I have been a runner for the last 20 years, and I've been running and training for road races for the last 12 years. I've learned a lot of things through trial and error (often times EPIC failure) so I thought I would share some of my gems of wisdom. These are rules that work for me and my body (usually), but as everyone knows, rules are meant to be broken. ;)
10% weekly increase.
It is a surprise to no one that I've been injured frequently over the years. I'm always trying to do my best to keep myself injury free, and one of the rules I abide by is the 10% weekly mileage increase. I try my best to not increase my weekly mileage from week to week by more than 10%. So if I run 20 miles one week, the following week I'll do 22 max, then 24 max, and so on while I'm building up.
Hard-easy-hard-easy Principle.
My body does not like back to back hard workouts. To me, and my legs, "hard" is any fast effort workout, or long run. I wear a heart rate monitor for most of my runs and I pay attention the most to it on the easy days to truly make sure they stay easy. The easier you go on your easy days, the easier it is to go hard on the hard days and get the most out of your key workouts.
Cutback Weeks.
When creating my own training programs or finding one to follow, I always make sure they take advantage of a cutback week. I usually like a cutback week every 3-4 weeks to help keep myself healthy and mentally not burned out. Usually the cutback week includes overall lower weekly mileage, still a speedwork session, and a reduced long run. Usually it's the long run I mentally need a break from!
Recovery time after a race.
I never plan races too close together. I know that my body needs ample time to recover from one race before I tackle another one. If I race in the middle of training for another, more major goal race, I allow for the following week to be fairly restful. At least two days of complete rest, lots of foam rolling, and a couple of easy shorter runs later in the week.
What are your tried and true running rules??
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Brookings Half Training Week 8
Week of April 10-16
Monday Planned: Recovery 5 miles
Monday Actual: Rest. I skipped my run because I thought I was going to meet with a family about re-homing a pug. No pug, no run. Grrr.
Tuesday Planned: Lactate Threshold 9 miles with 38 at LT
Tuesday Actual: Originally I had thought I would be done with POWER mid-March, so I had some tougher workouts planned for Tuesday mornings. Once they offered POWER for another session, I was all in. But clearly cannot do 9 miles with 4ish at LT after a POWER session. I had planned to do my 5 mile recovery run, but I was exhausted and actually fell back asleep after my shower, before work. Ooops.
Wednesday Planned: General Aerobic + Speed 4 Miles 8x100 m strides
Wednesday Actual: 4 miles with Toni. I apparently neglected to notice the strides we were supposed to do as well. Ooops. Then yoga. Some lovely stretchy yin yoga.
Thursday Planned: Endurance 10 Miles
Thursday Actual: 10 endurance miles. It was so beautiful out. What a perfect day for a double digit run.
Friday Planned: Recovery 4 miles
Friday Actual: 4 Recovery miles with Jordanne for the coffee run. This means I woke up in the 4s just to drink some coffee with friends before work. It was so hot, humid and muggy that I had to take a lot of walk breaks to keep my heart rate nice and low. After ten miles was a breeze, this was quite humbling.
Saturday Planned: Long Run Progression 13 miles, increase pace last 3 miles at LT
Saturday Actual: Yoga. A few weeks ago, I learned I can't run further than 4-6 miles before I teach yoga, because I'm such a creaky, tight muscled mess that I'm afraid I'm going to hurt myself. So I couldn't do my long run before I taught yoga. And then after there were thunderstorms and VERY warm temps on the forecast. I meant to do 4-5 miles just to make up some of my miles for the week, but Saturday got away from me.
Sunday Planned: Rest.
Sunday Actual: I had a terrible night of sleep, not going to bed until maybe 3:30am and tossing and turning until 8am when I finally got up. By the time I got up there wasn't enough time to run before Easter. I had thought I could go after, but I got stuck watching Kyle finish rigging a boat, which took 2.5 hours. aka the exact amount of time it would've taken me to do a 13.1 mile training run. Grrrr.
Total Mileage Planned: 45 miles
Total Mileage Actual: 18 miles. womp.
Monday Planned: Recovery 5 miles
Monday Actual: Rest. I skipped my run because I thought I was going to meet with a family about re-homing a pug. No pug, no run. Grrr.
Tuesday Planned: Lactate Threshold 9 miles with 38 at LT
Tuesday Actual: Originally I had thought I would be done with POWER mid-March, so I had some tougher workouts planned for Tuesday mornings. Once they offered POWER for another session, I was all in. But clearly cannot do 9 miles with 4ish at LT after a POWER session. I had planned to do my 5 mile recovery run, but I was exhausted and actually fell back asleep after my shower, before work. Ooops.
Wednesday Planned: General Aerobic + Speed 4 Miles 8x100 m strides
Wednesday Actual: 4 miles with Toni. I apparently neglected to notice the strides we were supposed to do as well. Ooops. Then yoga. Some lovely stretchy yin yoga.
Thursday Planned: Endurance 10 Miles
Thursday Actual: 10 endurance miles. It was so beautiful out. What a perfect day for a double digit run.
Friday Planned: Recovery 4 miles
Friday Actual: 4 Recovery miles with Jordanne for the coffee run. This means I woke up in the 4s just to drink some coffee with friends before work. It was so hot, humid and muggy that I had to take a lot of walk breaks to keep my heart rate nice and low. After ten miles was a breeze, this was quite humbling.
Saturday Planned: Long Run Progression 13 miles, increase pace last 3 miles at LT
Saturday Actual: Yoga. A few weeks ago, I learned I can't run further than 4-6 miles before I teach yoga, because I'm such a creaky, tight muscled mess that I'm afraid I'm going to hurt myself. So I couldn't do my long run before I taught yoga. And then after there were thunderstorms and VERY warm temps on the forecast. I meant to do 4-5 miles just to make up some of my miles for the week, but Saturday got away from me.
Sunday Planned: Rest.
Sunday Actual: I had a terrible night of sleep, not going to bed until maybe 3:30am and tossing and turning until 8am when I finally got up. By the time I got up there wasn't enough time to run before Easter. I had thought I could go after, but I got stuck watching Kyle finish rigging a boat, which took 2.5 hours. aka the exact amount of time it would've taken me to do a 13.1 mile training run. Grrrr.
Total Mileage Planned: 45 miles
Total Mileage Actual: 18 miles. womp.
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
New Teen Books to Pick Up
I have been busy reading 3-4 books at a time to finish up my giant list of books to read for the Young Adult book committee I'm on for the state of South Dakota. Because of this, I haven't finished a book for a couple of weeks. GASP!
There have been so many amazing books come out over the last couple of months, so here is a short compilation of all the books I have sitting next to my bed, waiting to be dug into once May 1 hits!
Scar Island
is by Dan Gemeinhart, and I'm always a sucker for his books. This one seems a bit edgier based on the description.
We Are Okay
is the newest by Nina Lacour who is one of my favorite authors. I can't wait to dive into this one. It may be at the top of my list. :)
At the Edge of the Universe
is the newest by Shaun David Hutchinson. His last book was insane and awesome, and I can't wait for this one.
The Best of Adam Sharp
is by Graeme Simsion, author of The Rosie Project. While this isn't a teen book, it's the one adult book that is high up on my list!
Reviews of these books to come!
There have been so many amazing books come out over the last couple of months, so here is a short compilation of all the books I have sitting next to my bed, waiting to be dug into once May 1 hits!
Scar Island
is by Dan Gemeinhart, and I'm always a sucker for his books. This one seems a bit edgier based on the description.
We Are Okay
is the newest by Nina Lacour who is one of my favorite authors. I can't wait to dive into this one. It may be at the top of my list. :)
At the Edge of the Universe
is the newest by Shaun David Hutchinson. His last book was insane and awesome, and I can't wait for this one.
The Best of Adam Sharp
is by Graeme Simsion, author of The Rosie Project. While this isn't a teen book, it's the one adult book that is high up on my list!Reviews of these books to come!
Monday, April 17, 2017
Race Report: Chilly Cheeks 5 Mile
I ran my first 5 mile in six years a couple of weeks ago. A friend of mine puts on the race, and a ton of my friends were running. My training program had a 5 mile or 10k scheduled, so it fit perfectly! Most of my friends were doing the ten, so I got there super early to cheer them on.
Prior to the race, I had a pretty angry stomach (typical), and my game plan was to start around 9 pace and slowly whittle it down. The gun went off, and I was keeping an eye on my watch to make sure I didn't go out at "bat out of hell" pace (as is also typical). I was a little concerned that I wasn't having to hold back at all. I was around 8:40-9. The first turn around to the south came up so soon and I was settling in to a solid strong pace. I passed a few gals here and got a glimpse at my place for females with the small out and back section. I was sitting in 12. The gals in front of me were starting to pull away, and when I glanced at my pace it was 8:39. Uff! I panicked because I thought we were 1/2 mile in to the race and I was already feeling tired. I also noticed that we were almost to 1.5 miles and I had missed my watch beep. That made me slightly less nervous, but I still let them go.
8:38
8:45
I started to get really tired during mile 3 (which should come as no surprise based on how quickly I started the race. Oops). I told myself I would put my head down and try to speed up at the half way point. And then I told myself that same thing when I was coming up on mile 4. I was working much harder on this mile than my pace reflects. Rude.
9:01
8:56
For the last mile I focused on the two girls in front of me, trying to reel them in slightly. They weren't catchable (unless they stopped to tie a shoe, lol) but I wanted to keep them in my sights! I just did not have that next level gear that I can sometimes turn on with half mile to go. I had to crank up my music to block out my labored breathing. I swear it sounded like I was honking. Oh man.
Up the final stretch someone flew by me, then turned back and motioned for me to go with her. It was one of my running pals from 605 Running Co. that was flyyyyyyying in finishing up the 10 mile. Thank god for her, because I somehow had something extra and finished hard. So hard that I have some lovely dry heaves upon finishing. Been awhile since I've experienced that! To give an idea of just how hard I finished that last stretch, my mile pace dropped 10 seconds from the last time I looked at it until I came through the finish. Woof!
8:43
I finished the 5 miles in 44:05 for a pace of 8:50 hitting my B goal, and SOOOOOO close to my A goal. I also realized that this is a PR FOR ME! My previous PR is more of a PR* as it was on a short course. And this race time plugged into a race calculator spits out my half marathon goal time (roughly) which helps me think that I'm on track for my goal!
YAY RUNNING.
Prior to the race, I had a pretty angry stomach (typical), and my game plan was to start around 9 pace and slowly whittle it down. The gun went off, and I was keeping an eye on my watch to make sure I didn't go out at "bat out of hell" pace (as is also typical). I was a little concerned that I wasn't having to hold back at all. I was around 8:40-9. The first turn around to the south came up so soon and I was settling in to a solid strong pace. I passed a few gals here and got a glimpse at my place for females with the small out and back section. I was sitting in 12. The gals in front of me were starting to pull away, and when I glanced at my pace it was 8:39. Uff! I panicked because I thought we were 1/2 mile in to the race and I was already feeling tired. I also noticed that we were almost to 1.5 miles and I had missed my watch beep. That made me slightly less nervous, but I still let them go.
8:38
8:45
I started to get really tired during mile 3 (which should come as no surprise based on how quickly I started the race. Oops). I told myself I would put my head down and try to speed up at the half way point. And then I told myself that same thing when I was coming up on mile 4. I was working much harder on this mile than my pace reflects. Rude.
9:01
8:56
For the last mile I focused on the two girls in front of me, trying to reel them in slightly. They weren't catchable (unless they stopped to tie a shoe, lol) but I wanted to keep them in my sights! I just did not have that next level gear that I can sometimes turn on with half mile to go. I had to crank up my music to block out my labored breathing. I swear it sounded like I was honking. Oh man.
Up the final stretch someone flew by me, then turned back and motioned for me to go with her. It was one of my running pals from 605 Running Co. that was flyyyyyyying in finishing up the 10 mile. Thank god for her, because I somehow had something extra and finished hard. So hard that I have some lovely dry heaves upon finishing. Been awhile since I've experienced that! To give an idea of just how hard I finished that last stretch, my mile pace dropped 10 seconds from the last time I looked at it until I came through the finish. Woof!
8:43
I finished the 5 miles in 44:05 for a pace of 8:50 hitting my B goal, and SOOOOOO close to my A goal. I also realized that this is a PR FOR ME! My previous PR is more of a PR* as it was on a short course. And this race time plugged into a race calculator spits out my half marathon goal time (roughly) which helps me think that I'm on track for my goal!
YAY RUNNING.
Race Result
24 / 93 (25.8%)
12 / 25 (48%)
19 / 68 (27.9%)
Friday, April 14, 2017
Hearts in the Sky
The holidays were really challenging this year, as expected. Whenever a close family member passes, they say the first holiday season is the hardest. I get my insane love of holidays from my mom, so it was certainly a challenge.
Leading up to Valentine's Day I got a little weepy as Facebook would remind me every other day leading up to the holiday that my mom has always sent me a Valentine's card. I realized this was the first year in 33 years that I wouldn't be getting one.
On my drive to work, I kept my eyes checking the sky. Sure that I would be able to find a heart shaped cloud somewhere sent from my mama. The skies were completely bare and brilliantly blue.
During my lunch break, my social media feed was full of a variation on the picture below. An unknown skywriter was drawing hearts in the sky for the holiday. <3 I know they weren't from my mom for me, but after spending the morning looking at the sky for some love, here it was.
Thursday, April 13, 2017
March in Review
March in Review
Total Runs: 14, average of 6.39 miles a run
Highest weekly mileage: 2/27-3/5 31 miles
Favorite run: Either the 4 mile recovery run with a much speedier pace than normal or a lactate threshold run with Toni. I HATE LT runs, so that's saying a lot.
Most hardcore run: VO2 Max run: 9 miles with 6x1000 m repeats at 3k-5k pace. Super hard, first time doing 1k repeats that I can remember, but felt super strong when it was done!
Bike Miles: 0
Favorite Jam: I haven't listened to music much lately while running!
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Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Brookings Half Training Week 7
Week of April 3-9
Monday Planned: General Aerobic + Speed 8 miles 2 sets 4x150 strides
Monday Actual: 8 miles with Toni. I felt TERRIBLE during the run, so we scrapped the strides. I couldn't tell if I was on the verge of getting sick or what, but I couldn't breathe while I was running. After the run I realized that I had a rib out of place, and it was effecting my breathing. Ugh. NOT FUN. At one point my heart rate was 189 (my max is 192/196). Needless to say, there were some walk breaks. Thank goodness for Toni.
Tuesday Planned: Recovery 5 miles 4x100
Tuesday Actual: Tuesday I still didn't feel well, I woke up way early to go to POWER at 5:30am. My chest was hurting, and I felt sick, so I went home to rest. I finally got my epsom salt bath in that I've been planning every single day.
Wednesday Planned: Long Endurance 10 Miles
Wednesday Actual: Since we were racing this weekend, we decided to get in our long run on Wednesday night. We went the unconventional route by doing 4 miles before yoga, and then another 6 after. Second yogathalon COMPLETE.
Thursday Planned: Rest
Thursday Actual: Sweet sweet rest. Oh rest, how I love thee so. I spent a good amount of time foam rolling and sticking.
Friday Planned: Recovery 4 Miles 4x100 m strides
Friday Actual: Toni convinced me to wake up in the 4s to do the weekly coffee run. Since it was pitch dark, we did 4 mile recovery with no strides.
Then, there was coffee!
Saturday Planned: Chilly Cheeks 5 Mile + Warm up/Cool Down
Saturday Actual: Toni and I arrived super early to get in a 2 mile warm up. I did some warm up drills, saw the 10 miler off, and then stood around forever. Maybe a super early warm up is a bad idea.
Then we had the Chilly Cheeks 5 mile race. Race report to come!
And had planned to do 3 miles of cool down after, but I wanted to cheer on my friends running the ten mile and then it took quite some time for the awards to get started, so 70 minutes after I'd finished running I was freezing and very tight, so I opted to skip my cool down. I did spend a lot of time running around the finish line, so surely that counts for something, right?
Sunday Planned: Recovery 5 miles 4x100
Sunday Actual: 5.3 miles of hiking out at Good Earth State Park. Gorgeous.
Total Mileage Planned: 41 miles
Total Mileage Actual: 34.4 miles
Monday Planned: General Aerobic + Speed 8 miles 2 sets 4x150 strides
Monday Actual: 8 miles with Toni. I felt TERRIBLE during the run, so we scrapped the strides. I couldn't tell if I was on the verge of getting sick or what, but I couldn't breathe while I was running. After the run I realized that I had a rib out of place, and it was effecting my breathing. Ugh. NOT FUN. At one point my heart rate was 189 (my max is 192/196). Needless to say, there were some walk breaks. Thank goodness for Toni.
Tuesday Planned: Recovery 5 miles 4x100
Tuesday Actual: Tuesday I still didn't feel well, I woke up way early to go to POWER at 5:30am. My chest was hurting, and I felt sick, so I went home to rest. I finally got my epsom salt bath in that I've been planning every single day.
Wednesday Planned: Long Endurance 10 Miles
Wednesday Actual: Since we were racing this weekend, we decided to get in our long run on Wednesday night. We went the unconventional route by doing 4 miles before yoga, and then another 6 after. Second yogathalon COMPLETE.
Thursday Planned: Rest
Thursday Actual: Sweet sweet rest. Oh rest, how I love thee so. I spent a good amount of time foam rolling and sticking.
Friday Planned: Recovery 4 Miles 4x100 m strides
Friday Actual: Toni convinced me to wake up in the 4s to do the weekly coffee run. Since it was pitch dark, we did 4 mile recovery with no strides.
Then, there was coffee!
Followed by more foam rolling, sticking and RAD rollers before bedtime. Race Day ready!
Saturday Planned: Chilly Cheeks 5 Mile + Warm up/Cool Down
Saturday Actual: Toni and I arrived super early to get in a 2 mile warm up. I did some warm up drills, saw the 10 miler off, and then stood around forever. Maybe a super early warm up is a bad idea.
Then we had the Chilly Cheeks 5 mile race. Race report to come!
And had planned to do 3 miles of cool down after, but I wanted to cheer on my friends running the ten mile and then it took quite some time for the awards to get started, so 70 minutes after I'd finished running I was freezing and very tight, so I opted to skip my cool down. I did spend a lot of time running around the finish line, so surely that counts for something, right?
Sunday Planned: Recovery 5 miles 4x100
Sunday Actual: 5.3 miles of hiking out at Good Earth State Park. Gorgeous.
Total Mileage Planned: 41 miles
Total Mileage Actual: 34.4 miles
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