Summer Training 2012: Week 5

A long but fantastic week! My week started in Orlando and ended in North Carolina. It started with tropical storm weather and ended with a beautiful and cool morning in Hickory.

This week capped off my half-marathon season until the summer and I am proud to say that it ended on a pretty high note. Here is how the week turned out…

May 28- June 3, 2012:

Monday: Spin Class+ Strength Training+ Core/ Stretch

The weather was still ugly from Beryl so I was forced to do my workout indoors. I went to a rather patriotic spin class (think music all about America) in honor of Memorial Day. After spin, I did my one strength training session for the week followed by core work and stretching.

Tuesday: Run 3.51 miles

Running in the pouring rain is always fun. It was a nice way to cool off and zone out, until I got a really sketchy look from a male driver that skeeved me out so much that I cut my run short by 1/2 a mile. It was no big deal cutting my run short, but I was angry that I felt so nervous by the guy that I did that.

Wednesday: Bike 16.08 miles

Not a bad ride but not a great one either. While I have been doing speed intervals on the bike for over four months now, I am not seeing very much improvement in my overall pace. It is definitely a little frustrating and I obviously need to change something up because what I am currently doing is not working.

Thursday: Run 3 miles

This run felt really difficult and was when I started to get worried about my race on Saturday. My legs were extremely heavy and both calf muscles tightened up immediately and never loosened up. I had the same experience with my final training run before the DC Cherry Blossom back in April so maybe it is a new “last training run before a big race” ritual?

Friday: REST/ Travel

Saturday: Charity Chase Half-Marathon

Not a PR, but a solid race. I felt strong throughout the race and proved to myself that I do not need to run a ton of “junk miles” in order to complete a half-marathon feeling strong. Now I am ready to get back some speed in my legs for some fall half-marathons!

Sunday: REST/ Travel

• Running Mileage= 19.76
• Bike/ Spin Mileage= 16.08 + Spin Class
• Swim Distance= 0m
• Total Distance= 35.84+ Spin Class

A low mileage week in terms of overall distance, but I am still pleased. This week was all about my half-marathon and less about my upcoming triathlons for the remainder of the summer. Unfortunately the weather kept me out of the pool last week, but I plan to make up for it with three pool sessions this week.

While my legs feel great (the best ever following a half), I have decided to take a full seven days off from running. This will be my longest break in over eight months from running and I know that my legs need/ deserve it. I realize that this means that I will miss running on National Running Day (on Wednesday) but it is more important for me to give my legs the break they deserve than pushing myself. I plan to resume running with a 5-6 mile run on Sunday. This week I will shift my focus more to swimming and cycling in preparation for my triathlon on June 17th.

Last Week’s Goals:

• Do well on my first Anatomy and Physiology exam (I did well…just not as well as I wanted)
• Drive safe (CHECK!)
• Have a good race experience on Saturday (CHECK!)

Goals For Next Week:

• Recover smart
• Take the week off from running
• Swim three times
• Do well on my phone interviews
• Find some sort of running maintenance plan for the remainder of the summer

Previous Weeks:

• Week 1
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4

Have a great week!