Mobile Bay Runner

A Blog by Sam Yeager-Allen

Month: August 2022

Training Log – 08/28/22

Posted on by Sam

Hey friends! Here is what training looked like this week:

Monday – 5.0 mile run (8:25 pace)

Tuesday – 8.0 mile run (8:05 pace)

Wednesday – 10.0 mile run (7:20 pace)

  • Temperature: 80℉
  • Humidity: Indoors
  • Listened to: Music!
  • Wednesday’s workout was written as a two and a half mile warm up, 2 X 2 miles at half marathon pace with 4 minutes recovery between sets and a three mile cool down.
  • The goal pace for the first set was 6:20 and then if I felt good, the plan for the second set was to drop it down to 6:10.
  • My paces were 6:16, 6:14, 6:08, 6:07.

Thursday – 9.0 mile run (7:55 pace)

  • Temperature: 76℉
  • Humidity: Indoors
  • Listened to: The Rambling Runner Podcast Episode 464: Jon Levitt: The Evolving Nature of Competitiveness, Goals, and Endurance
  • We have had so. much. rain. It’s slightly ridiculous! Thursday morning was a treadmill run after dropping Ward off at school.
  • I really enjoyed this podcast episode. There were several things that Jonathan said that really resonated with me (so much so that I almost want to go back and listen again just to tell you what they were).
  • He talked about the elite athlete mindset.
  • He talked about how the option in most circumstances is to either give up or keep going.

Friday – 8.25 mile run (8:10 pace) w/ 6 X 30 second strides (5:12 pace)

  • Temperature: 74℉
  • Humidity: 99%
  • Listened to: The Ali on the Run Show Episode 556: Ask Ali!
  • I ran at the mall Friday morning after dropping Ward off at school. I haven’t run at the mall since school started back in our area. I wanted to test it out and see what the traffic situation was like. It wasn’t horrible, but it also wasn’t great. It was better than running back and forth on a half mile stretch of the road we live on though!
  • I did a few strides in preparation for Saturday’s workout.

Saturday – 8.5 mile run (7:10 pace)

  • Temperature: 73℉
  • Humidity: 99%
  • Listened to: The Some Work All Play Podcast Sexy Shakeout #14: UTMB, Secondary Workouts, Treadmills, Training in Recovery! on the warm up and cool down and music during the workout portion!
  • Saturday’s track session was written as a two mile warm up, 5 X 1k with 400 recoveries and a two mile cool down. The goal was to run the 1k repeats at close to 5k pace.
  • My splits were 3:34, 3:29, 3:31, 3:31 and 3:29. That ranges from 5:35 to 5:45 pace, which is a 17:25 to a 17:40 5k. I’ve got a 5k coming up in a few weeks, so I’m interested to see how well this workout translates over. I’d be thrilled if I ran somewhere in that range!

Sunday – 13.0 mile run (8:45 pace)

  • Temperature: 73℉
  • Humidity: 95%
  • Got in another Sunday long run with Rebecca! I met her at her house this week.

Weekly Total – 61.80 miles (8:00 pace)

Thanks for following along! Talk to you guys soon.

Training Log – 08/21/22

Posted on by Sam

Hey friends! Here is what training looked like this week:

Monday – 5.1 mile run (8:05 pace)

  • Temperature: 74℉
  • Humidity: 97%
  • Listened to: Nothing!
  • My legs felt surprisingly good, given the race + long run combo over the weekend!
  • I ran from home (on a slightly muddy driveway) due to time constraints.

Tuesday – 9.0 mile run (7:50 pace) w/ 6 X 30 second strides (6:00 pace)

  • Temperature: 76℉
  • Humidity: Indoors
  • Listened to: Fuel for the Sole Episode 34: Running and RED-S
  • I ran later in the afternoon on Tuesday and given how hot it was, I decided to run on the treadmill.
  • The podcast helped to pass the time, but easy runs on the treadmill are not my favorite.

Wednesday – 9.0 mile run (7:20 pace)

  • Temperature: 76℉
  • Humidity: Indoors
  • Listened to: Music!
  • I ran on the treadmill again, but this time because it poured rain all day long!
  • Wednesday was a lactate threshold workout. The workout was written as a two and a half mile warm up, 5 X 1200 meters at threshold pace (goal pace was 6:10) with 70 second jogging rest and a two mile cool down.
  • The idea was for the interval itself to be short enough that you are done before the lactic acid builds up too much and then the quick rest gets you going again before you are fully recovered.
  • My paces were 6:09, 6:07, 6:00, 5:54, 5:48. I was wearing my footpod, so the paces are probably slightly inflated. Based on effort, I’d say that they are fairly close to actual. I ran 0.1 mph faster on each interval.
  • The time seemed to pass by much more quickly on the workout day than it did on the easy run day!

Thursday – 9.0 mile run (8:15 pace)

Friday – 8.0 mile run (8:10 pace)

Saturday – 9.0 mile run (7:10 pace)

  • Temperature: 85℉
  • Humidity: 81%
  • I got lucky with some overcast skies and a slight breeze!
  • Saturday’s track session was written as a two mile warm up, 8 X 400 at 5k pace with a 200 recovery, 8 X 200 at 1 mile pace with a 200 recovery and a two mile cool down.
  • My goal 5k is currently somewhere between 17:30-17:45, which is close to 5:40 pace. The idea was to run the 400s at slightly faster than this pace (83-85 seconds per lap). My goal one mile time is somewhere around 5:15. The idea was to run the 200s as close to this as possible (39 ish seconds per 200).
  • My actual splits for the 400s were 83, 84, 83, 80, 82, 81, 81, 81. My actual splits for the 200s were 36, 38, 39, 39, 39, 38, 39, 37.
  • The last couple 400s were definitely tough. I got a little carried away after the first few repeats and paid for it slightly on the last few. I always feel like I can gut out some quick 200s at the end of a workout. It wasn’t the most pleasant thing in the world, but I got the work done!

Sunday – 13.1 mile run (8:50 pace)

  • Temperature: 74℉
  • Humidity: 97%
  • Got in another Sunday long run with Rebecca! She met me at the mall this week.

Weekly Total – 62.3 miles (8:00 pace)

Thanks for following along! Talk to you guys soon.

Training Log – 08/14/22

Posted on by Sam

Hey friends! Here is what training looked like last week:

Monday – 5.0 mile run (8:00 pace)

Tuesday – 9.0 mile run (8:10 pace) w/ 6 X 30 second strides (5:25 pace)

Wednesday – 8.0 mile run (7:35 pace)

  • Temperature: 73℉
  • Humidity: 97%
  • Listened to: Nothing! No podcast, no music, no nothing. I was giving a work presentation at 8:30 (a three hour long presentation at that!), so I wanted to run with just my thoughts and not put too much other noise in my brain. I’m not sure if that is how that works or not, but it definitely seemed right in the moment.
  • I did a baby workout of 2 X [90, 60, 30] second repeats. I was supposed to do a three mile warm up before the intervals and a three mile cool down after the intervals, but somehow I misread that on my training plan and only did a two mile warm up. I knew the total run was supposed to be 8 miles and it didn’t hit me until I was partway through the intervals that I was only going to have 6 miles if I did a two mile warm up and a two mile cool down. I tacked the extra miles onto the cool down. No harm, no foul.
  • However, I don’t think I was quite warmed up when I started the workout, so the extra mile might’ve helped me. My average pace for the first set was 5:54 and my average pace for the second set was 5:18. So yeah … not quite warmed up for that first set!
  • I ran a little bit quicker overall than I typically would as well due to the above-referenced presentation. This was basically the equivalent of my 8 a.m. call on Monday because I actually had to be showered and presentable by 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday. It is kinda sad how infrequently I get presentable these days, although this week was certainly an anomaly.

Thursday – 7.0 mile run (8:10 pace)

Friday – 5.0 mile run (8:20 pace)

  • Temperature: 75℉
  • Humidity: 95%
  • Listened to: Nothing!
  • More back and forth on the paved portion of our road.

Saturday – RACE

  • Temperature: 73℉
  • Humidity: 100%
  • I did a two mile warm up, ran a two mile race and did a three mile cool down.
  • I hadn’t raced hard in almost two full years!
  • The two mile state record for my age was 12:10, so I definitely wanted to go for that.
  • The plan was to start out at close to 5:40 pace and then pick it up in the second mile. My main concern was not going out too quickly. I really didn’t want to crash and burn in a two mile race!
  • I ended up running splits of 5:40 and 5:32. The [certified] course had several turns and I apparently didn’t run the tangents all that well because I ended up with an extra 8-10 seconds tacked on at the end!
  • My official time was 11:22! Well under the previous state record. I was super pumped!
  • I am able to see my splits per 800 on Strava and they were 2:54, 2:52, 2:49, 2:37. Was definitely booking it at the end.
  • Oddly enough my heart rate on the warm up (running an 8:15 pace) was higher than during the race! Not sure how accurate that is, but I definitely had some pre-race nerves that I think must’ve contributed to that metric.

Sunday – 13.0 mile run (8:40 pace)

  • Temperature: 73℉
  • Humidity: 100%
  • Got in another Sunday long run with Rebecca! I met her at her house and she mapped out a great route for us.
  • Random story of the day is that we had a dog follow us for almost 5 miles and across a very busy highway! Neither of us had our phones to call the owner when he first started tagging along. At some point, we decided that it would likely be best if he followed us all the way back to her house so that we could give him some water and try to locate the owner. Thankfully we were able to call the owner and he was able to come and get him, but that little guy was quite a long way away from home! The owner said that he had gotten calls about his dog being out “several times” that week, which was baffling to me. I would be a wreck if Brooks ran away once, much less several times.

Weekly Total – 54.0 miles (8:07 pace)

Thanks for following along!

Training Log – 08/07/22

Posted on by Sam

Hey friends! Here is what training looked like last week:

Monday – 4.0 mile run (8:20 pace)

Tuesday – 10.0 mile run (7:20 pace)

  • Temperature: 82℉
  • Humidity: I was indoors, but I feel like it was probably still 100% humidity!
  • Listened to: Music! I need to share my playlist at some point.
  • It rained all. day. long. on Tuesday. I was in Mobile most of the day and the streets were completely flooded. I think they ultimately still had the race, but I had zero desire to drive back across the bay to go run in the rain through flooded streets. Thankfully (and unlike last time), I did not register for this one in advance!
  • I decided to do a progressive tempo instead. I am typically really strong on short intervals and not so much on the middle distance threshold type of work, so I am really trying to focus on that. It’s so easy to do the stuff that you are good at and skip the stuff that is outside of your comfort zone, so I am really trying to be cognizant of that.
  • I started out a 6.0 mph on the treadmill (10:00 pace) and worked my way up by 0.2 mph every two minutes for the first three miles of the run before starting the tempo portion. According to Garmin my splits were 6:32, 6:19, 6:09 and 6:04. I don’t know how accurate the footpod actually is, but I think it’s fairly close. The paces were very similar to what I ran on a similar workout outside last week and the effort level felt the same.

Wednesday – 8.0 mile run (8:35 pace)

Thursday – 9.0 mile run (8:25 pace)

  • Temperature: 74℉
  • Humidity: 97%
  • Listened to: Ali on the Run Show Episode 547: Emma Bates, Team USA Marathoner
  • I ran at the mall after dropping Ward off at school. This routine definitely seems to be working at the moment, so I’m hopeful that I can stick with it.
  • They are doing some road construction on the road around the mall, which makes it a bit more challenging to there and get parked. Once I am actually there and running, the traffic is much less than it would otherwise be. I’d say the benefits of the construction outweigh the inconveniences of it at the moment!
  • My legs were a little bit tired today. It’s typically two days post workout when my legs feel the most fatigued.

Friday – 9.0 mile run (8:05 pace) w/ 6 X 30 second strides (5:20 pace)

  • Temperature: 75℉
  • Humidity: 93%
  • Listened to: The Drop Podcast Episode 101: Steve Magness, Coach & Author
  • I ran after dropping Ward off at school, but varied my route a little bit. There’s only so many mall loops a girl can do! The driveway was a no go this week though, so I’m happy to have an alternative route that is close by.
  • My legs felt much better today.
  • Got some strides done at the end of the run in preparation for a track workout tomorrow!

Saturday – 8.0 mile run (7:10 pace)

  • Temperature: 80℉
  • Humidity: 92%
  • Listened to: The Some Work All Play Sexy Shakeout #11! Long Run Length, Favorite Races, and Going All-In! on the warm up and cool down and music during the workout!
  • The workout was written as a 2 mile warm up, 8 X 600 and a 2 mile cool down. I was supposed to push the pace on the last 200 of every other repeat. On the odd repeats, I kept the pace as is on the last 200 and on the even ones I picked up the pace by about 20 seconds per mile or so.
  • The goal was to run these at close to 5k pace, which translated into about 86-87 seconds per lap. This meant that on the odd repeats the final 200 would be close to 43 seconds and on the even repeats, he wanted me closer to 40 seconds. The idea was to work on closing strong and pushing a little bit harder when you are already tired so that in a race setting those things feels like the norm.
  • The recovery was supposed to be half of the interval (300 meters), but I have a really hard time finding the 100 and 300 marks on the track, so I just went with a 200 meter recovery instead to keep it nice and even (and easy for my brain).
  • I split the 400s so that I’d have the data to see the execution of the 200s. Splits were as follows:
    • 85/44
    • 86/40
    • 84/43
    • 83/40
    • 85/43
    • 85/40
    • 84/43
    • 84/40
  • Things got really tough around the sixth rep, but I stuck it out.
  • I really liked the way this workout was structured. Having the 200 to focus on every other time was nice, especially since I like 200s! It was a fun challenge. I also think taking splits at the 400 made it feel like I was only doing 400 meter repeats instead of 600 meter repeats. For whatever reason, mentally it seemed less challenging.

Sunday – 12.0 mile run (8:30 pace)

  • Temperature: 75℉
  • Humidity: 97%
  • I got to run with Rebecca for the first 9 miles!
  • Learned some very valuable information in regards to where you can and can not apply body glide. The secret is that you can apply it everywhere and that there is no where you can’t apply it! I’ve got several pair of spandex shorts that are a dreadful combination of slightly too old and slightly too big and there has been chafing in … let’s just say … some unfortunate areas. But now I know!
  • I got in three more miles on my own afterwards and was able to rescue Rebecca’s visor from the middle of the road. She drove off with it on the hood of her car. I told her it was a true test of friendship, as the visor was very sweaty. Ha!

Totals –
Running: 60.0 miles
Elliptical: NONE!

This was my first 60 mile week since November of 2020! Wowza. I can’t believe it has been that long, but I guess it makes sense given the life events that have transpired! Thanks for following along.

Training Log – 07/31/22 

Posted on by Sam

Hey friends! Here is what training looked like last week:

Monday – 8.5 mile run (8:40 pace) w/ 6 X 30 second strides (5:20 pace)

Tuesday – 9.0 mile run (8:20 pace)

  • Temperature: 76℉
  • Humidity: 100%
  • Listened to: I’ll Have Another Podcast Episode 401: Meghann Featherstun – RD & 2:57 Marathoner on Racing Your Best & Carb Loading 
  • I was so excited to listen to this episode! I did a consult with Meghann a month or so ago. Other mothers probably get this, but breastfeeding is no joke on the nutrition front. When you combine that with training, the mother runner is a rare caloric monster! If you told me that I’d be eating 3k calories per day for maintenance, I’d have thought you were crazy. Just for reference, here is what she told me I need to be taking in currently:

Nutrition Plan
Energy: 2800 – 3000 kcal
Protein: 110 – 130 gm
Carbohydrates: 375 – 450 gm
Fat: 80 – 90 gm

  • I was originally supposed to do a track workout Tuesday morning, but we changed this up a bit. I am trying to be a lot more intentional with my schedule (now that Ward is a little bit older, it’s becoming a tad easier to create routine!). I have been all over the place, mentally, physically and emotionally. I thrive on consistency and routine and both of those things have been severely lacking in my life for the past few months.

Wednesday – 9.0 mile run (7:00 pace)

  • Temperature: 77℉
  • Humidity: 100%
  • Listened to: Music!
  • Pre-run I had a scoop of athletic greens w/ 12 oz. of water, 6 oz. of coffee and a bagel. I didn’t hit the wall or ever start feeling fatigued during this run!
  • The workout was written as a 2.5 mile warm up, a 4 mile progressive tempo and a 2.5 mile cool down.
  • The plan was to start at around 6:40 pace and then to dial it down each mile (at my own discretion).
  • I ended up with splits of 6:35, 6:25, 6:19, 6:04.
  • The third tempo mile had a small hill in it, so I was fairly consistent with picking it up about 10 seconds each mile. According to Strava, the grade adjusted pace for the third mile was 6:15 on the dot!

Thursday – 12.75 mile elliptical (5:50 pace)

Friday – 8.0 mile run (8:20 pace)

Saturday – 8.5 mile run (7:15 pace)

  • Temperature: 80℉
  • Humidity: 91%
  • Listened to: Music!
  • Workout was written as a 2 mile warm up, 3 X [4 X 400 w/ 100 recovery] and a 2 mile cool down.
  • Goal pace was 5:40-5:45 (85-86 seconds per lap). This is supposed to be close to 5k pace.
  • Actual splits were 83, 84, 85, 84 | 83, 83, 84, 84 | 84, 83, 85, 82.
  • 100 meters of “recovery” is SO. SHORT. It’s basically nothing. Holy smokes.
  • This workout was a huge confidence boost for me. I told my coach that I think the mental boost was more important than any actual physical training adaptations that I got.
  • One of the football coaches was out working on the infield area while I was running (which was 100 times better than having the entire football team out there!). Afterwards he asked me who I compete for. I was kinda like … uhh … myself? Ha! He then told me that my workout was impressive as sh*t, which pretty much made my day!

Sunday – 8.3 mile run (8:30 pace)

Totals –
Running: 51.4 miles
Elliptical: 1275 miles

Thanks for following along!