Divas Half Marathon Training – Weeks 9 & 10

It’s been a BUSY couple of weeks at work. I’ve managed to keep up the training, but have admittedly cut out a run or two or done a little less mileage. Still feeling good about the race, which is only 2 weeks away!

Week 9

Monday – Rest day

Took the day off to rest up after Goldy’s 10 mile.

Tuesday – 4.71 miles (9:34/mile)

This was the beginning of the super busy time at work. After a long day, I had a 5 mile run on my plan, but I cut it a little short. I stopped at 45 minutes.

Wednesday – Rest day

I met some friends for dinner and was definitely in need of an Old Fashioned.

Thursday – 4.02 miles (9:33/mile)

Another long day, another shorter run. But at least I got in something.

Friday – Rest day

I ran a couple of errands after work and made a pit stop at the grocery store. I decided to treat myself to a lemon bar.

Saturday – 7.25 miles (9:40/mile)

I had a 10K race on my plan, but since I raced Goldy’s 10 mile the week before I planned to just do an 8 mile run since I missed doing that distance during the week. It was raining in the morning, so I postponed running until the afternoon. I set out and was just not feeling it. I had eaten a snack earlier in the afternoon and thought I waited long enough before running, but my stomach was not feeling great. My legs were heavy and tired, too. Usually, things loosen up after a couple miles and I get in a groove. That did not happen this time. The temps were also a little warmer than I’m used to right now. I kept trying to power through, but just kept thinking about all of the bad things about this run. I got to 7.25 miles and threw in the towel.

Ugh. That’s about all I can say about this run.

Sunday – 4.22 miles (9:35/mile)

It was Easter Sunday, so I headed to church and then went to hang with family. I headed out for an evening run. Amazingly, I felt great. My legs felt better, I was in a much better mental place, and it was a gorgeous day! So thankful for a good run.

Week 10

Monday – 4.52 miles (9:34/mile)

Runs this week were about training, but also some much needed stress relief. I’m not gonna lie, the week was a bit of blur, so not much detail on these runs.

Tuesday – 4.03 miles (9:29/mile)

Wednesday – Rest day

A combination of wine at book club and a looming price increase made me finally pull the trigger.

I’m officially registered for the Twin Cities Marathon!

It will be my 2nd time, and I’m excited to see what kind of progress I can make.

Thursday – 3.22 miles (9:23/mile)

Friday – Rest day

I didn’t run, but I was rocking my Garry Bjorklund Half shirt at work for Finisher Shirt Friday!

Saturday – 11.01 miles (9:28/mile)

I headed to the chain of lakes for my long run. It was a simply beautiful morning! Of course, that meant the paths were crowded. Had to do some weaving around people. But overall, this was a great run. The miles ticked by quickly as I looped around the lakes and it felt really good to be back there.

Lake Harriet

Lake Calhoun

Lake of the Isles

Sunday – 4.89 miles (9:36/mile)

I met up with my brunch bunch in the morning and scarfed down a goat cheese omelette and hash browns. Yum!

In the afternoon, I met up with a friend at Lake Nokomis for a run. We grabbed a snack at the little outdoor restaurant on the lake.

I love that spring is here and summer is coming! Looking forward more runs around lakes and good food with friends on patios!

Goldy’s 10 Mile Race Recap

After 5 years of doing this race, I’ve got the pre-race routine down. I got up and had breakfast before heading to campus. I know that traffic can get a bit backed up and I wanted park in one of the lots by the stadium. I don’t mind being early and sitting in my car for a little bit if it means parking close.

Pre-race calm

I hit the restroom line and then just walked around for about 10 minutes to warm up until it was time to head to the corral. I sandwiched myself between the 9:30 and 9:00 pacers since I was aiming for something around a 9:20-9:25 pace.

I started my watch as I crossed the start line and we were off! The adrenaline and crowd often make me start a little too fast, so I tried to keep my pace under control while I warmed up. We headed up University Ave. and then turned into campus. Before I knew it I saw the marker for mile 1. Then my watch beeped a decent distance after I passed it, so I was a little worried the course would be off. I kept up a slightly faster than expected pace in mile 2. A big downhill helped with that. It was immediately followed by a big uphill that took some energy, but I settled into a comfortable pace when I got to the top.

It wasn’t that warm, but it felt humid to me. I felt like I was seating a lot even just a couple of miles in. I wasn’t thinking I’d want water at the first water stop, but I decided to take some cause I was feeling thirsty. I continued down the river road holding a good pace. The mile markers started lining up better with when my watch beeped, so I was feeling a little better about the course.

Around mile 5, I took a GU for a mid-race pick me up. I think mile 6 ended up being my slowest mile, but by mile 7 I picked up the pace again (maybe the GU was working). The last couple of miles have a couple of killer uphills that can make the thighs burn. I managed to keep the legs pumping as I made my way back to University Ave. for the home stretch. I picked up the pace a little and then a lot as we hit the outside of the stadium. Before I knew it, we were turning into the tunnel and hit the field. I crossed the finish line (at the 50 yard line) and stopped my watch.

I grabbed my medal and asked a kind stranger to take my picture. 🙂

My official time was 1:32:04, a new PR! That amounted to about a 9:13 pace, faster than I had hoped. I felt good through the race. I love doing this race every year because I continue to see progress. I feel faster and stronger each time I do it. It’s a nice benchmark early in the year.

Hope it’s a good prelude for my half marathon in a couple of weeks!

Divas Half Marathon Training – Week 8

I spent the week gearing up for Goldy’s 10 mile on Sunday. I still got in some good miles, but I took an extra rest day and did light cross training so my legs would hopefully be fresh to race.

Monday – rest

My legs definitely needed a rest after the spin, run, yoga stuff I had going on the weekend before.

Tuesday – 4.08 miles (9:26/mile)

I met up with a friend and her running group to do a 4 mile run. It was a beautiful spring day for running. So nice to check out a different running route and have some people to chat with a long the way!

Wednesday – 7 miles (9:26/mile)

I debated shortening this run to save my legs, but once I got going it was just easier to do the full 7 miles that were on my plan.

Thursday – 1.97 mile walk

I had to run an errand after work, so it was a good day to just take an easy walk in the evening.

Friday – 4.15 miles (9:39/mile)

Friday was the perfect opportunity to escape the office for lunch with a friend! This also kicked off a pretty epic weekend of good food. 🙂

My plan had 4.5 miles on it, but I ended up just doing a 40 minute easy run.

Saturday – rest

After a relaxing morning and a few house chores, I met a friend for lunch at Young Joni. We shared a pizza and the Brussels sprouts. Both were fantastic!

I ran a few errands and then met up with my sister and a friend for dinner. Our plan was to sit on a patio to enjoy the spring weather. Only problem was it wasn’t as nice and sunny as they had predicted. But, we didn’t let that stop us! We found a cute patio at an Italian restaurant, which was perfect for some carbo-loading.

We hit one more patio after dinner for drinks. I stuck to water and club soda for this patio tour, but I look forward to the next one when I can enjoy a cocktail (or 2)!

Sunday – 10 miles (9:12/mile)

Race day! Stay tuned for the full race recap, but overall it was a great race!

In the afternoon, I kicked back and relaxed. I also may have fallen asleep on my coach for about a half hour. Nothing like a post-long run nap. 🙂

My epic food weekend ended with a home cooked meal. I used some veggies I got from a friend’s CSA to make dinner. I had a roasted beet salad with goat cheese, spinach and a honey, balsamic vinaigrette. This salad is so delicious! You can put goat cheese on just about anything and I’ll love it.

I also roasted sweet potato, turnips, and parsnips. Then I cooked some chicken on my little George Foreman grill to round out the meal.

Did you get out to enjoy the spring weather this past weekend?

Divas Half Marathon Training – Week 7

This was a solid week of training! My training plan is definitely continuing to increase in intensity and mileage. I’m gearing up for Goldy’s 10 mile next weekend, so hopefully all of this work will lead to a good race day!

Monday – 4.78 miles (9:25/mile)

This run came after several straight days of workouts. My legs were feeling it when I started out–super tired and heavy. I resolved after half a mile that this run would be a STRUGGLE. Then after a mile, my legs started to warm up. I didn’t want to get too excited as I started mile 2 because I was running downhill, but surely enough my legs kept feeling better and I kept running faster. I ended up having some killer negative splits on this run!

Tuesday – rest

After that tough run, my legs needed a break. I had a Hello Fresh box delivered that day, so I hopped in the kitchen to make dinner. I made this salmon dish that we actually really good. I’m slowly acquiring a taste for salmon.

Wednesday – 7.01 miles (9:31/mile)

The legs felt pretty good after a rest day, and I was able to knock out the longer weekday run.

Thursday – 25 minute elliptical

I got home from work and made dinner. I considered taking an extra rest day, but ended up doing a quick elliptical workout to get something in.

Later that night I felt a little pain above my knee. Nothing constant or too bad. Wasn’t sure if it was a fluke or if I did something since it hadn’t been hurting when I was actually working out.

Friday – 3.76 miles (9:32/mile)

Walking up the stairs at work on Friday morning I felt a little pain above my knee again. I decided I’d keep an eye on it throughout the day. Going up some stairs at the end of the day didn’t bring any pain, so I tested it out with a run. No pain. (Phew!) Think it was a fluke and I must have just tweaked it weird at some point. If it comes back, I’ll take some extra time off.

Saturday – 50 minute spin class

I got up and met a friend for a morning spin class. I’m so glad to have these occasional spin classes for cross training! Great to change things up and work some different muscles.

It was a GORGEOUS spring day in Minnesota. I ran some errands in the afternoon and just had to get outside a little more before the sun went down. I grabbed my book and found a bench along the river to read for just a little bit to soak up the sun.

Sunday – 9.06 miles (9:30/mile)

Sunday run day! I got up early to get in my long run because I had a full day of Sunday fun day plans. My legs were tired in the first two miles. Not surprised after some tough workouts this week and the spin class the day before. By mile 3 I was warmed up and found my pace.

I showered up and headed out to meet a friend for yoga and a pint! It’s just what it sounds like: yoga in a brewery. The instructor is a lot of fun and the stretching felt great after my long run.

After class, we grabbed a couple of stools at the end of the bar and got our pint. Yoga, beer, and chatting with a friend is pretty much the perfect long run recovery!

After that, I was off to a LuLaRoe shopping party with some friends.

When I got home later, I made dinner and did a load of laundry. Definitely a go – go – go kind of day, but lots of fun stuff crammed in there. Happy to have a little time to put my feet up on the couch before another work week starts.