Yesterday's run:
Half Marathon Training Week Two, Day Two
3.02 miles/40:01
I really pushed my speed on this run - after finishing the Liberty Run in pretty good time, I was frustrated that my Wednesday run was so slow. I proved that I was physically able to maintain a faster pace, so why wasn't I doing it? Well, maybe because I sometimes let myself off the hook a little bit. Because I know I'm never going to be doing 7-minute miles, so I think working on speed isn't important. But I'm competitive. So I have to work on speed or else I'll beat myself up all the time!
I was actually going to skip the run Friday morning because I was too tired... but puppy alarm clock decided to bark her fool head off at about 5:45 am.
She's a lot cuter when she's quiet.
So I bitterly got out of bed, got on all my gear, and headed out. And as much as I hate to admit that having Bonnie go ballistic that early in the morning was a good thing... it was a damn good thing. I was out the door and running by about 6:30 am, which meant that something amazing happened. I was chilly when I started my run. HUZZAH! Of course, by the end of the run, I was covered in sweat, but still. Tiny victories.
As exhausting as it was, I think it was the right decision to try to push my pace, and it helped me realize what I think I need in my half marathon training. I am going to stick with my original plan of using the Hal Higdon training schedule, but with slight modification. At least for now, instead of progressively increasing the lengths of the shorter runs, I'm going to stick with the Jeff Galloway idea of making those 30 minute runs (for me, these are 40 minutes long, with a 5 minute walking warm-up and a 5 minute walking cool-down).
I'm also going to incorporate an important aspect of the Runner's World plan that I looked at, which is that if you're doing only 3 runs a week, each run needs to fit a specific purpose. I decided not to follow that specific plan because it's ahead of my mileage at this point, and I think it's geared more towards someone who wants to run a faster half, rather than someone like me who just wants to finish the damn thing. So instead of doing a speedwork run, a tempo run, and a long run, I'm going to do an easy run, a tempo run, and a long run, with maybe some speedwork thrown in at some point. My plan right now is to make my first 30 minute run of each week my easy run with a more relaxed pace, then make my second 30 minute run a tempo run, and just try to get through the long runs! So, following my revamped Hal Higdon schedule, tomorrow is another 4 miler! Yeehaw!
That's pretty much it for me and exercise today. I skipped working out today because for the past two nights, I've gotten a combined 9 hours of sleep, and that makes me lazy and grumpy pants. Plus, all I really felt like tackling today was this beast of a workout, which may have made tomorrow's run a little painful. So instead, I got ready for bed at 8:30 pm and plan on being asleep by 10:30, which hopefully ensures a functional version of Jessica for tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy some pictures from before my HIIT workout on Thursday that I forgot to post.
The I-think-I'm-a-model pose. Please ignore the mess... I'm not an organized person. Shocker.
The I-AM-SASHA-FIERCE pose. Sorry Beyoncé. I got this.
Awful quality picture taken only to prove that I do have real hair before I workout. Afterwards, this is not true.
Aaaaaaaand... since you lived through three pictures of me, here's something much cuter to look at.
Bonnie really loves cottage cheese.
