Training Log – 07/10/22 (Week 15)

Hi friends!

Unfortunately I do not have a race recap to share with you today. I’m embarrassed to admit this as I am typically very attentive to details, but the race that I registered for was at 7 p.m. on Sunday evening and not at 7 a.m. on Sunday morning like I assumed. It honestly never even crossed my mind to check the a.m. vs. p.m. thing when I registered and if I had, I probably would’ve thought it was a typo! The race was over 3 hours away and there was no way I was going to get home at midnight on a work night. I’m picturing myself lining up on the start line in my pajamas if I had participated! Ha.

This threw a bit of a curveball into my “planned” week as far as training goes, but modifications were made and I still got in a solid week of training!

Monday – 8.5 mile run (8:00 pace) w/ 6 X 30 second strides (5:25 pace)

I started the week of with my standard run + strides.

Tuesday – 8.0 mile run w/ 4 X 400, 4 X 200 (7:40 pace)

Tuesday’s workout was a 2.5 mile warm up, 4 X 400 with 200 recoveries, 4 X 200 w/ 200 recoveries and a 3 mile cool down. At this point, I was still planning to race the 5k and Tuesday’s workout was intended to be a light tuneup workout. 400s were done in 88, 85, 83 and 82 and 200s were done in 40, 39, 39 and 39. Aside from the first 400, all of the splits were within the prescribed pace ranges. The first rep of any workout is always tricky from a pacing perspective!

Wednesday – 9.0 mile run (8:15 pace)

I ran 9 miles Wednesday morning and all I remember is that my stomach was not good. If you’ve been there, you definitely get it! Things were definitely a bit dicey for a minute or two, but thankfully my stomach settled down and was completely fine after about halfway through the run. Thank goodness for new construction is all I’ve got to say about that!

Thursday – 7.0 mile run (8:50 pace)

Thursday’s run was uneventful compared to Wednesday! No issues and just some nice, easy running.

Friday – 8.25 mile run (7:55 pace)

We went back up to my in-laws’ house the weekend after the Fourth of July as well. I enjoy running from their house, as it’s a nice change of scenery. We runners can be very habitual in our route selections unless forced outside the box.

Saturday – 12.0 mile run (7:15 pace)

I had a long run + workout combo Saturday morning. The workout was a 3.5 mile warm up, 2 miles at marathon pace, 1 mile at moderate pace, 2 miles at half marathon pace and a 3.5 mile cool down. I averaged 6:40 for the marathon pace miles, 7:10 for the moderate “middle” mile and 6:22 for the half marathon pace miles. Other than the fact that I felt like I was slowly roasting myself (the feels like temp was 97℉), I really enjoyed this run! While there is a zero percent chance that I could hold those paces for a marathon or a half marathon at this point, the paces were appropriate for purposes of the workout.

Sunday – 65 minute elliptical (10.5 miles)

I finished up the week with an easy elliptical session at the gym once we got back home.

Totals –
Running: 52.8 miles
Elliptical: 10.5 (65 minutes)

Thanks for following along!

Training Log – 07/03/22 (Week 14)

Hey friends! I officially signed up for a 5k race next weekend. I’m super excited to get out there and knock some rust off. Here is what the fourteenth week of postpartum training looked like!

Monday –
Plan: 8.0 mile run w/ 6 X 30 second strides
Actual: 8.25 mile run (8:40 pace) w/ 6 X 30 second strides (5:30 pace)

I started the week of with my standard run + strides. This is a weekly staple at this point. Gotta get those leggies turning over before the Tuesday workout!

Tuesday –
Plan: 8.5 mile run w/ 6 X 800
Actual: 8.75 mile run (7:25 pace)

Tuesday’s workout was a two mile warm up, 6 X 800 w/ 400 recoveries and a two mile cool down. The goal was to run the 800s at current 5k pace, which we are estimating to be somewhere between 5:40 and 5:50 (so 2:50 to 2:55 per 800). My plan was to head to the track after I dropped Ward off at daycare, but by the time I got over there the football team was using the track and I didn’t feel like getting in the middle of all that. My backup plan was to head over to my “pandemic track” (i.e., the mall parking lot). This was not ideal, but was a solid backup for sure. There was actually more traffic than I was expecting, which was not great as far as the workout goes, but was great in the sense that the world isn’t shut down anymore. Yay!

I felt like I had to work really hard (harder than I was supposed to) in order to hit the prescribed paces. I ended up with splits of 2:50, 2:52, 2:54, 2:50, 2:52 and 2:51, which looks great “on paper,” but I was TOAST afterwards. I don’t know if that bodes well for next weekend’s race, but I do know that the paces likely would’ve felt a bit easier on the track. The track has a slight bounce that seems to make faster running feel better. At the end of the day, I’m happy I sucked it up and got the workout in when things didn’t go according to plan. Good race day mental prep for sure!

Wednesday –
Plan: 60 minute elliptical
Actual: 75 minutes (7.0 miles)

Technically Wednesday was supposed to be a 9 mile run and Thursday was supposed to be my elliptical day, but I had to switch those days up this week due to an extremely muddy driveway that was not runnable in any way, shape or form.

Thursday –
Plan: 9.0 mile run
Actual: 8.5 miles (8:25 pace)

As it turned out, the driveway was still not runnable on Thursday, so I went back over to the mall parking lot for my easy run. We had so. much. rain. this week. It was kinda ridiculous! The silver lining, however, is that all of our plants and flowers look amazing!

Friday –
Plan: 7.5 mile run w/ 8 X 1:00 on/1:00 off
Actual: 7.0 mile run (7:20 pace)

Friday’s “mini” workout was a 2.5 mile warm up, 8 X 1 minute hard (with no prescribed pace) with 1 minute easy recoveries and a 2.5 mile cool down. I ended up averaging exactly 5:30 for the minutes on. I was working hard, but definitely not killing myself. I got sprinkled on during the workout, which was a welcome reprieve from the oppressive heat and humidity.

Saturday –
Plan: 11.0-13.0 mile run
Actual: 12.0 mile run (8:20 pace)

We went to my in-laws’ house on the lake for the holiday weekend and I got my long run in Saturday morning from their house. There was 175 feet of elevation gain in the first mile! Oof. Based on how I felt during the first mile, I thought this run was going to be a struggle, but it actually turned out just fine. I did an out and back route that took me three miles down a dirt road (no traffic!). I can’t seem to get away from these dirt roads lately. Welcome to Alabama!

Sunday –
Plan: 7.0 mile run
Actual: 7.0 mile run (8:25 pace)

I finished the week up with another run from their house on the same route with an earlier turn around point. Sunday’s run was just an easy recovery type run, so I took it upon myself to walk to the top of the hill before starting my run. I typically don’t shy away from hills, but running straight uphill during the first mile of your run is definitely not pleasant and I wanted to have a pleasant run! Mission accomplished.

Totals –
Running: 52.0 miles
Elliptical: 7.0 (75 minutes)

I finished the week out with 52 miles. Y’all. I’m not gonna lie … I am loving the tangible week-to-week progress that is evident during this postpartum return to running. I know it won’t last forever, but I’m soaking it all in at the moment. I feel like a new runner who PRs every race they run for the first little bit after really getting into the sport and I’m totally okay with feeling like a newbie in that way!

Talk to you guys soon … hopefully with a RACE RECAP!

Training Log – 06/26/22 (Week 13)

Hey friends! Is it hot where you are?! Things are heating up rather quickly here on the Gulf Coast. Welcome to the first official week of summer!

Monday –
Plan: 8.0 mile run w/ 6 X 30 second strides
Actual: 8.25 mile run (8:20 pace) w/ 6 X 30 second strides (6:10 pace)

I ran at 10:45 a.m. Monday when the temperature was 88℉ w/ a feels like temperature of 101℉! Oof. I like to try to get some work done in the morning before I run so that when I go out and run it is reasonable to call it my “lunch break.” I did the strides on the driveway so the sand, dirt, etc. slowed me down a bit, but the effort was there.

Tuesday –
Plan: 8.0 mile run w/ 3 mile tempo + 2 X 400
Actual: 8.0 mile run (7:10 pace)

To avoid doing a quality session in 100+℉ temps, I decided to take my workout to the treadmill on Tuesday. The workout was written as a two mile warm up, 3 X 1 mile at tempo pace (goal pace was 6:20) with 90 second recoveries, 2 X 400 with 400 recovery and a two mile cool down. Since I made things a bit easier on myself by running indoors, I decided to counteract that and make things a bit harder by skipping the recoveries on the tempo portion, running it straight through. My tempo splits were 6:17, 6:13, and 6:08 and the 400s were 80 and 78. When I run on the treadmill, I use the indoor run setting on my watch and I pair the watch with my foot pod. I think the paces for this one are a bit artificially inflated (or perhaps deflated, depending on how you want to look at it). I’d say the tempo was probably closer to 6:30 than to 6:10 average, but I don’t know for sure. Either way, I’m happy with how it went!

Wednesday –
Plan: 8.0-9.0 mile run
Actual: 9.0 miles (8:10 pace)

I ran at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday when it was a cool 81℉, feels like 89℉! Ha. I don’t know if it is the warmer temps or what, but my legs were warmed up and ready to go. I expected to feel tired and sore after Tuesday’s workout, but I felt better than expected. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve had a “casual” nine mile mid-week run!

Thursday –
Plan: 60 minute elliptical
Actual: 60 minutes (5.75 miles)

I took it super duper easy for Thursday’s elliptical session. Recovery was the name of the game!

Friday –
Plan: 7.0 mile run w/ 8 X 200
Actual: 7.0 mile run (7:20 pace)

I had a short workout Friday morning! This was the first time I’ve had a second little speed session show up during the week during this training cycle. The workout was written as a 2.5 mile warm up, 8 X 200 w/ 200 recovery and a 2.5 mile cool down. The goal was to run the 200s at close to current one mile pace, which my coach estimated to be 5:20 pace (40 seconds per 200). My actual splits were 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 39 and 37. I’d say he was pretty much spot on with that pace prediction!

Saturday –
Plan: 12.0 mile run
Actual: 13.1 mile run (8:15 pace)

I misjudged my route Saturday morning and ended up with an extra mile, but I kept the pace easy and my coach was a-okay with this. I guess I could’ve just walked a mile back to the house, but that just seemed like it would take too long. Ha! This was my longest run in 45 weeks, helping me also cap off my highest mileage week in 45 weeks! I’m really enjoying this whole postpartum return to running thing. I’m seeing tangible progress each week and that keeps me motivated and hungry for more!

Sunday –
Plan: 6.0 mile run
Actual: 6.0 mile run (8:25 pace)

I met Rebecca for an easy six miles Sunday morning. This is becoming part of the weekly routine and I am not sad about it. It’s so nice to run with a friend!

Totals –
Running: 51.4 miles
Elliptical: 5.75 (60 minutes)

Training Log – 06/19/22 (Week 12)

Okay, friends. This week was nothing but easy miles and a couple strides towards the end of the week. My little head cold decided to linger around for close to two weeks. I was actually due for a down week anyway, so I do believe this was my body’s way of making sure that I got what I needed. Hopefully I will be back with more interesting runs and more details to share next week!

Monday –
Plan: 8.0 mile run w/ 6 X 30 second strides
Actual: 7.0 mile run
(8:30 pace)

Tuesday –
Plan: 8.0 mile run
Actual: 8.0 mile run (8:50 pace)

Wednesday –
Plan: 60 minute elliptical
Actual: 60 minutes (5.75 miles)

Thursday –
Plan: 8.0 mile run
Actual: 8.0 mile run (8:50 pace)

Friday –
Plan: 7.0 mile run
Actual: 8.0 mile run (8:15 pace)
 w/ 6 X 30 second strides (5:15 pace)

Saturday –
Plan: 10.0 mile run
Actual: 10.0 mile run (8:30 pace)

Sunday –
Plan: 5.0-6.0 mile run
Actual: 6.5 mile run (8:15 pace)

Totals –
Running: 47.5 miles
Elliptical: 5.75 (60 minutes)
Walking: 4.0 miles

Training Log – 06/05/22 (Week 10) & 06/12/22 (Week 11)

Today you get two training logs for the price of one! I know you are thrilled.

Ward caught RSV his first week of daycare (*literally* the first day he was there). It was scary seeing him sick since he is still just so little. It was pitiful. And of course I ended up sick as well. Long story short: we both got sick, we are both getting better and I am behind on my training logs, work, chores, etc. life.

Week 10

Monday –
Plan: 7.5 mile run w/ 6 X 30 second strides
Actual: 8.0 mile run (8:15 pace)
w/ 6 X 30 second strides (5:45 pace)

Tuesday –
Plan: 8.0 mile run w/ 3 X “broken miles”
Actual: 8.0 mile run (7:10 pace)

The workout was written as a 2.5 mile warm up, 3 X [800-400-400] w/ 400 recovery and a 2.5 mile cool down. The 800s were done at approximately 10k effort, then the middle 400 was a “float” at slightly faster than easy pace, then the last 400 of each mile 400 was at approximately 5k effort. There was also a 400 jogging recovery to reset between each set.

The 800s were 3:02, 2:56 & 2:54. The faster 400s were 87, 84 & 85. The mile splits (including the floating 400) were 6:23, 6:04 & 6:05. I was really happy with this one!

Wednesday –
Plan: 7.5-8.0 mile run 
Actual: 8.0 mile run (8:25 pace)

Thursday –
Plan: 60 minute elliptical
Actual: 60 minutes (5.75 miles)

Friday –
Plan: 7.0-7.5 mile run
Actual: 7.5 mile run (8:40 pace)

Saturday –
Plan: 11.0-12.0 mile run w/ 3 miles at threshold
Actual: 11.2 mile run (7:20 pace)

Saturday’s workout was a long run with 3 up-tempo miles in the middle. The goal was to have those miles in the 6:30 range. I surprised myself and my coach with an unintentional progressive tempo (splits of 6:36, 6:22, 6:09). Woo!

Sunday –
Plan: 4.0-5.0 mile run
Actual: 4.8 mile run (10:00 pace)

I got to run with Rebecca again on Sunday!

Totals –
Running: 47.7 miles
Elliptical: 5.75 (60 minutes)
Walking: 3.1 miles

Week 11

Monday –
Plan: 8.0 run w/ 6 X 30 second strides
Actual: 8.0 mile run (8:45 pace)

Tuesday –
Plan: 8.0 mile run w/ “Aussie Quarters” (8 X 400 w/ 200 float)
Actual: 8.0 mile run (6:55)

The workout was written as a 2.5 mile warm up, 8 X 400 at 5k pace with a 200 “float” at moderate pace and a 2.5 mile cool down. The workout ends up being 3 miles and is great for 5k specific training. I will likely hop in a 5k at some point in the not too distant future, so I was excited to see what I could do for this one.

I ended up running 3 miles in 18:30 and was very pleased with that. My goal pace for the 400s was 5:30 to 5:40 (splits of 84-85 seconds per lap) and my goal pace for the 200s was 7:00 (splits of 52-53 seconds). My actual 400 splits were 86, 87, 87, 87, 86, 86, 84 & 85 and my 200 splits were 51, 51, 51, 52, 52, 53, 53 & 54.

Wednesday –
Plan: 8.0 mile run 
Actual: Rest Day

I started feeling kinda crummy on Wednesday, so I decided to play it safe and take a complete rest day. Since my symptoms were all above the neck (no flu-like symptoms), we felt like it was fine to do easy efforts the rest of the week. My coach modified the remainder of the week to remove a short track workout on Friday and cut back the long run on Saturday.

Thursday –
Plan: 60 minute elliptical
Actual: 60 minutes (5.5 miles)

Friday –
Plan: 7.0 mile run
Actual: 7.0 mile run (9:40 pace)

Saturday –
Plan: 6.0-8.0 mile run
Actual: 8.0 mile run (8:45 pace)

Sunday –
Plan: 5.0-7.0 mile run
Actual: 6.7 mile run (8:45 pace)

Totals –
Running: 37.9 miles
Elliptical: 5.75 (60 minutes)
Walking: 2.0 miles

Thanks for following along. Catch you guys next week!

Training Log – 05/29/22 (Week 9)

Hey friends!

Here is what the ninth week of training looked like!

Monday –
Plan: 7.5 mile run w/ 6 X 30 second strides
Actual: 7.5 mile run (9:00 pace)

This week was a total washout on the weather front. Living on a dirt road during a rainy week is problematic in and of itself, never mind trying to run on the road! I spent some quality time on the treadmill at the beginning of the week. I got my miles and strides in on Monday afternoon during my lunch break while Ward napped. The run itself was a bit of a struggle. While I am so thankful to have the treadmill as an option when the weather is bad, I just really couldn’t get into this run. Running outside is so much more enjoyable. I didn’t specifically track the strides, but they definitely felt much, much harder on the treadmill than they do outside.

Tuesday –
Plan: 8.0 mile run w/ 2 X 1.5 mile tempo
Actual: 7.5 mile run (7:30 pace)

Given Monday’s blah-ish treadmill run, I was really hoping to be able to get outside for Tuesday’s workout. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate. The workout was written as a two and a half mile warm up, a mile and a half tempo, a four minute recovery, a mile and a half tempo and a two and a half mile cool down. I had to get myself to a good place mentally to even attempt this one and having a good playlist definitely helped! I kept the same schedule as the day before and headed down to my “she shack” during a break from work while Ward napped.

Thankfully I was able to settle into a good rhythm early on during this run! For the warm up miles, I started at 10:00 pace (6.0 mph) and increased the speed by 0.2 mph every two minutes. This has been my standard treadmill warm up over the years and it really helps to make the time pass by quickly. From there I went straight into the tempo miles without giving it a second thought. I started those miles at 6:40 pace (9.0 mph). I played with the speed a little bit throughout the tempo as well, bumping it up by 0.1 mph every so often. I felt so good that I decided to skip the recovery altogether. I knew this wouldn’t change the intent of the workout and honestly, the thought of stopping and starting back sounded much harder than just running straight through! Ha. I ended up with splits of 6:30, 6:23 and 6:13! I was really surprised and very pleased with how this run went!

Wednesday –
Plan: 7.0 mile run 
Actual: 7.25 mile run (9:15 pace)

I paid the price for Tuesday’s hard session on Wednesday evening. I had to go in to the office Wednesday and I definitely didn’t have my ish together enough to get a run in beforehand. Morning schedules are so much trickier with a little one. Goodness gracious! Also, side note: how in the world did I go in to the office every day for over a decade?! I am so spoiled with that WFH life now. I’m sure many people can relate on that front! I was |thisclose| to skipping this run altogether. I was worn out from commuting, having to be “social” for much of the day and on top of that, it was supposed to rain again any minute. I was also pretty crabby and I knew that if I just got out even for a few miles that I would be a much more pleasant wife and mother. My legs were tired and heavy, but overall I am so glad that I sucked it up and ran (of course!). I did get sprinkled on a tiny bit, but that actually felt wonderful! You never regret a run, right?!

Thursday –
Plan: 60 minute elliptical
Actual: 2 X 30 minutes (5.5 miles)

It was back to monsooning on Thursday, but it was an elliptical day for me anyway. Thursday seemed to be one of those days where things just don’t quite go according to plan. I was only able to get 30 minutes in on my home elliptical before a work call, but then I found myself with another small window a couple hours later and I decided that I might as well go ahead and do the other 30 minutes. While perhaps not ideal, sometimes you just take what you can get!

Friday –
Plan: 7.5 mile run w/ 6 X 30 second strides
Actual: 7.5 mile run (8:45 pace)

By Friday the rain was done! Praise the Lord! I got out and got a sailboat loop in before the traffic got too out of hand. I got a few more strides in on Friday as well. There isn’t really much to these, but I think doing them throughout the week is helping my leg turnover on the harder days.

Saturday –
Plan: 11.0 mile run
Actual: 11.4 mile run (8:30 pace)

The weather for Saturday’s run was about as perfect as it possibly could be for the end of May. The dew point was in the fifties, which is unheard of for lower Alabama! I didn’t have any specific pace goals Saturday, so I kept it in my typical easy run range. I am so happy to be able to easily get in some double digit runs again!

Sunday –
Plan: 3.0 mile run
Actual: 4.0 mile run (8:30 pace)

This week was my first week of adding back in a sixth run. Woo! It’s so much fun to reach these little milestones along the way. Sunday’s run was extra special because I got to run with my friend Rebecca! We have run thousands of miles together over the years, but it’s harder to make that happen now that we both have kids. I really enjoyed catching up with her for a few miles.

Totals –
Running: 45.7 miles
Elliptical: 5.5 (60 minutes)
Walking: 8.0 miles

Thanks for following along. Catch you guys next week!

Training Log – 05/22/22 (Week 8)

Hey friends!

Here is what the eighth week of training looked like. Ward turned 3 months old yesterday! I can’t believe it.

Monday –
Plan: 6.0 mile run 
Actual: 6.0 mile run (8:30 pace)

I went back to work Monday morning. 12 weeks absolutely FLEW by! I’m sure a lot of moms feel the same way, but I am so torn about going back to work. Perhaps a more accurate statement would be that I am so torn about sending Ward to daycare. While I definitely don’t want to be a full-time stay at home mom, I do sometimes feel like I could just stare at those adorable baby smiles all day long! Taking care of him felt like a full-time job most days of my maternity leave and I definitely don’t think it is possible for me to work full-time and take care of him at home. Our daycare is very close to the house and they are very flexible on drop off and pick up times, so I am planning to do somewhat of a part-time daycare situation (at least on the days when I don’t have to go in to the office).

I did go to the office Monday morning, so I got up early and got six miles in on the treadmill before work. I ran at 5:30 a.m., which is definitely the earliest I have run in quite some time! It was dark and had rained the night before, so the treadmill seemed to be my best option. I listened to an episode of “Fuel for the Sole” while I ran. I don’t even remember which episode it was at this point because I have binge listened to all the episodes to date in the last week or so. Breastfeeding while ramping back up training intensity has been very challenging on the nutrition front. I feel like I am eating so much and yet I also feel like I am hungry all the time, so I know that I am likely not getting enough. Their conversations about proper fueling for training have been super helpful!

Tuesday –
Plan: 7.5 mile run w/ 6 X 30 second strides
Actual: 7.5 mile run (8:35 pace)

Tuesday morning I did my standard two trips out and back from the house, with one extra mile on the paved portion of the road for the pickups. I averaged 5:25 pace for the strides. 

Wednesday –
Plan: 8.0 mile run w/ either 8 X 400 or 2 X 1.5 mile tempo
Actual: 8.0 mile run w/ 8 X 400

I went back and forth a few times trying to decide which workout I wanted to do. My coach told me that whichever one I didn’t choose would likely show up on the schedule next week anyway, so it was more just a matter of timing. I didn’t get to the track until Wednesday evening after work and it was hot, hot, hot! It was 86℉ w/ a feels like temperature of 92℉! Whoa. Given the temperature, I settled on the shorter interval workout. My splits were 86, 84, 86, 88, 83, 84, 82 and 83 (averages out to approximately 5:30 pace). I would love to say that the pace felt easy and comfortable, but it didn’t. I was working really hard! I felt like garbage on the last two repeats, but I gutted it out. I felt even worse on the cooldown! Yikes. That was the hardest workout I’ve done in quite some time.

Thursday –
Plan: 45 – 60 minute elliptical
Actual: 60 minutes (10 miles)

Thursday’s elliptical session was very welcomed! My legs actually felt totally fine, but it was nice to have a break from running.

Friday –
Plan: 7.5 mile run 
Actual: 7.5 mile run (9:00 pace)

I ran from home again Friday morning. Nothing notable to report about this one!

Saturday –
Plan: 11.0 mile run w/ 4.0 mile progression
Actual: 11.0 mile run (7:55 pace)

Saturday’s workout called for a 5 mile warm up, a 4 mile progression and a 2 mile cool down. I ran with a friend for the first five miles and those miles absolutely flew by! I haven’t run with a buddy in quite some time. After that I went into the progression part of the run and ended up with splits of 7:03, 6:58, 6:49 and 6:32! The goal for the progression was 7:20s down to 6:40s, so I was actually a tad bit faster than expected. Considering that it was 77℉ w/ 100% humidity (not an exaggeration), I was elated with how this one went!

Sunday –
Plan: 45 – 60 minute elliptical
Actual: 60 minutes (5.5 miles)

I ended the week with a very easy elliptical session at home Sunday evening.

Totals –
Running: 40.0 miles
Elliptical: 15.5 (120 minutes)
Walking: 11.1 miles

I am so thankful that everything is feeling good and that I was able to get in such a solid week of training during my first week back to work. Thanks for following along! See you guys next week!

Training Log – 05/15/22 (Week 7)

Hey friends!

Here is what the seventh week of my “comeback” training looked like. I am dropping comeback from the title at this point, because I feel like I am truly back in the swing of things and it just feels like regular training at this point. Woo to the hoo!

Monday –
Plan: 7.5 mile run w/ 6 X 30 second strides
Actual: 7.5 mile run (8:30 pace)

I got my miles in Monday evening sans strides. In hindsight, I should’ve just done the strides even though I wasn’t feeling it, but in the moment I just couldn’t bring myself to pick up the pace in the slightest. This was just one of those get it done and move on kind of runs.

Tuesday –
Plan: 5.5 mile run
Actual: 5.5 mile run (9:40 pace)

Tuesday morning I ran with Ward in the stroller. Running with him was tougher than I expected! How is it so much harder than walking with him?! Mercy.

Wednesday –
Plan: 45 – 60 minute elliptical
Actual: 60 minutes (10 miles)

I was not super thrilled to be on the elliptical Wednesday, but it worked out well to have a day off from running before attempting a workout on Thursday. I do at least get some good people watching in at the gym while I am on the elliptical!

Thursday –
Plan: 8.0 mile run w/ 2 X 800 + 4 X 400
Actual: 7.0 mile run (7:36 pace)

Thursday was my first track workout since February of 2021! I had forgotten how much I really enjoy being at the track. The workout was written as a two mile warm up, 2 X 800 w/ 400 recovery, 4 X 400 w/ 200 recovery and a two mile cool down. No specific paces were prescribed, so I ran completely by feel. I took it one rep at a time and was pleasantly surprised after the fact at what my body was able to do. My splits for the 800s were 2:57 and 2:55 (5:45 ish pace) and my splits for the 400s were 85, 83, 81, 81 (5:20 ish pace). There were a few kids playing at the track while I was running and they tried multiple times to convince me to attempt to jump over a hurdle. I explained (several times) that I was far too old for such a feat. They went to great lengths by blocking all lanes of the track with hurdles so that I would theoretically have to jump over one to continue running. I caught them off guard when I went under one and went along on my merry little way. I might be old, but at least I have some sense!

Friday –
Plan: 7.0 mile run 
Actual: 7.25 mile run (9:00 pace)

I finally got those six thirty second strides that I skipped out on earlier in the week in on Friday morning. I don’t know that it was really necessary at that point, but I also figured that it couldn’t hurt anything. I did my standard two trips out and back from the house, with one extra mile on the paved portion of the road for the pickups. I averaged 5:16 pace for the strides. Nothing to write home about I suppose (but clearly something to write on the blog about (ha!)), but I was happy that my legs felt good after doing a workout the previous day.

Saturday –
Plan: 10.0 – 11.0 mile run
Actual: 11.0 mile run (8:45 pace)

My long run got bumped up by one mile this week! It sounds like we will probably hang out in the 11 to 12 mile range for the long runs for a while now. That mileage ends up being about a 90 minute run for me and there isn’t any reason to do more than 90 minutes until I have a specific race on the calendar. It was already getting a tad warm when I was out there, but the run went by without incident. Again, I was just happy that my legs cooperated after several days in a row of running!

Sunday –
Plan: 45 – 60 minute elliptical
Actual: 60 minutes (11 miles)

Sunday morning was back to the elliptical and I was actually happy to have a “rest” day from running! Maybe I can welcome the elliptical into my training plan after all.

Totals –
Running: 38.3 miles
Elliptical: 21 miles (120 minutes)
Walking: 13.1 miles

Thanks for following along! See you guys next week!

Comeback Training Log – 05/08/22 (Week 6)

Hey friends!

Here is what the sixth week of my “comeback” training looked like. We were out of town for the beginning part of the week, so things were a bit different from the status quo. AND! I have fun pictures to share, which is definitely not the norm!

Monday –
Plan: 7.0 mile run w/ 6 X 30 second strides
Actual: 7.25 mile run (8:45 pace)

Monday’s run was pretty much an exact replica of the previous Monday’s run, except for the fact that it happened earlier in the day. We were planning to get on the road around 7 a.m., so I had to get up earlier than I have been recently to get this one in. In actuality, we didn’t leave until 9 a.m., as planning any sort of departure time is very difficult with a baby. It all depends on when we wakes up and wants to eat! I did two out and back stretches from the house, with one extra mile on the paved portion of the road for the pickups. The strides were a teensy bit faster than last week. My paces were 5:15, 5:17, 5:07, 5:13, 5:13 and 5:10. More progress!

Tuesday –
Plan: 7.5 mile run w/ 5 X 2:00 hard and 2:00 easy
Actual: 8.0 mile run (9:10 pace)

I was supposed to do a workout Tuesday morning, but instead opted for an easy run. It was late and basically dark by the time we got to our cabin Monday evening, which didn’t leave me any time to scope out a good place for a workout. I thought about moving the workout to another day, but the more I thought about it, the more it seemed silly to even try to get this one in period. I don’t have any races on the calendar yet, so there aren’t really any reasons to stress about a workout. I mainly just wanted to get out there and explore the area around where we were staying. I took off towards the downtown area and ended up running into (pun intended!) the Gatlinburg Trail. I ran four miles on the trail before making my way back to our cabin. Running in the woods was good for my soul!

Later that day we did a 2.6 mile hike on the Laurel Falls Trail to get to, you guessed it, Laurel Falls. The falls are named after the mountain laurel, an evergreen shrub which blooms along the trail and near the falls in May. The waterfall had an upper and a lower section and there was a walkway across the stream at the base of the upper falls. It was really pretty!

We also went to the Gatlinburg SkyLift Park on Tuesday afternoon. The SkyLift is an open-air chairlift ride to the top of an 1,800 foot overlook with views of the Smoky Mountains. When you get up to the top, you can walk across the Gatlinburg SkyBridge, which is the longest pedestrian cable bridge in North America! This was definitely the most “touristy” activity that we did on our trip and it was totally worth it. The views were incredible!

Wednesday –
Plan: 7.0 mile run 
Actual: 5.0 miles (9:10 pace)

Since I enjoyed running in the woods so much on Tuesday, I decided to do it again on Wednesday! This time we drove in to the national park and found a spot where I could run and Richard could fish. Our hobbies are not the same, but apparently they can be done at the same places. Win, win! I ran 5 miles on the Little River Trail with views of Little River the entire way.

We also hiked to the top of Clingmans Dome on Wednesday afternoon. The hike was one mile round trip to the highest point both in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The dome is at an elevation of over 6,600 feet! The views were phenomenal.

Thursday –
Plan: 6.0 – 7.0 mile run
Actual: 5.0 miles (10:50 pace)

I got one last trail run in on Thursday morning before we headed back home. The Abrams Fall Trail trail was the most technical of the trails that I ran on, but I was rewarded at the end with a beautiful waterfall. I climbed 700 feet in 5 miles! We got an early start (mainly because we had a 9 hour drive ahead of us) and the other people that were there when we got there were hiking instead of running, so I was actually the only person at the waterfall when I got there. It was so peaceful!

Friday –
Plan: 45 – 60 minute elliptical or go for a walk
Actual: 60 minutes (5.5 miles)

I did an hour on my home elliptical Friday morning. I hadn’t been on my home elliptical in several weeks, so this was a change of pace and a change of scenery for me (I typically go to the gym to do the elliptical). It was just nice to be home and to not have to go anywhere. A little vacation is nice sometimes, but home is always best.

Saturday –
Plan: 10.0 mile run w/ 6 X 400
Actual: 10.0 miles (7:30 pace)

Saturday’s run was a two mile warm up, six “quick” quarters at the start of miles 3 through 8 (so essentially quarter mile repeats with three quarters in between) and a two mile cool down. This wasn’t a typical 400 repeat workout by any means, as we are still easing back in to the speed side of things. I ended up with paces of 6:10, 5:55, 5:46, 5:47, 5:38 and 5:51 for the quarters and I kept the recoveries in the 7:30 range, which is definitely faster than a true recovery. I was definitely working to hit those paces, but I didn’t feel at all spent by the end of the run. It’s so nice to be able to do a “casual” double digit run again! I missed those guys.

Sunday –
Plan: 45 – 60 minute elliptical
Actual: 45 minutes elliptical (4 miles)

My mom and I got in a wonderful four mile walk on Mother’s Day! It was so special for the two of us to have that time together. I finished off the week with forty five minutes on the elliptical at home later in the day.

Totals –
Running: 35.3 miles
Elliptical: 9.5 miles (85 minutes)
Walking: 12.2 miles

This was a fun week for sure! Things will be back to normal next week. Thanks for following along!

Comeback Training Log – 05/01/22 (Week 5)

Hey friends!

Here is what the fifth week of my “comeback” training looked like. Things really started clicking for me this week! For reference, I am between the ninth and tenth week postpartum at this point.

Monday –
Plan: 7.0 mile run w/ 6 X 30 second strides
Actual: 7.0 mile run (8:55 pace)

I wasn’t able to get out to run until around noon on Monday. As far as when I can fit a run in, my schedule is completely unpredictable at the moment. Of course this is to expected with a newborn. When do they stop being newborns? {Checks google}. Apparently, it’s somewhere between two to three months. Ward is two months old now (we got our two month shots Monday morning), so I guess the newborn stage is coming to a close for us. Wowza!

It was 80° when I ran. While not too crazy, I’d say this is a bit warm for April! I was definitely feeling the heat. I did two out and back stretches from the house, with one extra mile on the paved portion of the road for the pickups. I was able to get some much better turnover going on the strides this week! My paces were 5:45, 5:17, 5:18, 5:21, 5:19 and 5:12. Progress!

Tuesday –
Plan: 3.0 – 4.0 mile run
Actual: 4.0 mile run (9:05 pace)

Tuesday’s run was a short recovery run. My legs felt fine, but I didn’t really have any interest in running more than four miles, so that worked out well. Ward and I did go for a nice little walk later in the day. Stroller naps are pretty much his favorite thing right now and I’m happy to oblige.

Wednesday –
Plan: 7.0 mile run with the option to do 2 miles up-tempo
Actual: 7.0 miles (8:10 pace)

When I started running Wednesday morning I didn’t think that I would choose the option to do the two quicker miles, but after I got a couple miles into the run I was feeling really good and decided to go for it. I pushed miles 4 and 5 a bit with two miles at just under 7:10 pace. Nothing too crazy, but I was working a bit and it was “fun” to push it a bit. I’ve missed that feeling!

Thursday –
Plan: 50 – 60 minute elliptical or go for a walk
Actual: 25 minutes (2.5 miles) + 4 mile walk

I tried to squeeze in some time on the elliptical during one of Ward’s naps, but little man had other plans. I guess technically I did squeeze in some time, but it just wasn’t quite as much as I was planning. Some of his naps are over an hour and some of his naps are only 15 or so minutes. At this point I have no way to know which one we are going to get any given time! Either which way, twenty-five minutes on the elliptical was plenty and we opted for a nice walk with the stroller outside after he ate. It was really nice outside and I would much rather be outside walking than inside on the elliptical. My love for the elliptical quickly faded as soon as I was back to more regular running. I really did enjoy my time on the elliptical throughout my pregnancy and during the initial postpartum phase. It felt great to move my body and the elliptical even made me feel strong. I hope to not spend nearly as much time on the elliptical going forward, but I’m thankful for the time that we had.

Dear Elliptical,
It’s not you. It’s me.
Thanks for the good times. Let’s still be friends.
Warm Regards,
Sam

Friday –
Plan: 6.0 mile run 
Actual: 6.0 miles (9:00 pace)

Friday was my fourth run in five days! This was a huge milestone. It was on this day that I started to realize that I am “back.” I finished the run feeling good. I didn’t feel sore, or run down or anything like that. This was a really good sign and was also right on schedule for when my coach said that he expected things to turn around (between 8 and 10 weeks postpartum).

Saturday –
Plan: 9.0 – 10.0 mile run
Actual: 10.0 miles (8:35 pace)

Saturday was my first double digit run in almost 200 days! Another BIG milestone. I waited a bit too late to get out the door Saturday (see above refenced mention of unpredictable schedule) and by the time I got going it was 78° and muggy. I ran a hilly (ish) route with 535 feet of elevation gain and let me tell you what, I was feeling all of it by the end of the run. I ran for just over an hour and twenty five minutes, which is almost exactly how long my “marathon” elliptical sessions were in the weeks leading up to this. It appears that those did help me maintain at least some of my endurance. Thankfully, I don’t need the long elliptical workouts anymore!

Sunday –
Plan: 50 – 60 minute elliptical
Actual: 60 minutes (10 miles)

I finished off the week with an hour on the elliptical. I guess since I hadn’t really spent much time on the elliptical this week, it wasn’t terrible! Good thing we were still planning to be friends.

Totals –
Running: 34.2 miles
Elliptical: 12.5 miles (85 minutes)
Walking: 15.4 miles