half marathon training Archives - Page 10 of 14

I can’t believe that it’s almost time for bed. Today was one of those brilliant days I wish I could repeat over and over! It started with 8 hours of sleep, a seamless commute filled with 20 minutes of Duolingo French practice, a few productive meetings, an awesome 4.5 mile run during lunch, a field trip into town with my French teacher where I practiced my direction and restaurant French, followed by a homemade dinner and a relaxing night catching up on blogs and chatting with my mom via text.

While this week’s training is already off to a positive start after today’s solid run, I want to take some time to reflect on last week’s training. It was my best week of training thus far even though I didn’t end up squeezing in a long run. I know it seems weird that I can say it was a great week of training when I missed one of the pivotal workouts but sometimes that’s the way the cookie crumbles. Each of my workouts felt solid and energized. I felt like I was working towards a goal last week which really motivated me to get to the gym and squeeze in workouts even on busy days.

Monday: 20 minutes yoga for runners

Tuesday: 4.5 miles of speed intervals on the treadmill before work

Wednesday: 4.1 miles outside before work followed by a 500 meter piece on the rowing machine

Thursday: 4 speedy lunchtime miles on the treadmill followed by a 550 meter piece on the rowing machine

Friday: 4 lunchtime miles on the treadmill followed by 600 meters on the rowing machine

Saturday: This was a “lightbulb moment” day of skiing. Things clicked from the second run of the day and the 3 hours of private lessons led me up my first black run and down many others by lunch time. I was able to enjoy an afternoon of skiing with the whole group – a huge accomplishment! The 7 hours of skiing flew by and I didn’t want the day to end!

Sunday: Three of us decided to head back up the mountain on Sunday for three hours of skiing. The visibility was horrible and it was my first time skiing in less than ideal conditions at Verbier. This caused me to second guess my ability and have some lovely falls. But, overall it was still a strong day of skiing and my quads and calves could feel every minute of skiing by the end of the day.

My goal for this week is simple – focus on the goal of each workout. When it’s speed, make sure I push my body as hard as possible and when it’s an easy pace make sure I give my body the room to slow down.

What is your favorite type of running workout? Zoning out and running long? Hill repeats? Speed?

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Happy Monday! I am so relieved that my big presentation is over. I don’t know about you guys but having something like that looming over my head just adds stress. I feel like a huge 10 pound bag was just lifted off my shoulders!

Thanks for all your support as I know we all deal with different types of stress on a daily basis. I’m so glad that I took some of my stress out during workouts last week versus giving in to the temptation to just forget about workouts. I always feel better after a workout, especially during busy periods!

Last week’s half marathon training went pretty well during the weekend when I was able to build my mileage in a respectable way. Monday: 20 minutes Yoga for Runners

Tuesday: unplanned rest day

Wednesday: 4 mile run outside before work

Thursday: Does dancing at our company’s New Year’s Party count?

Friday: 2 mile run to and from Good Vibes Yoga where I met Charlie for our favorite 75 minute yoga class, Yang & Yin Yoga! It’s rare that I find myself craving a class but any Friday I’m in London I make sure my schedule is free from 6-7:15pm for this class. I really like the balance of challenging moves with relaxation at the end.

Saturday: Bo and I enjoyed a very speedy six mile run through Central London while enjoying many of our favorite sites including Buckingham Palace, Green Park and Big Ben. I found myself panting towards the half way point but soon realized it was because we were keeping an 8:17 pace – far too fast for where my training is right now. We ended up finishing the 6 miles in a 9:17 pace which is right on target for what I’d love to do for 13.1 miles in March. I have a ways to go but this run was a good confidence builder!

Sunday: Bo and I took advantage of the lovely London weather and enjoyed a 5 mile run through Hyde Park. After three straight days of running my legs were definitely tired but it felt great to start building the mileage again. Running 12 miles in 24 hours is the furthest I’ve run since the Lausanne Marathon attempt back in October.

I didn’t get all my workouts in last week and hope to focus on that this week. Unfortunately, based on the weather, it looks like most of the workouts will be inside. We are going skiing again this weekend so I will be front loading my running since I know it’s virtually impossible to squeeze in a run when we’re in Verbier. Therefore, this week my goal is 1 yoga sessions, 4 runs including 1 hill workout and 1 “long” run, 2 days of skiing, and bring back my daily ab routine.

What was your favorite workout last week?

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Happy Sunday! I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend whether it’s been enjoyed on the slopes, relaxing on the couch, racing or just enjoying some time with friends and family. I was in London this weekend with Bo and as of Friday morning it had the potential to be quite a rough weekend. I have an important presentation tomorrow morning at work and I knew that I would need to spend most of the weekend working on Power Point.

This dampened my mood and by the time I landed in London on Friday I wasn’t really excited for the weekend, instead I was focused on making it through Monday morning. Luckily Bo balances me and reminded me that life is all about balance. There have been many weekends in our relationship when he has had to work and this time it was just a role reversal. Thanks to both he and Emily I was able to not only get all my work done but also find a happy balance which resulted in plenty of workouts and relaxation.

Friday night I met Charlie for our favorite yoga class at Good Vibes Fitzrovia, Yang & Yin Yoga. If you are in London, you have to give this class a try. It is the perfect way to release the stress and worries of the week and welcome the weekend. It is definitely a challenging class but grab a friend and enjoy it before Friday night drinks or dinner. 937 945

While I edited slides Bo and I enjoyed a Turkish take out and caught up on Parenthood and Law & Order SVU. Since we were in bed by 11pm on Friday night we woke up bright and early Saturday. Bo’s goal was to run a number of errands for the flat while I worked. 951 954 After a fresh green juice we enjoyed breakfast and plenty of coffee before doing our own thing until 12pm. After four hours of work I was more than ready for a break to enjoy a run through Central London taking in many of our favorite sites including Big Ben and Buckingham Palace.

We finished our 6 mile jaunt at Cowshed Spa as I booked an appointment for a manicure and wax over a month ago. I was able to review my deck on my iPhone and practice in my head while enjoying a quick manicure. Cowshed pays attention to every detail including the spa decor and the way they treat their clients. I will definitely be back as even their basic manicure felt like an indulgent experience and I can tell that the manicure will last as their Essie polishes all looked very fresh and not watered down or diluted. I loved the presentation of the polishes in an aged wood farm box. Though waxing is never an enjoyable experience I must say that the heated, calm rooms along with the soothing music helped take my mind off the ripping sensations. 966 The rest of the afternoon was spent rehearsing my presentation and making final edits while Bo worked in the kitchen. Last month we invited Charlie and her boyfriend Tom over for a casual dinner, not knowing all that I would have to do this weekend. Instead of cancelling Bo offered to handle dinner as it would give him something to do in the afternoon while I worked and it gave him a chance to play with his new toy, the sous vide machine his parents gave him for Christmas.

It worked out perfectly and by 7:30 we were welcoming Tom and Charlie into our warm but welcoming kitchen ready to enjoy a glass of wine. The meal turned out perfectly and wasn’t too difficult save the French Onion Soup. We served assorted cheeses and toast points, Thomas Keller’s French Onion soup, winter salad, sous vide lamb served over baby potatoes and green beans followed by Charlie’s pudding (aka dessert for those non British readers), a delicious apple berry crisp. 001 007 010

This morning we spent time in the kitchen making omelettes and coffee before enjoying a long run through Hyde Park. The weather was absolutely brilliant today which made the miles easier though the last mile took every effort to complete. Running 12 miles in 24 hours is a jump from where I’ve been lately and keeping a 9:40 pace was far too speedy for me at this point. Oh well, at least we’re making progress! 016 020 019 This weekend wasn’t necessarily the break from work and as relaxation filled as we often enjoy but it did help me remember that sometime life is all about balance. I could have easily stressed myself out and spent the entire weekend practicing and working on my presentation but by enjoying some fresh air and time with Bo and friends I think I’ll be nice and fresh for tomorrow and the week ahead!