not as a part of Team In Training. I signed up for it months ago (shortly after finishing the Mad City Half Marathon, actually) and have been building my miles up very gradually in preparation for it. When I joined Team In Training, I knew I'd be a little bit ahead of everyone else on the training schedule, since I was trying to train for this half marathon too. So I've been training with the "fall team", because they are doing much higher mileage. My plan was to train with the fall team until after my half marathon, and then continue on training with the winter team like I'm supposed to. It seems like a viable plan, and so far, so good. :)
I got up at 4:30am this morning, which was just painfully early. I forced down some oatmeal and a banana (I don't know about you, but I'm not usually very hungry at 4:30am - I just knew I needed some fuel for my body), and headed over to Peoria to meet the team. We were supposed to run the "Bishop Loop" (6 miles) followed by the Mt Hawley out-and-back (6 miles). Sounded good to me. I just follow everyone else, although that presents many challenges since everyone else is, for the most part, a whole heck of a lot faster than I am - so eventually I lose sight of them and don't know where I'm supposed to go.
So I was very fortunate and happy that one of my teammates, Lori, ran with me for the first 6 miles. It made the time pass so quickly to have someone to talk to. When we came to the end of the first 6 mile loop, Lori was done with her run, so I was on my own for the last 6 miles. Well, not completely alone. I did see my teammates passing me going the other way! Yes, that's how slow I run. :-P I felt pretty good until about mile 9 or 10, and then my feet started to really hurt. Not an injured kind of hurt, but a been-on-my-feet-too-long-and-need-to-sit-down kind of hurt. They were just tired. And my knees were a little sore too. But otherwise I felt okay. I think I sped up in the last few miles, because my heart rate was higher than it was during the first 6 miles. The increase in speed would explain the increase in soreness. Gotta learn to keep a steady pace! Anyway, I finished feeling tired, but like I could go further if I had to. And that's about what I wanted. I feel well-prepared to finish the Chicago Half Marathon now. For the next few weeks I'll be tapering back in mileage and intensity in preparation for that race.
This past Wednesday, we had a team workout at the track. The fall team was doing an exercise called Yasso 800s. I didn't have a stopwatch, so I couldn't really do that workout. I did 400m interval repeats instead (run hard for 1 lap, run easy for 1 lap, repeat). Good workout - I felt pretty tired at the end. Too bad I did all that work for nothing - I'm still slow. :-P ;-)
Today I will be taking it easy, for the most part. And eating a lot. I've earned it. ;-) Till next time...
Alas, I have a LOT more training to go before I'll ever go that kind of distance on foot. Every week presents new challenges as I prepare my body for the hours and hours of running (shuffling, hobbling, and crawling, too, perhaps) that I will be doing on January 7. This morning I did my longest training run ever - 12 miles. I have run this far only once before, and that was at the Mad City Half Marathon earlier this year (May 28). Most half-marathon training plans train you up to 10 miles, and then you finish those last 3 miles of the actual race on "inspiration". I recall the last 3 miles of my half marathon being very very difficult, and not very inspirational. This was probably because it was 95 degrees with 206% humidity (or so it felt). So, in an effort to feel better prepared for the Chicago Half Marathon on October 1, I decided I was going to train up to 12 miles. And that 12 miler was today.
For those who might not know, I am running the Chicago Half Marathon on my own, not as a part of Team In Training. I signed up for it months ago (shortly after finishing the Mad City Half Marathon, actually) and have been building my miles up very gradually in preparation for it. When I joined Team In Training, I knew I'd be a little bit ahead of everyone else on the training schedule, since I was trying to train for this half marathon too. So I've been training with the "fall team", because they are doing much higher mileage. My plan was to train with the fall team until after my half marathon, and then continue on training with the winter team like I'm supposed to. It seems like a viable plan, and so far, so good. :)
I got up at 4:30am this morning, which was just painfully early. I forced down some oatmeal and a banana (I don't know about you, but I'm not usually very hungry at 4:30am - I just knew I needed some fuel for my body), and headed over to Peoria to meet the team. We were supposed to run the "Bishop Loop" (6 miles) followed by the Mt Hawley out-and-back (6 miles). Sounded good to me. I just follow everyone else, although that presents many challenges since everyone else is, for the most part, a whole heck of a lot faster than I am - so eventually I lose sight of them and don't know where I'm supposed to go.
So I was very fortunate and happy that one of my teammates, Lori, ran with me for the first 6 miles. It made the time pass so quickly to have someone to talk to. When we came to the end of the first 6 mile loop, Lori was done with her run, so I was on my own for the last 6 miles. Well, not completely alone. I did see my teammates passing me going the other way! Yes, that's how slow I run. :-P I felt pretty good until about mile 9 or 10, and then my feet started to really hurt. Not an injured kind of hurt, but a been-on-my-feet-too-long-and-need-to-sit-down kind of hurt. They were just tired. And my knees were a little sore too. But otherwise I felt okay. I think I sped up in the last few miles, because my heart rate was higher than it was during the first 6 miles. The increase in speed would explain the increase in soreness. Gotta learn to keep a steady pace! Anyway, I finished feeling tired, but like I could go further if I had to. And that's about what I wanted. I feel well-prepared to finish the Chicago Half Marathon now. For the next few weeks I'll be tapering back in mileage and intensity in preparation for that race.
This past Wednesday, we had a team workout at the track. The fall team was doing an exercise called Yasso 800s. I didn't have a stopwatch, so I couldn't really do that workout. I did 400m interval repeats instead (run hard for 1 lap, run easy for 1 lap, repeat). Good workout - I felt pretty tired at the end. Too bad I did all that work for nothing - I'm still slow. :-P ;-)
Today I will be taking it easy, for the most part. And eating a lot. I've earned it. ;-) Till next time...
posted by Emily at
11:57 AM
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