This week’s schedule is a little different since I did my long run on Monday this week because of the holiday. Therefore:
Monday: Last week’s long run Tuesday: Rest Wednesday: Run 4 minutes, Walk 2 minutes, 5 times with a 5 minute warm-up and cool-down Thursday: Crosstrain Friday: Run 4 minutes, Walk 2 minutes, 5 times with a 5 minute warm-up and cool-down Saturday: Rest Sunday: Run 5 miles – Run 3 minutes, Walk 2 Minutes
So why do I say Week Six Fail? Mostly because I am being dramatic. I did my first 4 minute interval run and had a great pace. I didn’t finish the full 5 mile long run though. I tried but I just didn’t have anything left in the tank so I stopped just short of 4.2 miles. I normally do my cardio fasting so as my miles increase, this will have to change.
I can say I gave it my all and I will try again this week. I also missed all of my cross training! I’m going to try and be better about that in the future.
Again, I was beating myself up for not completing the 5 miles and thought about repeating the week. Then I remembered my 4 minute interval run and that I was solidly in the mid-eleven minute pace for that, even hitting the high-tens for a few intervals. I realized I need to keep going instead of being worried I’m not progressing enough to push forward. A good all-around life lesson too!
Monday: Rest Tuesday: Run 3 minutes, Walk 2 minutes, 6 times with a 5 minute warm-up and cool-down Wednesday: Crosstrain – Weights or yoga this week Thursday: Run 4 minutes, Walk 2 minutes, 5 times with a 5 minute warm-up and cool-down Friday: Rest Saturday: Crosstrain – Weights or Yoga Sunday: Run 5 miles – Run 3 minutes, Walk 2 Minutes
Week 5 was definitely a week. I have been so busy at work, it would have been so easy to skip. So did I? Sort of…
I did my Tuesday and Thursday runs and even got below my 12 minute pace goal on Thursday. I did yoga for cross training on Wednesday. So where did I go wrong? I’m going to say I didn’t! For my cross training on Saturday, I wrapped it into my first solo trip to Disney so I ended up walking more than 12 miles! I stayed over by myself Saturday night and was having so much fun, decided to go to the Magic Kingdom by myself on Sunday. I ended up walking almost 8 miles that day! I think it’s great self care to spend a little time by yourself doing something that you love.
I did bring my running clothes and shoes to the hotel but I didn’t feel like running 4 miles after all of that walking. I went back and forth on whether I should do the long run on Monday or whether I should repeat the week. I finally decided just to push forward. So I am moving on to Week 6 and will be skipping Week 5’s long run. We’ll see how that goes and I will report back next week!
Monday: Rest Tuesday: Run 3 minutes, Walk 2 minutes, 6 times with a 5 minute warm-up and cool-down Wednesday: Crosstrain – Weights or yoga this week Thursday: Run 3 minutes, Walk 2 minutes, 6 times with a 5 minute warm-up and cool-down Friday: Rest Saturday: Crosstrain – Weights or Yoga Sunday: Run 4 miles – Run 2 minutes, Walk 2 Minutes
Week 4 Recap:
It was so humid on Tuesday’s run, I felt like I was running through applesauce! I did it though and was able to shave a few more seconds off my pace. Wednesday’s yoga, a 30 minute practice, was nice. Thursday’s run was the first 3 minute interval but it wasn’t as hard as I though it was going to be. I did drop and break my water bottle a few minutes in though, so that was a bummer. I skipped Saturday’s yoga (I was just too tired and decided to read my book then watch a movie instead – well worth it!)
Not gonna lie, Sunday’s run was awesome and terrible all in one. I started well after 8am and it was already 90% humidity! I felt like I was creeping along and the last mile was tough. During that mile, I was really looking forward to the walking intervals and as soon as I hit 4 miles, I started walking. Some days are just gonna be like that, though! When I got home, I realized that I shaved 14 seconds off my pace from last week! I was really not expecting that! I think that goes to show that we can be mentally harder on ourselves than we really need to be.
I’m excited for all of the 3 minute intervals next week and to see if I can get below an 11 minute pace for the 4 mile run next Sunday. An update from last week’s recap: the dog was reunited with his family! I may have jury duty next week too so hopefully I will take advantage of all the waiting time and get some more non-running blog posts done!
I realized that I like having my long run on Sunday and a rest day on Monday so I’m not starting the work week worrying about a run. So, here’s the modified schedule for Week 4:
Monday: Rest Tuesday: Run 2 minutes, Walk 2 minutes, 7 times with a 5 minute warm-up and cool-down Wednesday: Crosstrain – I’m sticking with yoga Thursday: Run 3 minutes, Walk 2 minutes, 6 times with a 5 minute warm-up and cool-down Friday: Rest Saturday: Crosstrain – Yoga again Sunday: Run 4 miles – Run 2 minutes, Walk 2 Minutes
Week 3 went much better. I did switch my days around so I ran on Tuesday, Thursday & Sunday and did Yoga on Monday & Friday. My run on Sunday was 4 miles, my longest yet. It was somewhat interrupted by a lost dog running down the street but after snapping a few quick pictures, posting to the neighborhood Facebook group and handing him off to a park ranger, I was off again. After the stop, I couldn’t get my Seconds app to announc the sets, so I was thrown off for a few sets and was running with my phone in my hand to see the timer. Luckily I was able to get it working for the last mile or so. I ended up going closer to 4.5 miles by the time I add in the walking warm up and cool down.
My pace is dropped again with the lower run sets and I kept it consistent all week, even for the long run. I also really enjoyed doing the yoga for my cross-training. I did 30 minutes of slow flow on Monday and 45 minutes on Friday. It was great to have the extra stretching too.
Monday: Run 2 minutes, Walk 2 minutes 7 times with a 5 minute warm-up and cool-down Tuesday: Crosstrain – I will probably do yoga this week Wednesday: Run 2 minutes, Walk 2 minutes 7 times with a 5 minute warm-up and cool-down Thursday: Rest Friday: Crosstrain – Yoga again Saturday: Run 4 miles – Run 2 minutes, Walk 2 Minutes Sunday: Rest
Week 2 recap: The running was great. I ended up doing the 3 mile run on Sunday instead of Saturday but I fit in 14 sets and ran a little over the 3 mile mark. My pace keeps improving and I will strive to get under the 13 minute average mile next week. Considering that 1/3 of my runs are walking right now, I am extremely happy with that pace!
Cross training did not go as well. Between starting a new job, getting ready for back to school and not sleeping a few nights, I skipped every cross training day! That’s OK though because you are allowed to have priorities other than exercise sometimes! Hopefully next week will be more consistent.
I’ve written several posts about workouts that I loved explaining why you should try them too. Did it seem like I love every workout I try? Well I don’t! I thought it would be good to also tell you what I didn’t like and why.
When I started my half marathon training, I thought the Beachbody program 30 Day Break Away would be a great way to start. It’s a 30 day program with a combination of running and lifting that culminates in a 5K on day 30. This is the first workout program that I tried with Idalis Velazquez, one of Beachbody’s super trainers that also does workouts in Spanish. The program is set up so you lift and then you take the audio run portion with you using the Beachbody on Demand app on your phone where Idlais gives you prompts as to what the run is and what your level of effort should be.
The first week, which is all I did, went like this:
Monday: Total Body Strength followed by a Fat Blasting Ladders Run Tuesday: Upper Body followed by a Rest Day Roll Out Wednesday: Core Fuerte followed by a HIIT Run Thursday: Rest Friday: Lower Body followed by a Tempo Intervals Run Saturday: Rest Day Roll Out Sunday: Rest
So what didn’t I like about it that made me quit after a week? I think the biggest things was that the runs didn’t seem like they were helping me train. Despite watching all of the introductory videos, I couldn’t tell the deference between the Ladders, HIIT and Tempo runs. They were all literally interval runs where you ran a 30, 60, 90 seconds with walking periods in between. There were prompts to give different levels of intensity but no description on what those would be until you hear the prompt during the program. I ended up running just over 1.5 miles each of these days in about 20 minutes of work but I felt terrible after each one! Much different than the 2.5 to 3 miles I can do under my current program.
The lifting portion was a little hectic as well. While I thought the exercises themselves were good, it felt like Idlais’s earpiece wasn’t giving her the proper counts. There were times where transitions between exercises were rushed and I had to rewind to understand the prompts and complete the exercise. By Wednesday, I was contemplating continuing with the running portion but swapping out the lifting portion with something else. When I really thought about it, I wasn’t enjoying the running portion either!
An easy way to give up is to get stuck with a workout program that just isn’t working for you! I am glad I quit this running program because I am getting much more training (and enjoyment) from my current program. Just because it worked for someone else or it was really popular doesn’t mean it’s the right program for you.
I will definitely write about a few more programs I didn’t finish, including the one that made me take a break from Beachbody programs all together!
Monday: Run 1 minute, Walk 2 minutes 10 times, with a 5 minute warm-up and cool-down Tuesday: Crosstrain – I chose a 30 minute upper body strength workout and 10 minutes of core Wednesday: Run 2 minute, Walk 2 minutes 7 times with a 5 minute warm-up and cool-down Thursday: Rest Friday: Crosstrain – I chose a 30 minute total body workout Saturday: Run 3 miles – Run 1 minute, Walk 2 Minutes Sunday: Rest
Week 1 went well. I consistently increased my pace each running day. The only SNAFU was accidentally starting my Apple Watch on Saturday as a strength work out instead of a running one for the first 10 minutes. Since I was supposed to do distance instead of a set number of intervals, I erred on the side of running a full 3 miles once I set my watch correctly, which probably figured out to about 3.5 mile run for the day. I also didn’t remember to track the number of intervals I did, but I think it was around 15.
I was not a regular runner pretty much my whole life until I decided to start running about seven or eight years ago. I ran for several years, finishing a dozen half marathons and a bunch of 5ks, 10ks and other races. I decided to take a break from running long distances after running a Disney race in January when it was 20 degrees! It was the frozen feet for me! I haven’t run regularly in over two years. I recently realized how much I missed running, especially getting outside, and training for a big goal.
It’s been a while, so I chose a training plan from Self Magazine that involves running intervals in a Couch to Half Marathon mindset. Even though I have run this distance before, I needed to treat my training as if I was a true beginner. I haven’t even run a 5k since July 4, 2019!
This week has been great. I have 3 training runs, each doing intervals of running for one minute and then walking for two minutes. I also have two cross training days and two rest days. The intervals make it much easier to run for a long period and I can really increase my pace for my runs knowing I will have a short walk. I use an App called “Seconds” using pre-programmed intervals so it prompts the beginning, halfway point and end of each interval.
So my actual week one training schedule looks like this:
Monday: Run 1 minute, Walk 2 minutes 10 times, with a 5 minute warm-up and cool-down Tuesday: Crosstrain – I chose a 30 minute upper body strength workout and 10 minutes of core Wednesday: Run 1 minute, Walk 2 minutes with a 5 minute warm-up and cool-down Thursday: Rest Friday: Crosstrain – I chose a 30 minute total body workout Saturday: Run 3 miles – Run 1 minute, Walk 2 Minutes Sunday: Rest
My goal is the Miami Half Marathon, a race I’ve always wanted to run. I also may add the Disney Half Marathon, which is always run around my birthday. I have a chance to run it for Team JDRF, which was a great experience the last time I did it.
I’ll post my training schedule on Sundays and let you know how I’m doing as I proceed. Wish me luck!
You know that kind of sick where you can’t even move? That’s the kind of sick I’ve been for the last few weeks. Luckily, it was not Covid-19 but it really through me off any semblance of a schedule or plan I may have had in every part of my life!
I knew if I wanted to get better, I was going to have to respect what my body was telling me so I didn’t work out and I slept a lot. When I wasn’t sleeping I was resting. I even called in sick to work one day, which I never do! I also took about 2 1/2 weeks off of any kind of exercise. No yoga, no walks, and definitely no lifting!
When I was ready to go back, I took it easy on myself. I did a few days of restorative yoga, then a little bit more energetic yoga, and finally fit in a 20 minute strength workout yesterday. I think by next week, I’ll be back on my normal schedule, which I’m very excited about! You really have to respect what your body tells you when you’re sick or injured, otherwise you’ll end up just making your rest period all the more longer. You aren’t going to gain a bunch of weight and you’re not going to lose a tremendous amount of your fitness level if you allow your body to rest and heal.
While I was resting, I got a new cookbook with lots of macro-balanced recipes and I’ve already started testing them. Stay tuned for the results, including the protein brownies that are in the oven right now!
I was in the middle of an Apple Fitness workout the other day (review coming soon) and I realized my focus kept returning to the countdown timer that showed how much longer I had left in the workout and it was really distracting.
That got me thinking. Why was I so focused on how much time I had left instead of celebrating everything I had done? I could say it went deeper than just the workout. I stopped my workout and changed the way you see metrics on Apple Fitness so it now shows the time elapsed, not the time remaining. This little change has allowed me to be more present in my workouts, especially yoga.
It’s true for life too. Do you think as you get older that you are running out of time to accomplish that bucket list while forgetting all the things you’ve already checked off? So let’s start counting up instead of down.
Healthy Girl Lawyer 