Motivation
I joined the Lululemon Strava challenge at the beginning of the year. I don't usually care too much about the challenges I join because all you end up with is virtual badges should you complete a certain mileage or elevation on outdoor activities only. Since it's cold and dark out, I have no problem or guilt running inside (plus heat acclimation FTW!) When the challenge ended I was surprised to see that I qualified to get a free shirt from Lulu for completing 40km over 2 weeks- had I completed 80km outdoors, I would have also qualified to get a free pair of shorts.
I decided to get this cool black and gray shirt, and also bought a pair of snazzy shorts. I'll definitely pay more attention to branded Strava challenges in the future.
Workouts
This week went much better than the previous week. I got back into a nice routine with working out and felt pretty good. The highlight of my week was completing a ladder workout- 400-800-1200-1600-1200-800-400. When I consulted my Hanson book to see which paces I would need to run this workout at, I was shocked to see it was to be run all at the same pace!
I should have known this would be the case because each week the speedwork would get a little longer, but the pace would remain at the initial pace chosen for the 400's in week 2. I was full of anxiety about this workout and believed there was no way I could maintain 6:40 pace for anything beyond the 800. But, I was wrong. It felt amazing to be able to complete this workout and was a huge confidence booster.
Training Plan
Monday- Easy 4 mile run, easy 6 mile cycle
Tuesday- 15 mile cycle
Wednesday- Ladder all intervals @ 6:40 pace. 9 mile run
Thursday- Easy 4 mile run
Friday- 6 mile run, 10 mile cycle
Saturday- 8 mile run, 5:00 stairs- 25 floors
Sunday- 14 mile run with 7x5:00 @ 7:30 pace, 5:00 stairs- 27 floors
Goals and Stuff
I feel on track for a sub 3:30 marathon. I still believe that I'm in a better place physically now, than I was last year this time while training for Carmel.
Hill workouts are starting to happen- I did 10 minutes on the stair stepper last week which kicked my ass. I'll continue to increase duration and intensity of hills- especially with some repeats outside pending weather.
Other
I made Shalane's "Run Fast Eat Slow" lemon blueberry scones for the 4th time. They are so easy to make and are so tasty!
Looking Forward
I really need to not psyche myself out over speedwork. The anxiety I put myself through beforehand is ridiculous- once I get going, I feel good. I really need to remove the self doubt and just embrace the uncomfortable during these hard workouts.
I need to do more JasYoga. It clears my head and helps me feel better.
Also: MOAR Hills hills hills. My first race of the year is coming up in March, and I want to be prepared for the hilly course and see where I'm at for Boston.
43 Days to go until March Madness Half
57 Days to go until Shamrock Shuffle
72 Days to go until Boston!
-Xaarlin
Sounds like you had a good week, and it's awesome to hear you feel on track for a 3:30! You should really come up this way if you want to do some hills :)
ReplyDeleteI actually really like speedwork - I feel like I can do anything in short increments. But these days my speedwork happens in my weekly orangetheory class, so I have a coach telling me what to do (and making sure I actually do it), which is definitely easier than doing it on my own. But I'm noticing an actual difference because of it, so it definitely pays off. Easier said than done, but try to remember that it's worth it, and how good you'll feel once you get started.
Congrats on scoring the free shirt. Had you only known that there were actual prizes, maybe the shorts would have been yours as well! Ladder workouts are my favorite at the track. I like how they get shorter at the end. I have shorter distances to look forward at the end of the workout. The March Madness Half will be awesome training for Boston. I was surprised at how hilly a course in Illinois could be!
ReplyDeleteI signed up for the Lululemon challenge too and met it (I assume the 40k). I had no idea that there was a prize! I checked my email and yes! I'll be heading into the store soon!! Great seeing you today, and awesome job with training so far!
ReplyDeleteGreat job on the challenge! I am jealous because I signed up for it but ended up with a calf injury and have not run in almost a month.
ReplyDeleteI like speedwork as well and do like the ladder workout. 6:40 pace? Pretty amazing!!