Friday, May 8, 2015

5k training = DONE!

Here's hoping the 2015 Shanty 2 Short's is also a success!
Monday
Core/Flexibility

Tuesday
1.88 warm up, 4.07 @ 15k-half pace, 1.88 cool down
7.83 miles total

I'm very happy with how this run turned out! The weather was great for a hard workout, mid-50s with light rain. My half PR pace is 8:06, so my goal was to run right around 7:50-8:00. Average pace for the tempo section was 7:48, the last mile was a bit fast. During the run I could tell I was running harder than usual, but it was never felt like I was struggling to maintain the pace or even breathing. What was surprising was how tired I felt about half way through my cool down.

At seven miles I would have loved to just call it and walk the rest of the way home, but that is when the rain really picked up. I was cold and wet when I got home and ended up skipping stretching/foam rolling in favor of a hot shower. I was rewarded with some really tight hamstrings on Wednesday, so I won't be making that mistake again.

Wednesday
4.7 miles easy

It was 70+ degrees with direct sun for this entire run. I knew between the heat and the tightness from Tuesday that this run was not going to awesome. I didn't want to cut the run short, so I resorted to running 5 minutes and walking 1 minute. Not a great run, but I got it done.

Thursday
5.2 miles easy (9:56 avg pace)

I met up with Ty at 4:00 for an easy 5 miler. This run would have been a lot easier if it hadn't been 80-some degrees. We ended up running much slower than usual. I was hoping to throw in a few strides at the end of this run, but I was just too tired.

I know heat acclimation is not something that just happens overnight, but it is so frustrating to go from running normal one week to completely feeling out of shape on the next run. It looks like the temps are going to drop back into the 60s next week, which will offer some temporary relief from the heat. But, in the long run, it is just going to slow down my heat acclimation. If anyone else is struggling as the temps start to rise, I recommend reading this article on acclimating to heat.

Friday
rest

And that is it! 10 weeks of training complete (or 8 if you take into consideration illness/injury). I'm not sure if I will be able to hit my original goal for Shanty 2 Shorts, but I am fairly confident that I can grab a PR, even if it is just a couple seconds.

And one last thing, best of luck to my sister who is running a 10k tomorrow AND a half marathon on Sunday! Her training has been awesome and she is going to rock both races!

7 comments:

  1. AHHHHH good luck!! I'm sure you will do GREAT! You've been working so hard!! Best of luck and let us know how it goes ASAP!

    Thanks for the article. I agree that it is discouraging when you are suddenly huffing and puffing your way through what used to be an easy pace. My two runs this week have both been in hot temps (in the gym and outside), and it is not fun - not just the extra sweating and slower pace but my whole body just feels more tired. But I'm grateful for it, because the more I have to run in heat now the easier it will be if it's hot at next month's marathon. The only thing worse than running in heat is being blindsided by it, so I'm glad I have the opportunity to prepare - physically when I can and, at the very least, psychologically as well.

    GO GET 'EM!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good luck!! Can't wait to hear how the race goes :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good luck! I hope you have a great race!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I ran 12 today and it was sooooo humid. Hope it wasn't humid up there for our race today! !

    ReplyDelete
  5. I hope you have an awesome race! You've put in all the training and now it's time to crush the run and celebrate your hard work!

    Adjusting to the heat is no fun. Luckily the adjustment period down here goes pretty fast since we only get about 2 weeks of cold weather per year before the temps rise back up. I've found the best way to adjust is to just embrace it. I just repeat over and over "the warmth feels good on my skin" until I believe it! haha

    ReplyDelete
  6. Good luck! Hope your race went well!!! Can't wait to hear about it!

    ReplyDelete