Eau Claire Half Marathon Training – Week 8

This Minnesota winter is just holding on for dear life. And there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. I really don’t know if we’re every going to see spring. I just hope we actually get a summer. I need some hot, sunny days made for sweaty runs followed by recovery on a patio. Who’s with me?

Whole 30 continues to go pretty well. The weekly meal prep is still time consuming, but I feel like I’ve got the hang of it. I’ve definitely noticed my clothes fitting better, but I can’t say my energy level has changed much. How long it takes for changes to happen can vary from person to person, so we’ll see how the rest of it goes and if I notice any other changes.

Monday – 4.5 miles (9:40/mile)

That MN winter I mentioned was rearing it’s ugly head and I didn’t feel like dealing with it, so I fired up the treadmill.

Tuesday – 4.5 miles (9:40/mile)

Another day of treadmill miles.

Wednesday – 7.03 miles (9:36/mile)

Was finally able to get outside for a longer weekday run.

Thursday – rest/yoga

My workplace actually offers free yoga over lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I have not been taking advantage, but I’m trying to do better.

In the evening my sister and I went to see The Greatest Showman. I am now officially obsessed with the soundtrack. So good!

Friday – 4.27 miles (9:24/mile)

Got in an easy run to end the week and get ready for Goldy’s on Sunday.

And my Oiselle Volee singlet arrived just in time for my spring races to kick off!

Saturday – rest

Sunday – 10 miles (9:13/mile)

Goldy’s 10 mile!

Goldy’s 10 Mile Race Recap

This is my 6th year doing this race, and probably the coldest. It was about 16 degrees at the start of the race. Thankfully, the sun was out and the wind was calm. Made standing in the start corral at least bearable.

I was planning to race this one and push myself as much as I could. I lined up by the 9:00 min pacer not sure if I’d be able to keep that pace, but felt good to shoot for a goal.

I got myself warmed up in the first 3 miles and my watch was showed I was keeping that 9:00 pace. It was also around mile 3 when I realized I needed to tighten my shoelaces. Getting the double-knot out of my laces took longer than I wanted, but 30-60 seconds later I was off again. (This delay has relevance later in the race.)

Miles 4-6 I was still feeling pretty good and staying pretty on pace, but I could feel the tiredness in my legs starting. I kept pushing and tried to use the downhills for a little boost to make up for the uphills.

Around mile 7, my right glute and IT band started to feel tight. Gonna have to stretch and foam roll those tonight. These last 3 miles required some mantras and self motivation to keep myself going. My legs were feeling it and there were some lovely *cough* sarcasm *cough* uphills in the last 2 miles.

On the home stretch to the stadium, we had the breeze in our faces and I told myself to just keep pushing. I made my way onto the football field and across the finish line.

Final time was 1:32:07. A really good time for me, but a little frustrating because it means I missed a PR by 4 seconds. 4 SECONDS!! I can’t help but wonder what would’ve happened if I hadn’t been delayed retying my shoes or if I’d just pushed a little harder in a few spots. Frustrating to be so close, but still happy with the end result. Gives me some fire for finding my next 10 mile race. 🙂

Eau Claire Half Marathon Training – Week 6 & 7

Yea, I missed my weekly recap last week, so let me get you caught up.

I’m halfway through Whole 30! I can’t call it easy, but it’s not as hard as I thought it would be. I’ve found some new recipes to try and am eating some good food.

This taco salad was a nice change to my usual weekday lunch.

I had book club during week 1 of Whole 30, so I made these prosciutto wrapped pears, and they were really good! I was glad I could contribute something compliant that wasn’t just raw veggies. Though our book club host was amazing and made a compliant meal because a couple of us are actually doing Whole 30 right now! Support from family and friends is REALLY nice when doing something like this.

I’ve been making egg bake for easy breakfasts during the week. This is the egg back from week 1, but I actually made an even better one for week 2. It’s a trial and error process with new recipes.

The Whole 30 plan calls for a pre-workout and post-workout snack to help fuel your workout and recover. Took me a little bit to find things that worked well, but I think I’ve got a routine now.

As far as running goes, I’m still chugging along with the training plan. This plan is kind of high mileage, so I have a longer weekday run and my other runs are slowly getting longer, too. I can kind of feel the mileage in my body now. I may end up taking an extra rest day from time to time, or cut a run a tad short as I get ready for all of my upcoming April/May races.

Partially because I don’t remember (whoops) and partially because this is getting long, I’ll keep the workout updates short.

Week 6

Monday – rest

Tuesday – 4 miles (9:40/mile)

Wednesday – 6.06 miles (9:27/mile)

Thursday – rest

Friday – 4.03 miles (9:36/mile)

Saturday – 3.1 miles (8:33/mile)

My “long run” for this wee was a 5K race. I didn’t actually sign up for a 5K race, so I just headed out and planned to run fast. And that’s what I did!

Sunday – Alchemy private class

Got in a great cross-training workout at Alchemy. My friend won a free private class, so she invited a bunch of friends to come do a workout. My legs were a little sore from all of the running during the week and my fast 5K. I was happy to hear the class was going to focus on upper body stuff. And man, were my arms/shoulders feeling it the next day!

Week 7

Monday – rest

Tuesday – 4.79 miles (9:25/mile)

Wednesday – 3.3 miles (9:24/mile)

Thursday – 7.35 miles (9:32/mile)

Friday – rest

Saturday – 9.19 miles (9:49/mile)

It snowed overnight. Yeah…Minnesota. I waited this late morning to do my run so the snow would have a chance to melt a little on the path as the sun came out. I did a loop along the river. I started out and the mile was fine, but when I crossed the river the path was only semi-clear. This meant the first 4.5 miles were somewhat slow. When I crossed back over the river for the second half, the paths were great and I was able to pick up my pace a little.

These 9 miles actually flew by. I just sort of zoned out and before I knew it I was done!

After my run, I did some meal prep in the afternoon. Then my sister and I headed to a roller derby! A friend of ours has been doing roller derby for several years, but it was her last bout, so we had to go cheer her on. It’s a super entertaining sport and those women are tough!

Sunday – rest 

My sister and I headed to Wisconsin to spend Easter with our grandmother. We ate our Easter meal, played a card game, watched an egg toss at her senior living facility (super cute watching the residents participate and have fun!), and chatted for a little bit before heading home. I did a little more food prep in the evening and was exhausted, so skipped any kind of workout.

I’m gearing up for the second half of Whole 30 and getting ready for my spring races to start. Maybe one day soon the snow will stop falling and it will actually feel like spring!