Rock N Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon Training Updates
Week 12
October 16-22
Monday 10/16- 6.9 miles. This was a speed work tempo effort. It was supposed to be 2 miles warm up, 2 x 1.5 miles at half marathon effort. My goal pace for this workout was 7:40 per mile. At this point in my training 7:40 pace should feel manageable. During the summer months, I was able to hit a mile and longer intervals at 7:30 pace.
On this day it was a little warm (about 73 degrees). But, that's not really that hot. I hit the first mile at 7:50, and I felt like I was dying, the last half mile of the interval was a struggle, so I took my 400-meter recovery easy, and I stopped to stretch. During the 2nd interval I hit 7:50 again, and my left leg from my hip down to my calf was on fire. My legs felt tight and I just had no more to give. I bailed early and ran a short cool down.
Later on that night I noticed that I was feeling overall fatigue and not just running fatigue. My sinuses were inflamed and I figured that I had caught a slight cold.
Tuesday 10/17 3.9 Miles-I still felt under the weather but, not too horrible. I was supposed to run for 45 minutes at general aerobic effort, but I thought that I had forgotten my socks in my gym bag at lunchtime. 15 minutes into my lunch break I found my socks. I only had time for a 35-minute run, and I decided to run a little faster than general aerobic effort.
Wednesday- 10/18 Rest- I had to pick up last minute accessories for my kids Halloween costumes
Thursday 10/19 Rest- I was still feeling crummy so I took another rest day
Friday 10/20- 7.8 Miles for the day. I ran 3.1 miles of fasted cardio on the treadmill at 5:30 in the morning, and at lunchtime, I ran 4.7 miles at general aerobic effort.
Saturday 10/21 10 Miles- 3 miles general aerobic, 6 miles tempo effort, 1 mile general aerobic. There is so much road construction happening in my neighborhood right now.
Sunday 10/22 1.8 mile hike with my kids My right plantar fascia is bugging me, but sometimes moving around helps to relieve some of the stiffness in my feet/ankle.
Week 13
Monday 10/23 4 miles recovery effort. This was my last run in one of my favorite pairs of shoes.
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| Thank you for lasting close to 300 miles. I will still wear you to the park and to the grocery store. |
Tuesday 10/24- 3.7 miles recovery effort and a few strides, And just like that it's freaking hot again. The daytime high is 93 degrees. I did this run early in the morning.
Wednesday 10/25- 7.3 miles 3 miles general aerobic, 3 miles at goal half marathon effort, 1.3 mile cool down. I did this workout at 8:00am. I had the day off from work because my parents are in town from California.
I did this workout at Sunset Park so I wouldn't have to worry about traffic. My goal half marathon pace is 7:38 per mile. Here's the data.
Thursday 10/26- Rest
Friday 10/27- 3.5 Miles at recovery effort
Saturday 10/28- Rest
Sunday 10/29- 8.6 miles at a relaxed effort. I averaged about 9:20 per mile. I have been feeling really uneasy about running on bike paths in my neighborhood, so I ran the same loop three times so that I could stay close to home.
Week 14
Monday 10/30- 4.2 miles recovery effort and strides.
Tuesday 10/31- Rest
Wednesday 11/1- 9 miles and the last "big" workout of this training cycle. 2 miles warm up, strides, 2 x 2.5 miles at half marathon effort, and a cool down. I drove out to an area that I used to live and run in because I wanted an area that was somewhat flat, free of traffic, but not too isolated. It has a two mile loop with minimal turns. I did this workout on my lunch break. I was able to hit 7:35 average pace for the first 2.5-mile interval, but the second interval was closer to 7:45 pace. But, I'll take it. I stopped my watch three times during the 9 miles. Once during the first mile to use the bathroom, Once during the strides to stretch, and after the 2nd interval to catch my breath. Here's the data.
Thursday 11/2 30 minutes at recovery effort. My right ankle and foot are bothering me. But, again running out the stiffness helps.
Friday 11/3 5 miles on the treadmill. 48 minute at general aerobic effort. This run was frustrating because my ankle was bugging me and my foot pod wasn't working.
Saturday 11/4- Rest
Sunday 11/5 6.3 Mile 35 minutes at maintenance effort 20 minutes at tempo effort. I was feeling a little tired from Wednesday's speedwork. My calves felt really tight. But, my foot and ankle were feeling fine.
Week 15
Monday 11/6- Rest
Tuesday 11/7- 40 minutes maintenance effort-
Wednesday 11/8- 35 minutes recovery effort, 6 x 30-second strides at 10k effort. Tapering is so weird. During the recovery effort my legs felt heavy I wasn't breathing hard, I just felt sluggish. But, when it was time to do the strides, I had to back off on my pace because I was running them at 5k effort...
Thursday 11/9 -Rest
Friday 11/10 - 30 minutes recovery effort, 6 x30 second strides at 10k effort. I did this run first thing in the morining and it was still dark outside.
Summary of this Training Cycle
Well, I'm glad that I'm not racing a marathon this weekend. I still had a 16-week training cycle and I averaged about 27-32 miles per week. Each week had a long run of 8-11 miles and there was at least one structured speed work session, and one cut down run.
I don't think I could have fit any more running into my schedule. Next week I sit for the Auditing and Attestation section of the CPA exam (November 16th), and I'm saving all of my prayers for the exam instead of this race.
Running has been a wonderful outlet, but it has also been a stressor as well. I put high expectations on myself and when I don't nail a workout I will feel bad about not being as fast as I used to be.
I used to race more often, but as I get older I find that I end up choosing one or two goal races per year, and put my eggs into those baskets. I do enjoy the build up over the training cycle and the "high" that racing a goal race can bring.
I'm hoping to not take myself as seriously next year, and try to find more low 5k and 10k races.
Race Strategy
I plan on doing a short warm-up of 1-2 miles, but they may be hard to accomplish trying to get in and out of the corrals. I expect and hope that the security on the strip will be tight.
The first two miles will be on a slight incline, and the start is crazily crowded so I hope to hit the first two miles at 7:55-7:45 pace, we then flip a u-turn and run on a very slight decline for the next 8 miles, I plan to drop down to 7:40 pace, The last three miles will be on slight incline but my goal is to drop down to 7:30 pace and hold on for dear life.
Race Goals
A-Sub 1:40- I will be absolutely flabbergasted if I break 1:40 (7:38 per mile)
B -1:42:30 This is closer to 7:45-7:50 pace per mile and sounds within reach.
C Sub 1:45- I should be able to accomplish this goal
Thoughts and Fears
After the events of October 1st, I've been trying to move on, but the grief and anger still come and go. I'm also a bit nervous about racing on the Las Vegas Strip on Sunday night. I don't want to live my life in fear, but the thoughts of a copycat shooter have briefly put fear in my mind.
I have discussed with my husband possible contingency plans if something were to happen. I plan on carrying my car key fob with me in case I don't make it back to my gear check bag. I also told my husband to answer any and all phone calls on Sunday night even if he doesn't recognize the number.
Normally I enjoy wearing bright colors when I run
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| I found these on sale at the Nike Outlet for $59.99 Normally the Lunar Glide is $120. I didn't like these shoes for marathon training, but I like a lighter shoe for speed workouts and I have done some of my longer runs in this shoe. |
See you on the other side and thank you for reading.
