Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
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Let's just dive right in since there are only two or three of you reading these weekly updates anyway. Hi all three of you!
Monday & Tuesday: rest
Monday was an epic roadtrip of suck and Tuesday was recovering from that epic roadtrip PLUS a feverish toddler PLUS being back at work and tackling a full inbox. Rest might not be the right term but it wasn't training.
Wednesday: 3 miles
I was home Wednesday for a funeral, but I managed to meet up with Kristie after Kyle went to sleep for a nighttime run around a nearby neighborhood. I was emotionally zapped so I thought it would suck, but it really didn't. It was pretty great, actually. The cooler weather helped, but it's supposed to be balls hot again early this week, so, you know, THOSE THREE DAYS WERE NICE TEXAS.
Thursday: Cross
I did nothing. I have got to start doing my cross. Thankfully, I have Zumba classes lined up this week and maybe some boot camp in coming weeks.
Friday: Shoulda been 2 miles
We decided to spice things up (sounds exciting, right? but this is still RUNNING we're talking about) and do just one mile instead of two but at a much faster pace. Ooooooof. That's the sound of my lungs shredding in my chest. We did it! One mile at about a 9:30 pace instead of a 10:30-11 pace. It wasn't all that easy, but it was quick, and we treated ourselves with coffee afterward. If we ran our entire half-marathon at that pace, I could be drinking champagne at just over two hours after I start. I'll be dead, though, so that could be a problem. (But, dramatics aside, we're hoping our speed training helps any issues the slight altitude of Vegas might cause.)
Saturday: Should been 3.5 miles
Oh friends. THIS WAS NOT A GOOD DAY. I've had bad sinuses all week, so I asked Kristie if we could run in the afternoon instead of the morning but I didn't check the weather like a normal trainee, so when we started running, I was all, "Texas has been much cooler lately and it'll be grand and, wait, it's kind of sunny and warm and why am I seeing spots and feeling light-headed?" I made it 2 miles before walking and sitting and then walking some more.
It was discouraging. It was embarrassing (Kristie made it through the entire 3.5 miles) and I just wasn't sure how I'd ever get to a half-marathon finish line after wimping out 2 miles into a 3.5 mile run.
I whined on Twitter, which is not something I'd recommend, but it does give you a nice, short pity party and sometimes that IS what you need. It also gives you a lot of encouragement from strangers and friends who get it. They've been there. One run won't define your training and you can feel down and discouraged as long as you don't stop training. This week is a new week and I've got a nice game plan lined up for it (although, this weekend we're running FOUR MILES and I've maybe ran that distance twice in my entire life outside of actual 10K races. I COULD BE A WEE BIT TERRIFIED.)
Still, bad runs HAPPEN. I hope that if anyone reads these training posts in the future, they'll see I made it to the race even after such shitty training runs, and if they are inspired by that, oh my god so totally worth it.
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My question of the day is: How do you hydrate on longer training runs? 0-3 miles is no big thing, but I can tell I'll need some water from here on, but I hate stopping to drink at public fountains or restaurants because it messes with my pace and rhythm. Any product suggestions? I'd love to carry water with me, without having to hold it?