My approach was basically to look back at the last time I ran a decent 10K on mostly easy mileage & just a few workouts (it was Race to the End of Summer, Fall 2016, WOW) & see what I did then. I had a bit more mileage under the belt at that point but not WAY less, so I figured using that workout schedule was probably at least a good starting point while I waited for Coach A to build me a proper training plan.
(In other news: For dumb reasons, it's not actually clear whether I'll be running the 10K or half marathon on 3/20, and I'm kind of fine with that?? Like the training isn't meaningfully different, especially when you've only got 4 weeks?? Oh well! 🤷🏻♀️)
This week was a little unorthodox since we spent the weekend skiing in Tahoe, but I still managed to get some quality training in.
Grand Total: 33.85 miles
- * 25.35 easy
* 4 speed
* 4.5 tempo
The original plan for the week was a 12 mile long run on Sunday, but since I was in Tahoe for a ski weekend, we decided to just do the 10-mile tempo interval run on Friday and then easy runs over the weekend depending on how I felt after skiing. So this week's mileage is a bit low while next week's will come out slightly higher.
Monday 2/28: 1 hour strength, get those rest days!
Tuesday 3/1: 2.7 warm up, 8 x 600m/200m, 2.8 cool down = 9.5 total
- Looking back at Race to the End of Summer 10K, my speed work 2.5 weeks out was 2 wu, 10 x 600m/200m, 2cd. It seemed like kind of a big workout for the first one I did that season, but I thought, you know what, I'll try a few reps, and if it starts to feel like too much, I'll just do what feels reasonable and call it good. That year, I did those 600m's in 2:33-2:37ish, but I was not putting ANY pressure on myself to try to hit those same times; I just wanted to get a baseline for what felt "hard enough."
And just as in the last two workouts, I really surprised myself! Running at what felt like a very reasonable level of effort (hardish, but not stupid hard), my 600m's were 2:35, 2:31, 2:31, 2:31, 2:32, 2:30, 2:24(!), 2:32. After the first one I thought, "Well OK then, we'll just do them until I start falling too far off the pace, say 2:40 or something." But you know what, I never did fall off the pace, though I did sort of unintentionally hammer #7. (And, how *dare* you suggest I may have been unduly influenced by some high school kids running 200ms in the same lane, RUDE.)
I was also very happy that I've retained a certain instinct about speed workouts, and how hard they should feel *towards the end of each actual interval* as well as the *overall level of acceptable fatigue* as the workout goes on. I hit #6 & #7 & thought, "You know what, 10 isn't such a big number after all, I am GOD DAMN ROCKING THE WHOLE SET!" And then after #8 I went, "You know, I absolutely could hammer through two more, but I don't actually think I *should*. Eight is also a very solid number." And it wasn't "Oh, this is hard, I'd rather not;" it was more, "Another rep or two are going to take me into fatigue territory that I don't think I want to be in this early in a training cycle." Plenty weeks left for long-ass double-digit track workouts!
Wednesday 3/2: 6 easy. Let us just say that I was feeling Tuesday's track workout towards the end of this one!
Thursday 3/3: 3 easy to the gym & back + 1 hour strength.
Friday 3/4: 3 warm up, 3 miles half marathon effort, 4 cool down = 10 total
- I am still in this weird space where I don't really know what my half marathon race pace is right now so instead it's just about effort. Also it's been so long since I truly raced a half marathon that I'm not 100% sure I still remember what that effort level even feels like (other than every HM PR or close race I ever ran, I was convinced at mile 5-6 that I was having an awful race & about to blow upk at any second, so, hard? Let's go with hard. 🤣). Pleasantly surprised to run those three miles at a very strong-feeling 8:09/7:55/7:38! I feel sure there is no way I could have done that even 2-3 weeks ago.
Saturday 3/5: Skiing + 5.35 easy
- An average drive to Tahoe from our house with mild but not awful traffic is ~4 hours and on Friday night it took us 6, which I only bother mentioning because it explains why I got to bed at 2:45 in the morning. On the other hand, we got ~9 inches of fresh snow overnight, so I was up at 8 to start skiing at 9! When the lifts closed at 4pm it was back to the condo to drop off skis, then out for an easy run.
Two key observations: 1) Elevation is real! I had forgotten how even "easy" running feels demonstrably harder at even 6,000ft when your ass is trained at sea level, and 2) WHY I AM I SEEING HIGH 8'S AND LOW 9'S ON MY WATCH AT ALTITUDE??? It felt so hard and I felt like I was running soooo slooooow and then I'd see like an 8:53 split on my watch (fast for me for an easy run). I don't know why but it was like I was just incapable of running slower even though I was struggling so much with the altitude. After dinner that night I laid in bed like a dead person, feeling absolute utter exhaustion to my very bones.
Sunday 3/6: Skiing
- Originally I thought, "4-6 easy miles on both Saturday and Sunday after skiing, that will be good!" But that Saturday post-ski run convinced me that I really did NOT want to do that two days in a row. Skiing is cardio, right??
So, yes. I finished this week with slightly lower mileage BUT got in two awesome workouts and definitely returned from the weekend feeling very much NOT like I'd just finished a lower mileage week!
Two weeks to go until I see how much I can improve on a 50:00 10K! Or a 1:56 half marathon! Either way, really!
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