Back From the Abyss - Training Re-cap and 2015 Goals
What self respecting blogger stops blogging right when they start an 18 week training program working towards a marathon PR? I guess one that doesn't really see herself as a blogger.. and to be fair, I was without internet access for 5 days. I've got lots to catch up on but I will keep it as short as possible. 2015 Goals
I don't really believe in resolutions but rather goals for the year. In the spirit of my heroine Shalane Flanagan I am going balls to the wall and putting them out there.I have other smaller goals I keep in my Believe training journal (which I absolutely love) but here are the big ones:
1. STAY HEALTHY - this is why I am spending a small fortune out of pocket to see a PT who gets me
2. Run a 3:15 marathon
3. Run a 1:25 Half marathon
4. Run a 50 k ( Surprise! I am registered for the Tahoe Rim Trail 55k in July)
5. Complete a Triathlon (which will require me to become a much better swimmer)
6. Continue having fun and exploring
Boston Training Week 1 (Dec 15 - Dec 21)
Week 1 was really good. I traded the track workout on Tuesday for a 90 minute indoor cycling workout with my favorite ass kicking instructor Tyler Stewart at Shift SF. I don't have time to go into her badassery but you can read a little about her here. These cycling sessions have as much impact on my strength and speed as the best track workout you could ask for - and they give my joints a rest - so I plan on incorporating them into my training plan over the remaining weeks. I pretty much hit my mileage goal for the week but my pacing was quite off: I was faster on every run than planned. While that sounds like a great problem to have, I am afraid of over training and burning out so I resolved to make sure my recovery runs were slower and on pace.
Total Miles - 29
Boston Training Week 2 (Dec 22 - Dec 28)
Week 2 was also pretty awesome. The exercises my PT gave me for the impacted nerve in my butt felt like they were already starting to help and I was at my parents house in NJ so I had no other obligations each day other than getting my run in. What a joy that was! I found running around the town I lived in for 18 years actually really refreshing. I wasn't really a runner when I lived there so my basis for how far apart things were was based on the eyes of a non-runner. When trying to get in 6 or 8 miles in my hometown I found that things were much closer together than I had perceived them to be.
I also had my first track workout of the training regimen which was supposed to be 12 x 400 at 6:00 mm pace. Even though I was running alone and even though ti was cold and raining I stilled turned in 12 400s between 5:20 and 5:40 mm pace. I didn't feel over tired or strained afterwards and had plenty of juice in my legs the next day so that was really encouraging. The long run that week had to be on Friday because Saturday I would be on plane to the Dominican Republic. That was the first time my body felt a little resistant to the pace my brain wanted to go but I also blame that on the large chicken cheese steak I had for lunch - although a tasty reminder of high school, I have discovered it is not a good pre-run meal. I did get 4 very easy miles in along the beach on Sunday to almost reach my mileage goal for the week.
Total Miles - 30
Boston Training Week 3 (Dec 29 - Jan 4)
All good intentions fall by the wayside when you are on Caribbean time. I was rather optimistic in my planning for the 5 days I was in the DR. I did get out on the first day there but found it difficult to accumulate the miles and still be safe. I Monday off and did a 30 minute swim plus a gym workout on Tuesday. Wednesday I took off and Thursday I did 4 miles plus a little swim and a gym workout. I spent all day Friday at the airport or on a plane and all day Saturday and Sunday chained to my bathroom suffering from the most terrible Caribbean stomach virus you could imagine. So yeah, week 3 did not go to plan but I feel like I have a clean slate for week 4. I am hoping to unanticipated days off gave my knee and butt nerve the rest they probably needed and that I can pick up where I left off this week.
Total Miles - 8
I am rested and feeling better and am really excited to see what 2015 has in store!
What are your 2015 goals or resolutions?