Hello friends! It’s Wednesday, so you know what that means … Workout Wednesday. You got it!
I kind of blew up my running schedule this week because I decided that I wanted to run a 5K Saturday that wasn’t previously planned. A couple of our friends are doing it so, you know, FOMO. The problem is that I was supposed to have a tempo run today and a fast finish long run this weekend and figuring out how to work the 5K into the mix without having back to back stress days proved to be a bit of a challenge.
One of the main principles of our training philosophy is the stress and recover principle. You stress the body when you run fast or run long (or both) and then you let your body recover with a short or easy day (or both) or with rest. Once your body has recovered from the stress run, it is stronger and more adapted to the stress, which leads to improvements in your running fitness.
I knew that I couldn’t do my long run Sunday if I race the 5K Saturday, so I thought about doing my long run today, which would give me two days to recover for the 5K and I was just going to consider the 5K as my tempo run. As I was running this morning though, I had an epiphany. Monday is a holiday and there is actually a 4 mile race close by and so I can pretty easily do 14 to 16 miles before that race and then do the 4 mile race as my “fast finish.” I really like this idea because it will force me to actually do the fast finish portion of the LR. I have a tendency to bail on the fast finishes far too often.
After I got that all worked out, it was back to regularly scheduled programming this morning, which was a tempo run. The workout was supposed to be a 2 mile WU, a 5 mile LT tempo (6:20 – 6:30 pace), followed by a 2 mile CD. What I actually did was a 3 mile WU, a 4 mile tempo (6:48 average) and a 3 mile CD. Daniel did the workout with me, which made it a lot better!
The 2 mile warm up got stretched out into a 3 mile warm up because there is a huge hill on our route right at mile 2 that is basically an entire mile long and there was no way that I was going to start the tempo on that thing. We knew that 6:30 pace would likely be tough to hit, so we decided to try to stay in the 6:45 range. I entered the temperature and dew point into my calculator when we got back and my LT tempo range for 78 degrees and a dew point of 75 is actually 6:43 – 6:47, so we were almost spot on! That made me feel a lot better!
Don’t beat yourself up over your paces during the summer. Do the work and wait patiently for fall. It’ll all be worth it.
I found this cool little running survey floating around the interwebs and I thought it’d be fun to complete. Here goes …
What is your favorite type of cross training? LOL. Of course this would be the first question. I don’t do a lot of cross training at all, but I guess the question asks about my favorite type not the frequency of the activity. I’m going to go with paddle boarding. It’s a good core workout and it’s challenging, but relaxing at the same time.
What is your favorite song to run to? Goodness, that’s a tough one too. This survey might be harder than I was expecting. Favorite song definitely changes from time to time. One of my current favorites is “Fight Song” by Rachel Platten. Another all time favorite would be “Break My Stride” by Matthew Wilder.
What brand of shoes do you wear? Brooks all the way!
Do you wear a hat when you run? If it is raining, definitely. Otherwise, it’s usually only to hide dirty hair.
What temperature is your favorite for running? 55.
Do you run solo or with a buddy? Preferably with a buddy (or two or three).
Are you a morning, noon, or evening runner? Yes! Haha. Most frequently I am a morning runner, but I do evening runs a couple of times per week and the occasional lunch time run.
Do you have any big races coming up? I’m trying to decide on a fall marathon. I know I’m going to do one, it’s just a matter of figuring out which one that will be!
What is your favorite post run snack? I don’t know that I have a favorite post-run snack. I’m usually not extremely hungry immediately after running. In the morning, I usually have yogurt and oatmeal after my run.
What is your favorite distance? My favorite race distance is the half marathon. My favorite distance to run would probably be 10 miles.
What is your favorite race? I don’t think I can pick just one here, so I’m going to call it a tie. First Light in Mobile was my first marathon, so that holds a special place in my heart. I’ve also done the half there several times as well as the relay, which is always a blast. Rock ‘N’ Roll New Orleans is the co-favorite.
Do you wear a Garmin? If not, how do you track your distance? I go through phases with the Garmin, but I am currently all-in. I somewhat recently get the new Garmin Forerunner 235 (with the built-in heart rate monitor) and I love it, so that is contributing to my all-in phase. I also somewhat recently joined Strava and so, I have to wear the watch to upload my run to Strava. If you didn’t Garmin it, it didn’t happen.
What is your least favorite race? I kind of hate to even answer this one, but since the question is here, I’ll do it. I am really not a big fan of the Azalea Trail Run. It’s one of the biggest 10Ks in our area, but I just don’t like it.
Who is your running idol? I am a big fan of Desi Linden and Meb Keflezighi.
How long have you been running? I started running track my junior year in high school.
Do you wear your engagement/wedding ring when you run? No.
What is your favorite type of run? Long runs are my favorite 🙂
What do you drink to stay hydrated? Nuun.
Where is your favorite place to run? Favorite place to run would probably be the beach. I love to go out for a run on vacation early in the morning before everyone else is awake. I usually do most of my miles on the road and finish it up with a couple on the beach. You can’t beat that.
What do you take on a run? Does it vary by distance? I don’t typically take anything with me when I run with a group. If I am running alone, I take my phone and mace or some sort of protection device. I am trying to do a better job of carrying a water bottle with me during the summer time long runs.
Your turn! What is your favorite race? P.S. Any good fall marathon suggestions are welcome!
Sorry, no Fall marathon plans for me and I can’t recommend any races. All the marathons my friends do and that I would consider are winter or spring. But Kiawah, Charleston, and Myrtle Beach are great ones! Charleston Marathon races are my favorite, best race in town for locals and for people who want to visit. I will say that trail races are probably my least favorite too.
You had some very strong workouts! I agree with effort-based in the heat. None of us will actually be racing in these conditions come Fall (at least we hope). Easy days in the heat haven’t been too bad for me but workouts are crazy hard. I try to stick with very short stuff right now for that reason.
I wear those same Brooks Launch shoes. Have you seen the new models for July 4 with all the stars on them? They are so cool.
I love the Brooks Launch and yes! the ones with the stars are awesome! Charleston is actually on my list 🙂 I made a list of options from November through January. I have a cousin that lives in Charleston, so it would be cool to visit her.
I run Charleston each year and love it (I have multiple recaps on my blog if you’re interested). Kiawah is not too far away and in December, so you could stay with your cousin for that race too. But I have never run that one. If you do ever visit let me know so we can have a blogging meetup ;).
I really like your philosophy of not beating yourself up over the summer– doing the work and waiting for the fall. It’s so true. What a fun survey! I’m with you– I don’t run with anything except a water bottle if it’s warm or longer than 10 miles. As for fall marathons, I am running Indianapolis! I have heard good things about it.
That’s exciting! I have mostly narrowed my search to the Southeast at this point. I just looked at the race website for Indianapolis and it looks like a really good race!
I enjoyed reading this! I like how hou thought out your race. I’ve been there and it was kinda like reading my own thought process lol I think you made the right choice. As far as fall marathons I was going to run Savannah but I decided on the SPINZ Run Fest Carolina Marathon in Greenville SC. I’ve not run this one so I’m sure what to expect but I have heard people PR and BQ on the course so that’s exciting to hear. 😉 It’s more affordable and closer to home for me. I have run the Outer Banks in early Nov and that’s a great one! Savannah is also great IF the weather cooperates. If you decide on that one use runpink2016 at checkout for $15 off! (Or any RnR race) Just throwing that out there for you!
I’ve done Savannah before and it is one of the ones that I am leaning towards again. Thank you for the discount code! Outer Banks is also on my list too, but there are about 15 on my list at this point. Lol!