Charlotte Marathon Training - Week 9 of 18

Whoa, halfway mark!

Week Beginning thoughts: I got SO MUCH REST this weekend, it was fabulous and 100000% needed. I feel so much better mentally and physically.

Monday
Planned: strength
Did: zilch
Labor Day holiday and I had to drive back home from the lake, so I did no exercise. Will plan to lift on Friday instead since I have only ONE long run this weekend (whaaaaat) though it will not be a half marathon race. Just a 13-ish mile run.

Tuesday
Planned: 9 m run
Did: 4.5 mi + 3.1 mi w/ Pint & Pie Pub Run group = 7.6 @ 8:44/mi avg
I'd hoped to get all 9 miles done tonight, but a few factors made that a less than appealing option. For starters, it's an evening pre-dinner run which means my energy is at its LOWEST. Still, I had snacks in the car and decided to press onward. It wasn't feasible to do 9 miles during work (uh, hello 2 hour lunch break?), and pre-dawn run wasn't an option since Scott is traveling for work (can't leave little dude home alone!). So after work was it. Thankfully, there's always the Pint & Pie pub run group that runs 3 miles from Sidewall Pizza in TR at 6pm. I planned to run beforehand, run the 3 miles, then have pizza afterwards with the group. I left work at a decent time, but daycare pick-up was slow (kids were on the playground, then D needed to drink water before we left) so we didn't get started running until about 5:15. I would have set some speed records to get 6 miles done in less than 45 minutes, plus I needed to pee before the pub run started. We ended up getting 4.5 miles done (8:28/mi avg) in about 40 minutes, which allowed me time to take a pit-stop before the group set off.
I started off at a speedy clip with the group, but slowed drastically as the run went on. Ended up averaging 9:08/mi for the 3 mile run. I was HUNGRY. Also, it started to rain. Thankfully we got done with the run just as the bottom really let out, and it thunderstormed the rest of the evening. We did enjoy pizza, though - D ate nearly 2 whole slices!

Pizza & Beer = Recovery Food

I plan to make up the miles that I missed with the other runs this week, so instead of 4-milers they'll both be 5-milers.


Wednesday
Planned: XT + 4 m run
Did: 5 m treadmill PRO @ 8:54/mi avg
Rainy morning = treadmillin' it. Decided on a casual speedwork progression run.
1 WU
800m segmented progression (paces at 9:00/8:40/8:20/8:00/7:40)
400m @ peak (7:15/mi)
1200 CD
Felt good, not too hard. A little challenging running ~12 hours after the last run! I guess that's good training for the upcoming Bourbon Chase Relay. 😁

Thursday
Planned: 4 m run #speedworkThursday (Tempo maybe?)
Did: 5.03 mi @ 7:54/mi
Since I did speedwork on the treadmill yesterday I opted to "just run" and enjoy the GORGEOUS 55-degree weather this morning. SO EXCITED FOR FALL RUNNING. I felt like I was working hard and was worried I was struggling to keep a good pace... turns out I was just running fast. ;) Whee!

Could almost see my breath!

Friday
Planned: rest
Did: strength
Got a new Pandora station cranking today to fit the mood... mix of Three Days Grace, Disturbed, Breaking Benjamin, Linkin Park, and other such bands. Good stuff. Glad I decided to lift instead of yoga since tomorrow is a rest day.

Went up in weights/reps on a few!

So far it looks like Irma won't hit us until Monday or Tuesday, and we're still not sure what kind of impact she'll have. But of course everyone is freaking out and the stores are sold out of bottled water. And I'm just over here like "Well at least the weekend looks gorgeous!" 😂

Beeline straight for us!

Saturday
Planned: rest
Did: rest
Well, I guess I had 2 hours of choreography rehearsal with the Vocal Matrix front row... but that's not really a workout. It felt WEIRD to take a total weekend rest day. I didn't know what to do with myself.

Sunday
Planned: Half Marathon 13 m hard run
Did: 13.67 mi with 1,600 ft elevation gain
Robin and I tackled the Paris Mountain Road Race route today. Per the race website, "With over 2500 vertical feet of elevation gain, 89 curves, and some hills at 15% grade, the Paris Mountain Road Race 20k lives up to its billing as the TOUGHEST RACE IN THE SOUTH." Oh yes. The mountain did not disappoint today, and we had the pleasure of some gorgeously chilly temps!

Sunrise through the trees on the climb

We made it! Ok, now just 11 miles to go...

Pretty flowers on the roadside

We were up there!

Nice.

It was a tough run, especially since you get through the initial climb and you're really not even a quarter of the way done with the run! Even the back side of the mountain coming downhill isn't all downhill. Then you get into the roller coaster of the remaining half of the run, which is challenging enough on its own, but with tired legs is even more so. Still, we pressed through it and got it done in under 3 hours - and I'll brag on Robin who ran the whole way up the mountain without stopping!! #beastmode

Total Miles this week: 31.31
Week-ending thoughts: Officially halfway through my training. After 40-mile weeks, this one seemed like a breeze! I guess it's supposed to... Still, I think I'm excited to get back to the higher mileage this coming week? Maybe it's the cooler temperatures, but it seems my energy and excitement has been renewed. Yippee!