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Writer's pictureMyranda

Half Marathon Training Week 9

Week 9...week 9...WEEK 9!!! I've completed half of my training runs. I have only missed one run total and it was a recovery run. That's what I'm calling my 25 minute easy runs that are now on Sundays...recovery runs. Let's recap!

THE TRAINING Total Running Time: 2 hours 55 minutes

Total Miles: 12.11 miles

Yet again, I waited far to long to do my run leading me to run on the treadmill. Also at 9:45am it was almost 80 degrees Fahrenheit (according to Alexa who doesn't tell us what the humidity is at...just the temperature). This was a 45 minute easy run at 4.2 on the treadmill. I did have to pause because my iPad lost internet connection and I needed to swap my earbuds from my iPad to my iPhone to listen to music. I could not continue to run without anything to listen to for over 25 minutes. My iPad isn't attached to my cell phone data plan so when it's not connected to WiFi it's an expensive paperweight. Then about a minute later I had to run to the bathroom. With about 20 minutes left, I remembered that all my treadmill runs in my running program had me run at a 1.0 incline so I added the incline (want to try the sample workout from that program...here's the link). I think I'll be doing that for any run on the treadmill going forward. My shins actually hurt a bit to the touch. I can walk just fine but I'm adding in foam rolling and using the Theragun pre and post runs. So far it seems to be helping with my recovery a lot!

This 40 minute run was a combo run. 10 minute easy run, 20 minute tempo run, 10 minute easy run. I took this one to the streets! I walked the last minute of my warm up run and at times my tempo pace was too fast and I had to slow it way down or even walk. I walked a lot more of my cool down run than I wanted to but 2.75 miles later I finished the loop around the neighborhood.

I created my own tempo run based on some internet research. I did 3 minutes at tempo pace and then 1 minute easy run which quickly turned into a 1 minute recovery walk. To make sure I didn't lose track of my times, I wrote them on my hand. When I take it to the streets, I'm writing my run on my hand...only when there is pace changes!

Saturday was a rough day. I had to keep my daughter occupied when my husband left to take the boys to the airport to fly back home to their mom. While it would be nice to see them at the holidays, we might be moving so it may not be until next summer when we see them again. These days (departure days) never get easier for my husband and so I spent the day trying to keep my daughter quiet and less monster-like than usual because I didn't want his sour mood to explode on her when she doesn't deserve it. Next thing I knew it was getting closer to 8pm and I knew that there was no way I could do a 65 minute run with a Fartlek block so I swapped my runs and made this my 25 minute recovery run at 4.2 on the treadmill, 1.0 incline, for a total of 1.83 miles.

Oh Fartlek run...we meet again! I kept this run to the treadmill but I wrote it out differently this time (see picture at the end of this paragraph). Treadmill set to 1.0 incline. I started with a 15 minute easy run at 4.2. In all honesty, Saturday's run really turned into the recovery run because I got to 15 minutes and knew that I didn't have another 50 minutes in me. Anyway, warm up run followed by a 40 minute Fartlek run, 10 minute easy run (cool down) at 4.2 for a total of 4.23 miles.

You may not remember but a couple weeks ago I ran a Fartlek run and while I kept my 4 blocks, the duration changed and I did more speed play within each block. I matched the duration of the speeds with a recovery walk. 30 seconds fast/30 seconds walk, 45 seconds tempo/45 seconds walk, 1 minute easy/1 minute walk, 45 seconds tempo/45 seconds walk, 30 seconds fast/30 seconds walk, 3 minute slow walk (as you can see above). I liked this type of run better than what I did a few weeks ago. Kept it more interesting. I also realized real fast that I'm beginning to hate the warm up runs. They make me want to quit! This is another reason I need to take my runs outside!


THE FOOD

Okay y'all. While I have a little bit of tweaking to do (possibly today), this is one of my favorite breakfast staples. These are high protein whole wheat bagels. Get the recipe here and see my notes too. These obviously can be eaten any time but I love to make breakfast sandwiches with them. I slice the bagel in half and pop it in the toaster. While that heats up and lightly toasts, I add a slice of Canadian bacon into a small pan and cook it over medium high heat. Once it starts to sizzle and get hot, I flip it. The juice from the ham means that I don't need any additional cooking spray. I crack an egg on top of the ham and when the whites start to turn white, I break the yolk, continue to cook until the whites are a solid and then I flip it. I cut the heat off, add a slice of cheese and put a lid on the pan. I use the residual heat and the steam to melt the cheese. I gently place the egg and ham onto the bagel and let cool for a few minutes so the cheese doesn't burn my mouth. I do NOT recommend making these in advance but it only takes a few minutes...about the same amount of time it takes to make my coffee.

Thanks for hanging around to read about my journey!

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