RnR: Week 3 Day 6

I had plans to meet up with Jane in Fremont to run with her at Coyote Trail at 8AM this morning but had to cancel. My family and I had plans to go to San Francisco for a cruise and instead of rushing to get to Fremont, drive to San Francisco and scurrying back home to get back to our pooch who will be needing a bathroom break walk, we decided it will be easier to just run from home instead of rushing to get things done.

So I headed to Guadalupe Creek Trail, along with my hubby and little miss, to get my long run in today. It was still overcast when we started around 8AM. I might just have to stick to early morning long runs to beat the heat. This run turned out slower than normal for me. I guess the 7x800s I did last Thursday was causing this. My legs felt like a ton of bricks for the most part of this run. It took me the last 2 miles to find my rhythm although I didn't feel like I was struggling too much to find it. I pretty much just chug along, enjoying the run. Here's our mile splits:

Mile 1 - 11:46
Mile 2 - 11:13
Mile 3 - 11:22
Mile 4 - 11:43
Mile 5 - 10:54
Mile 6 - 10:23
Mile 7 - 10:11

Total distance: 7.08 miles
Total time: 1:18:15
Average pace: 11:03 min/mile

Photo courtesy from Pinterest

RnR: Week 3 Day 5

The training plan called for a rest day or an easy run today but since yesterday was a pretty intense run, I devoted this day as my cross-training day.

I did 20 minutes of Total Body Pilates with Nicole Stewart via Exercise TV On Demand. I like to do Pilates when I want to do a low impact workout or just something short and easy to relieve the day’s stress. Its focus is core strengthening and flexibility. I love the stretching part the most. I feel totally relaxed, I could sleep on the mat!

I then followed up the 20 minutes Pilates with another 20 minutes of Incredible Abs 6 workout with Cindy Whitmarsh. I have been working out on Cindy Whitmarsh’s videos even before I became serious with running more than a year ago. I remember having such a tough time getting through her workouts when I first started. This time looking back, I am amazed at how far I’ve come. I am so much stronger than I was a year ago and probably in the best shape of my life now.

Photo courtesy from Pinterest

RnR: Week 3 Day 4

I did 7x800s today instead of 6x400s but this almost never happened. I had some guests over late in the afternoon and had a little bit of wine. I got a little tipsy even with the little bit of wine I had and it took me awhile to feel normal enough to run. When I finally did, I headed for the soccer field near my house and did laps around it which is about a quarter of a mile around. I had my Runkeeper set up to coach me via my iPhone. It was supposed to be set for 6x800s with 2 min recovery in between but I somehow screwed up the setting to 7x. I started off with a 5 min warmup and closed it with another 5 min cooldown. Here's my splits according to Runkeeper:

Intervals Pace (min/mi)
5:00 (warmup) 11:36
1) 0.50 mi (fast) 8:56
2:00 (slow) 11:06
2) 0.50 mi (fast) 9:01
2:00 (slow) 12:49
3) 0.50 mi (fast) 9:49
2:00 (slow) 11:57
4) 0.50 mi (fast) 9:44
2:00 (slow) 10:18
5) 0.50 mi (fast) 10:20
2:00 (slow) 10:14
6) 0.50 mi (fast) 10:32
2:00 (slow) 9:26
7) 0.50 mi (fast) 9:23
2:00 (slow) 15:32
5:00 (cooldown) 15:00

Total distance: 5.38 miles
Total time: 56 mins

I am not sure how accurate this is because the fast/slow laps seemed to be weird starting from Lap 4. I am pretty sure I ran faster during the 800s than the 2min recovery. Oh well! Not a big deal, anyway. The only thing that matters is that I was able to get my butt out there and do this intervals. It certainly wasn't easy doing interval training and pushing myself beyond my comfort zone but it felt great though once I got it all done.

Runspiration courtesy from Pinterest

RnR: Week 3 Day 3

Today is finally rest day. It was supposed to be a 6x400 @ 5k pace according to the schedule but that will have to wait until tomorrow.

Courtesy from Pinterest

RnR: Week 3 Day 2

I was planning on taking a day off from running today since I had a long-ish run on the treadmill yesterday but had to change plans when my girl friend Jane called. I couldn't turn down the invitation to run with her. Jane and I set out to run 3 miles at the Guadalupe Creek trail. It was still pretty warm out when we started around 5:30pm. I was pleasantly surprised to see more people at the trail than usual. There were 3 lone runners, a couple with there kids on their bikes and a few walkers and bikers. It was a nice mix of trail users. Hubs and I usually don't see that many people on that part of the trail during our runs. I guess people flock the trails to enjoy the nice and warm summer days.

Jane and I did 2.76 miles total for 33:29 mins. We ran a pretty nice, easy pace. Our total time included the failed attempt to find Jane a restroom. The closest one would be another 2 miles out which we didn't plan on doing. It also included some walk breaks because she felt slightly overheated. Although I was all amped up and could have ran some more, it was alright for me to head back home. It's supposed to be a rest day anyway. I'll take this run as an active recovery from yesterday's workout. I'm just glad I got out there and got some miles in with Jane today.

Runspiration courtesy from Pinterest.com

RnR: Week 3 Day 1

Wow, it is already 3 weeks into half marathon training! As cliche as this may sound, time flies when you are having fun, I guess! So, here we are on W3D1. Today is supposed to be strength and stretch but as mentioned yesterday, I will have to dedicate this day to make up for the 6 miles that I missed yesterday.

So after much debate whether I should run outdoors around the neighborhood or the usual indoor run, I decided to stick to the usual. Don't get me wrong, I love running outdoors but I don't like running outside by myself. Running on the treadmill is monotonous and can get really boring, really fast but I feel much safer in the gym even when I am alone. Plus with the heat these days, I'd rather be running on the treadmill in an air conditioned gym than having the heat to deal with.

I set out determined to hit my 6 mile goal tonight. I started slow anticipating that the first 3 miles are going to be hard. My head started messing up with me by mile 3 telling me to stop but I pushed on through it. I was on the edge of quitting on mile 5 but I gave it my all instead and just ran my heart out.

My splits:

Mile 1 - 11:37
Mile 2 - 10:41
Mile 3 - 10:23
Mile 4 - 10:31
Mile 5 - 11:03
Mile 6 - 9:41
+ cool down - 4:26

One more thing I love about the gym is that it is very convenient to also incorporate weight training after running. After a few minutes of stretching and cooling down, I proceeded to my strength training routine and did the following:

Chest press 30 lbs 3x 10 reps, 40lbs 1x 10 reps
Lat pull 50 lbs 4x 10 reps
Leg pull 40 lbs 4x 12 reps
Ab Crunch 40 lbs 4x 15 reps
Bicep Curl 20 lbs 2x 10 reps

6 mile goal for the day, checked! Stretch and strength, checked! Happy me!

Photo courtesy from Pinterest.com

RnR: Week 2 Day 7

Today is a complete rest day for me. My training schedule calls for a 6 mile run today but will have to switch it up to tomorrow. Would have loved to get 6 miles in today but running will have to take the back seat while more important stuff other than running needs to be taken cared off first.

Photo courtesy from wallpaperstock.net