December 2019 Half Marathon
We’ve made it through the second week of our 12-week half marathon training plan for our next race on December 14th. We got to run together twice over the weekend because we were in our hometown to spend some quality time with family. Our hometown is so small that there is only one four-mile loop that you can make around the entire town. We ran that loop once on our Saturday recovery run where our goal was an easy pace that we could talk comfortably while running. We both felt like the pace wasn’t challenging and we could have sustained it for longer. Sunday morning, we got outside early for our 7-mile long run. Our pace was about the same as the recovery run, but we ran an extra loop around town (with a slight modification) to get to our 7- mile goal. Running in a small rural town in Kansas is very different from Kansas City. There are no sidewalks so running in the road is your only option, but only occasionally a car will drive by. We saw more turkeys on our Sunday long run than moving vehicles.
It’s nice having a training partner to keep each other accountable even on a weekend trip when we’re out of our normal routines! We typically would not have run that much on a weekend trip to see our family, but now that we’ve communicated our 50-state half marathon challenge to our circle of family and friends it’s easier to explain why we are making running a priority!
MaryLynn’s Tip of the Week: Feeling overwhelmed with how many miles you’re doing for your long run? Break up your long run into two, shorter distances! I typically do this when I get up to the 11 or 12-mile mark because two 6-mile runs feels a lot more manageable than one 12-mile run. The goal of a long run is to increase your body’s ability to distribute energy and oxygen to your leg muscles while running and teach your body to store and burn energy efficiently. This can still be achieved by breaking up a long run, but you must complete both portions of the run in the same day!
Week 2 Training Log
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delilah | Rest | Cross Train: Orange Theory Power | Threshold: 2, 10-minute pushes at 8:30 pace (indoor track) | Speed: 1.25-mile warmup, 6 x 300m, 200m at 9:00 pace, 1.25-mile cool down | Cross Train: Orange Theory Strength | Easy 4 miles; 10:46 pace | 7-mile long run; 10: 39 pace |
| MaryLynn | Easy 3 miles (treadmill) | Physical Therapy; Rest | Threshold: 2, 10-minute pushes at 8:30 pace (indoor track) | Cross Train: Cycling 11 miles; 45 minutes Physical Therapy | Rest | Easy 4 miles; 10:46 pace | 7-mile long run; 10: 39 pace 5-mile continuation long-run; 9:00 pace |