Hi. Hey! HELLO! Happy New Year! Is it too late for that?! Probably so, but oh well.
After sharing my goals for 2024, I mentioned that I planned to update the training logs at least somewhat regularly. So, here we are! But first, let’s back up for a minute. After CIM, I took one week completely off from running. I eased back into things the second and third weeks with some short, easy runs. I did one mini “quality” session during the third week with 12 X 20 second strides, but I wouldn’t really consider that as a workout in and of itself.
The week of Christmas I did two workouts. One was a 2 mile warm up, 16 X 200m w/ 200m jogging recovery and a 2 mile cool down (done at the track) and the other was a 3 mile warm up, 8 X 3:00 w/ 1:30 jogging recovery and a 3 mile cool down (done on the treadmill). I went to the track on Christmas Day after all of the festivities while Ward was napping. It was a sunny, beautiful day (70° w/ dew point of 64°). I just so happen to LOVE 200s (actually I just love running at the track in general (it feels so fast!)), so Merry Christmas to me! I averaged 39 seconds for the 200s and was happy to get some turnover going.
The second workout of the week was done while we were in Michigan visiting family. It was damp and COLD, so I decided to do the workout on the treadmill. Thankfully three minute intervals are fairly well suited for the treadmill anyway. I ran all of the intervals at exactly 10 mph (goal pace was 5:56, so that was close enough) and I felt really smooth and controlled. Call me crazy, but I love a good treadmill workout every now and then!
That catches us up and brings us to present day, where I find myself four weeks post-marathon and one week into the new year!
Monday – Easy: 9 miles
Monday was Rebecca’s 45th birthday, so we did 4 + 5 = 9 miles! Birthday runs with friends are the best and even better when they fall on a holiday (in this case, New Year’s Day). We were able to meet a little later than our typical dark o’clock time and we were also able to hang out for coffee, mimosas and brunch at Kara’s house after our run. I can’t think of a much better way to start the new year! Sadly there is no photographic evidence of any of this, which was a major fail.
Tuesday – Quality: 2 mi. WU, 3 mile tempo, 6 X 400, 2 mi. CD
Since school was not back in session, I was able to run at the track Tuesday! It is very rare that I am able to run at the track these days, so this felt like a treat. I was able to wait until it warmed up a little bit, which also made it more of a treat. My workout was a two mile warm up, 3 miles at threshold pace with a 3 minute walking recovery, 6 X 400m at interval pace with 90 second walking recoveries and a two mile cool down. The goal pace for the threshold miles was 6:09. I ran 5:58, 5:55 & 5:53 and felt wonderful! That was a nice surprise. The goal for the 400s was 1:24 per rep (5:40 pace) and I somehow managed to average 1:17 per rep (5:10 pace)! I haven’t run 400s that quick in YEARS! There were actually a couple high school runners working out at the track while I was there and I think that contributed to my faster paces. I’m not competitive at all! Ha.
This was one of those workouts that gives you a glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, your fastest days are still ahead! My text to my coach post-workout was something along the lines of, “I am in better shape than I realized.” Part of me feels like I didn’t get a chance to really showcase my fitness at CIM, while the other part of me knows that I ran exactly what I trained to do. However, at this point, I will say that it certainly seems like the the fitness gains were not lost and after a short break post-marathon, it seems that my fitness base is starting even higher than it did for the last cycle!
Wednesday AM – Easy: 7 miles + PM – 45 minutes of Pilates
It was raining Wednesday morning, so I went to the gym and knocked out some easy miles after dropping Ward off at school and before starting my work day. Wednesday afternoon I got a good stretching and strengthening in with a 45 minute Reformer Pilates session.
Thursday – Easy: 7 miles
Thursday morning Rebecca and I were back to our usual dark o’clock running time. We got in 7 miles and it flew by in the way that running while catching up with a friend always seems to do!
Friday AM – Quality: 2 mi. WU, 5 X 4:00, 2 mi. CD + PM – Quality: 1 mi. WU, 6 X 3:00, 1 mi. CD
Friday was my first double threshold workout! I don’t know a ton about double threshold workouts in general at this point, but I do know that they are a staple of Norwegian training and have become increasingly popular in other countries now as well. The basic premise is that double threshold training focuses on improving both anaerobic and aerobic thresholds. By targeting both aerobic and anaerobic systems, you get enhanced cardiovascular health, increased metabolic efficiency, and better overall endurance. Based on past experience, the key to improvement (for me!) tends to be shaking things up and introducing new training stimuli. Time to shake it up!
My first workout was a two mile warm up, five by four minutes at threshold effort (with a goal pace 6:10) with a one minute walking recovery and a two mile cool down. I did the first session at the mall around 7:30 on Friday morning after dropping Ward off at school. I averaged 6:06 for the 20 minutes of work. I was happy with that and cautiously optimistic about how the afternoon session would go. I can’t think of any other time that I’ve ever run two “workouts” in one day. The closest thing I can think of is a Ragnar Relay where you run three legs at a hard effort over a 24 hour period.
My second workout was a one mile warm up, six by three minutes at threshold effort (with a goal pace 6:10) with a one minute walking recovery and a one mile cool down. At first, I mistakenly read workout as four by three minutes. Twelve minutes of hard running seemed totally doable. It was quite a rude awakening when I started my watch and realized that it was actually six by three minutes. Eighteen minutes of work was almost the same amount as I had done that morning!
If I had to guess beforehand, I would’ve said that my motivation to do the second workout would’ve been high but my legs would’ve been toast. When it came down to it, my motivation was totally gone (this is why I am not typically an evening runner), but my legs felt fine. I haven’t done any running doubles in quite some time, so it was a tad stressful and I felt like I was literally running against the clock as it was about to get dark (and rain!) and I had to get to the daycare before 5:30 to pick up Ward. I thought about doing this workout on the treadmill, but since I was presented with the perfect window of time before it got dark and stormed, I decided to go for it outdoors. I ran from home, which meant a hillier route than my morning workout. I averaged 6:00 for the 18 minutes of work. I was shocked that my legs were able to make this happen!
Saturday – Easy: 6.75 miles
My legs were toast for Saturday’s easy run. This obviously makes sense given the previous day’s training load, but wow. This run was more of a struggle than the double threshold runs combined!
Sunday – Easy: 12.75 miles
Thankfully my legs felt back to normal (ish) on Sunday and I was able to meet up with Rebecca and Kara for an easy long run. We ran from Rebecca’s house, which made for a nice change of scenery for me. It’s always nice to cap the week off with a long run with friends!
Totals – 66 miles running, 10 miles walking, 45 minutes of Pilates
Well, I’m going to say that the first week of the year was a success on the training front! I feel like I’ve got a good amount of momentum and I hope I can keep it rolling into the coming weeks as well. Before tax season sucks the life out of my soul …
Talk to you guys soon!