Time to Get Fast

I have a fake training plan! That is, a training plan I’ll follow just to stay in running shape through the fall and winter, not to actually prepare for a race.

It’s Hal Higdon’s intermediate half-marathon training plan almost exactly, except I’ll do strength training on Tuesdays and Thursdays instead of Mondays and Thursdays. Also, I won’t do any 5K/10K/15K races like the plan calls for. I just want to run with no pressure!

It looks mostly like this:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Easy run + strength
Wednesday: Speed work
Thursday: Easy run + strength
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Race-pace run
Sunday: Easy long run

I really loved my T/W/Th and Sa/Su running schedule for Chicago Marathon training, and since I’m already in that groove, I decided to stick with it. Running multiple days in a row used to wreck my legs, but I discovered that when I actually do easy runs on the easy days, my legs are fine. Imagine that!

I completely bailed on cross training and strength training for Chicago — I just focused on the miles in order to prevent back-to-back marathon training burnout — and now I miss my arm muscles! Come back to meeee.

Cross training still sucks and I don’t care about it. At least not until I train for the Eugene Marathon! (Well, we’ll see.)

I am so, so, so happy speed work is back in my life. I kind of dread it, but then I love it during and afterward.

I worked from home today, so I was able to get out during daylight hours for a run rather than do this on the treadmill. I did a one-mile warmup with 4 x 400 m (a quarter-mile) fast with 400 m recovery in between, followed by a one-mile cool-down.

Seeing 6:XX pace on my watch is really scary for me, even just for a quarter-mile. I have seen that, umm, never-ish?! I didn’t feel like I pushed all out, though, so I’ll assume it was OK.

Fun fact: Three years ago on this day, October 30, the very first photo of Aaron and me together was taken. We were just friends (and co-workers) at this point.

That was my third 5K ever and the first one I ran in under 30 minutes. I was so, so happy.

That was also the very first month of my blog’s existence, so I had like two followers. Are you guys still around??

Anyway, that night, Aaron and I went to a Halloween party. I was a lobster and he was Natalie Portman from V for Vendetta (…bald). Naturally, that’s when we shared our first kiss together.