"Because Why Not" half marathon training (week 3/12)

Monday

Did: nada

First day of eLearning K5 for the kiddo, so after I spent 5 hours on conference calls (😖) I helped him with his online lessons. It rained, too. We did not go outside. 

Tuesday

Did: 6.56 mi @ 8:30/mi avg

It was raining more than I thought it was supposed to this morning, but it was kind of nice to run in the rain. I'm still pretty slow on my intervals but hey, that's what track work is for, right? Getting faster?

400 - 1:44

800 - 3:39

1200 - 5:47

800 - 3:51 (whew, slow)

Wednesday

Did: 60 min Soul Sculpt w/ Katie F

Good sculpt but too much legs / not enough arms for my taste. Plus I was a little lethargic on the cardio. But a good sweat and got it done. 

Thursday

Did: 5.06 mi @ 8:47/mi

Dropped D off for his first day of in-person school then, literally, ran home - pretty cool! Right at 5 miles from one driveway to the other. It was humid and foggy, but was a nice run home through TR. Hopefully I can make this part of a normal routine.

Friday

Did: 60 min Power Flow w/ Jessica

I'm liking this Friday lunch class, hoping it continues to work out well with my schedule.

Saturday & Sunday

Did: nothing

Well, crud, I think I'm getting sick. I have spots on my tonsils, though no noticeable sore throat or any other symptom aside from some general fatigue. This always happens when I'm stressed! Ugh. Really do not have time for this right now, but I know I need to rest and not push through it even though I "feel okay". :-/

"Because Why Not" Half Marathon training (Week 2/12)

Starting the week feeling good with 30+ miles under my belt last week!

Monday
Planned: 2-4 mi + yoga
Did: 2.33 mi walk w/ D

Did a short walk with D (he actually ran ~1/3 mi with me at the beginning) and enjoyed some trail time together. Didn't get yoga in.

Tuesday

Planned: #10kTuesday

Did: 6.56 mi Track Tuesday + 30 min Power Flow w/ Karina

Met up with track buddy Matt for the first Track Tuesday since March!! We ran at the old TR high school track at 5:30 a.m. and while the 4:30a.m. alarm wasn't awesome, it is always worth it.

Did 4x800 for my workout today - 3:33, 3:34, 3:39, 3:34

Oof the lack of speedwork over the past months is definitely felt.

Sunrise at the track

I also got in half of a Power Flow class before other stuff got in the way (dinner prep, boss needed something urgent. etc). Better than nothing I s'pose!

Wednesday

Planned: Soul Sculpt

Did: 60 min Soul Sculpt w/ Katie F

Another great sculpt class! I miss taking Brionna's classes but Wednesdays just work so much better schedule-wise, plus I get things done at lunch time while D is with my parents so I don't feel bad ignoring him while I work out. Lots of shoulder work today

Thursday

Planned: moderate run + yoga

Did: 5.03 mi @ 8:19/mi avg + 60 min Power Flow w/ Karina

Ok so "moderate" turned into a bit of a tempo, but it felt so nice, so that's ok! After we dropped D off for his half-day "orientation" at school we took the opportunity to run a 5 mi ONB on the Swamp Rabbit before grabbing breakfast at Upcountry Provisions. So nice!

Plusalso, the Pink Elephants on Parade finished our 5000k Great American Relay last night! Placed 11th in our division (co-ed ultra team) and squeaked out before 12th place with just a margin of a few miles. It was an exciting race to the finish!

Got in a solid yoga session after D went to bed tonight which was a nice change, although maybe power flow is a bit too energetic for later evenings.

Friday

Planned: yoga

Did: 60 mins Power Flow w/ Jessica

Took this lunch class from a new-to-me instructor and really loved it! She had some great motivational and inspirational thoughts that she shared during class. One that particularly struck me was about taking responsibility for yourself, but taking responsibility does not mean accepting all blame for negative outcomes. Responsibility =/= blame. I like that a lot.

Saturday

Planned: long run

Did: 10.04 mi @ 9:32/mi avg

A good bit faster but a little less elevation than last week's 10-miler, but happy to get another good long run in!

Sunday

Planned: XT or easy run

Did: 3.13 mi @ 8:48/mi - Michelin 5k Virtual Race

I've not been a fan of the virtual races lately, but this one was 1) for Corporate Shield and 2) only $5, so I figured, hey it's worth the team points and it's something different. D and I went out Sunday mid-morning to the Michelin Conference Center in Mauldin and completed the virtual-but-on-course event. We even saw a friend from our neighborhood (the mom of a kid D's age) which was super fun! It was pretty warm by the time we finished, but had a nice time and decent pace.

Weekly Miles: 27.1 (24.8 run + 2.3 walk)

Not quite as many as I would have liked, although Friday did include 2 shorter neighborhood walks with D in the rain that probably would have tipped me closer to 28-29 miles total, but neither felt "worthy" of a Garmin tracking. 😜

Physically still feeling good and hoping for another solid week to come.

Also, considering actually signing up for a "virtual" half marathon at the end of this "training" cycle. Not sure yet but we'll see...

"Because Why Not" Half Marathon training (Week 1/12)

I made up the name myself. Because, why not? 😆

Basic training plan structure:

Monday - easy run (2-4 mi) + yoga
Tuesday - 10kTuesday (with or without tempo miles)
Wednesday - Sculpt
Thursday - speedwork + yoga
Friday - yoga
Saturday - long run
Sunday - XT or easy run

Trying to give myself SOME structure but not overwhelm myself since, y'know, still WFH and we'll be starting kindergarten for D in 2 weeks (😱) and who knows what that will look like. 

Monday
Planned: easy 2-4 + yoga
Did: 3.21 mi @ 10:07/mi w/ stroller + 60 min Power Flow w/ Karina

Sweated out some easy miles with the stroller mid-morning. It was super humid and yucky, but at least mostly cloudy so it didn't get too boiling hot while we were out.

Followed it with yoga at lunch which was a nice stretchy stretch since I hadn't done it in about a week. 

Tuesday

Planned: 10kTuesday

Did: 6.26 mi @ 9:45/mi

Ran before dawn (yay!) but it was a slow slog. Maybe running 3 days in a row is why? Whatever the reason, I was tired and my pace showed it. Still feels awesome to be logging more miles though. :)

#glowup

Wednesday

Planned: Sculpt

Did: 60 min Soul Sculpt w/ Katie F

Good sculpt class today, was in a really good headspace for this one and enjoyed it. 

Thursday

Planned: speedwork + yoga

Did:4.49 mi @ 8:44/mi avg #SpeedworkThursday

Omg I went to a track today! I was reminded of/re-discovered a track in TR that is accessible (no fence) and close to home and free. YAY! It's near Trailblazer Park in TR, and is the track from the old TR High School (which no longer exists on that site but the track & football goals are still there). It certainly isn't a rubberized surface with fancy lane and distance markings, but it does the trick. 

It ain't fancy, but it's a 1/4 mile paved circle. 

Sweaty

I parked at the church in TR next to the Swamp Rabbit trail and ran the ~0.85 mi to the track. 

400 - 1:38

2x800 - 3:28, 3:31

400 - 1:40

It was slow-going for the splits and it felt super hard, but I'm so glad I made it back out there. Now to create some consistency!

Did not get in yoga today - scheduling conflicts with work meetings. Womp womp.

Friday

Planned: yoga

Did: 60 min Power Flow w/ Summer

Man I could not get my head in the game for this session. Maybe I was hungry, tired, distracted... I dunno, but I was super lazy with everything today even though it should have been a good challenging session. Ah well, can't beast them all. 

Saturday

Planned: long run

Did: 10.07 mi @ 9:58/mi

Double-digits for the first time since early May! I didn't quite realize it had been that long. Maybe that's why it was so slow! Still, happy to tick those miles off and enjoy the morning. 

Sunday

Planned: XT or easy run

Did: 3.8 mi hike at Dupont

Headed out to Dupont with D, Robin, Dale, and their pup Luna. We hiked the Cedar Rock loop (my fave!) and even little D did great on the trails, only complained right near the top (and was fine after a snack). 

Week ending thoughts:

Miles - 31+

Between running, hiking, and walking, I got over the 30-mile mark this week! Man it feels good! I'm also thinking, why am I training for anything right now instead of just sticking with this slightly-more-structured exercise schedule? idk. We'll see.

Week 21

So... I think I'm gonna start a half marathon training cycle next week. Because (1) I feel like I need some structure back in my life and (2) why not? I've missed the motivation of ticking off workouts on a training plan, but I'm not quite ready to dedicate to a full marathon training plan. Ain't nobody (read: me) got time for that right meow.

But for now...

Monday

Did: 60 min Soul Sculpt w/ Brionna

This was a great mid-morning class! I felt super motivated and energetic. Worked up a great sweat before lunch.

Tuesday

Did: 6.26 mi @ 9:15/mi

Got the 10k done relatively early today, and it was gloriously cool (below 70) and lower humidity than it has been for the past month or so. Amazing! It didn't speed up my pace as much as I'd hoped it might, but I have to remind myself that I haven't been running all that much and I'm still coming back from injury. So I am pretty happy with a low-9 pace. 

Wednesday

Did: 4.04 mi @ 8:46/mi

Mid-morning run and a decent pace! Hooray!

Thursday

Did: 7.35 mi mountain biking

Long weekend in the mountains with the family, and Scott & I got to go out and ride some local trails together one morning. It was a really tough 3.5 mile loop (we did 2x) with a hard climb for the first half then fun downhill on the way back.

Friday

Did: 4.04 mi @ 10:17/mi

Slow run because 1) navigating, 2) looking out for bears, 3) hills. But it was still beautiful!

Saturday

Did: 12.31 mi mountain biking

Rode at Bent Creek w/ Scott & John, fun time in the woods though definitely muddy from the previous days' rain. Felt surprisingly good considering I'd just ridden 2 days before!

Sunday

Did: 5.88 mi trail run

Ran a loop at Pleasant Ridge while Scott & D biked, and it felt good to be running on the trail. It was pretty humid, though, so made for some tough and slow climbs.

Week 20

This past weekend, some girlfriends and I had an amazing time hiking together and are pondering the idea of doing some more serious backpacking trips. I've always had a dream to hike the entire Appalachian Trail, but that'll probably be something for later in life. For now, we're setting our sights on the Foothills Trail... probably won't be until next spring, but we're starting our contemplation now. I'm excited. :)

Monday

Did: 60 min power flow w/ Karina

Good flow class today although in my head I thought I'd signed up for sculpt so I was in a bit of a different mindset at the start of class. Still was a solid workout and enjoyed it as always.

Tuesday

Did: 6.33 mi @ 9:15/mi 

10kTuesday out and back through Green Valley towards the Swamp Rabbit via Foothills road. Not sure why I felt like an out-and-back route today, but I did. I got it done early, which was nice. Really need to work on getting some speed back... maybe another week or two to get the distance feeling good and will add in speedwork. Maybe...

Wednesday

Did: rest

Just no time or motivation for anything today.

Thursday

Did: 3.7 mi @ 9:27/mi + 60 min Soul Sculpt w/ Katie F

Got out for a few miles in the neighborhood at dawn before Scott left town for the weekend. It was nice to get out early, actually not completely miserable temperature-wise but it sure felt like a swim through the early a.m. humidity. 

In the afternoon I did Soul Sculpt which was, as always, challenging but a good sweat. 

Friday

Did: 8.5 mi hike w/ Robin + 60 min Power Flow w Karina

With Scott out of town and D at my parents', I thought of what I could do to take advantage of a "free" day. After looking back over the week and realizing just how many hours I'd put into work already, and remembering the joy of being in the woods from last weekend, I suggested to Robin we do an early morning hike on Friday to avoid the weekend crowds. Luckily she was available and willing! We did Raven Cliff Falls loop, which is near Caesar's Head & Jones Gap but isn't inside either park, so we could get to it earlier than the other parks' 9a.m. opening time.

Trail Map

So green in the early morning sunlight

We started off on the short "stick" of the lollipop(ish) loop, and made our way happily through the early morning sunlight (started at 7am) and the amazingly comfortable air. After about a mile we came to the point of no return:

mmmmkay. 😬

Thankfully we were not hiking the loop that takes 4-6 hours. But we still stood there and thought about it for a minute. We continued on the difficult descent down some pretty steep and technical trail (Dismal Trail) and finally flattened out as we approached a creek.

We saw bunches of these big guys on the trail!

Boulders

First of two major bridges 

We're on a bridge! In the woods!

We continued on and climbed a LOT of steep trail, basically going up everything we'd just descended. Now on the Naturaland Trust trail, with pink blazes.

Pink blazes

More climbing and we eventually popped out around this gorgeous rock face with water dripping and sprinkling over the sides. It was refreshing to stand under and beautiful to look at.

Just look at how those clouds move overhead 😍

A bit more climbing brought us to the top of the ridge where we could hear but not see the falls - we were right next to them! But then we finally came to the suspension bridge that I'd been to before but from the other direction - at the time (8 years ago) it was closed and the part of the trail we did today was all new to me. 

 

 

 

So excited we made it!

 

View of the top of the falls as it drops over the cliff's edge.

After that it was a little more climbing but mostly just the return on Gum Gap trail and back to the "stick" of the lollipop that we'd started on. 

Made it back to the car just before 11:30, so a total of 4.5 hours on the trail with plenty of stops to take in the views. Felt pretty good about ourselves, especially when you consider the elevation profile:

😳

In the later afternoon I did yoga, which felt wonderful.

Saturday

Did: 4.2 mi bike ride w/ D

Took D out on the Swamp Rabbit trail for a mid-morning ride. We played on the pump track at Gateway for a bit then headed for an out-and-back on the trail before heading to our ultimate destination: Pink Mama’s Ice Cream (always a great motivator). We got our ice cream and then D wanted to ride some more… so we headed the other direction (more crowded with people) and were almost to our turnaround point when D went to pass some people walking, got squirrely, and faceplanted on the asphalt. Bloody nose and lip, but thankfully teeth intact. We sat for a bit and recovered, then he was ready to head back to the car. What a trooper!

 

Sunday

Did: 4.1 mi stroller run/walk

Midmorning was already too hot for a neighborhood stroller run. Plans for a long run on the SRT were altered due to plans to meet up with neighbors at the pool before lunch, so we switched to short neighborhood route. I still feel like I got a decent workout (not a 10-mile run, but it was something) with all the hills and such. And I haven’t run with the stroller in a while, so maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t just go out and attempt double-digit running (which I also haven’t done in a while).