Well, it’s almost October! Meaning it’s practically November and marathon day is almost here!
My Plano Balloon Festival Half Marathon race re-cap will be in next week’s update (it was just yesterday), but I can tell you that having a coach has completely changed the game! I beat my previous PR (by a whole lot!) and am so, so thankful for Coach Andrew Simmons for helping me become the runner that I am today, and the runner that I will be on marathon day and beyond.
[ week 23 / 7 weeks until 26.2 ]
Sunday – Long run. 10 miles, 1:35:17, 9:32 min/mile.
This week was a bit of a “taper” – less mileage – because of my half marathon coming up. I was honestly quite happy to “only” have 10 miles for my long run this week and just enjoyed it. It was humid and muggy but not too hot on this run. It rained right as I was going to head out but turned out to be a silver lining for me because I took that time to ice my ankles (sore muscles) and after icing about 15 minutes, the rain let up and I headed out and felt great. I was still drenched in sweat as usual but this run was much more enjoyable than my recent others because it was only about 75 degrees!
(Also took Miss Doodie to the park it was so nice!)
Monday – Rest day!
Sore from my “Good Form Running” class today (ankle muscles again). So, I was thankful for a rest day.
Tuesday -Swim, 1,250 yds, 27:22, 2:08 min/100yd.
I wrote in my journal: Woke up exhausted and defeated then conquered the day!
I remember waking up that morning not quite feeling well. I thought about calling in to work and just taking a day off, but I got up and did all the things! My ankles were incredibly sore from some drills we did on Saturday, so Coach thought it would be a good idea to swim. I had a great swim and felt great afterwards! Refreshed.
Wednesday – Easy miles. 3 miles, 29:15, 9:43 min/mile.
My legs were back to normal and it was back to being infinity degrees in Texas. So even though these were early miles, they were hot, sweaty, and suffocating. The air is just thick. Needless to say, I’m more than ready for the cooler weather!
Thursday – Tempo run. 6 miles, 54:32, 9:05 min/mile.
It felt GREAT this morning! I felt great this morning! It was nice out and my legs felt great. I wanted to go fast! I hoped to feel like this Sunday morning for my half marathon! I did 3 miles easy, 3 miles tempo.
Also did a spin class today! I felt so great and had all of this energy I decided to squeeze in a little cross-training after work. It felt really good to cycle, get my legs moving and do something a little different.
Friday – Easy miles. 3 miles, 28:10, 9:22 min/mile.
Nice and easy this morning. It was back to being humid and with absolutely ZERO breeze this morning. Not to complain, but really the weather was just super poopy this week! Even so, I’m feeling ready and confident for the half marathon after this run.
Saturday – Easy 2 miles with strides + Good Form Running class!
Easy 2 miles + 5x 100m strides to loosen up for tomorrow’s Half!
I’m getting a LOT out of this Good Form Running Class. It’s helped a ton with landing on the mid-foot and cadence. Enjoyed my rest day and hit the hay way early so I could wake up and run the half marathon!
(& Doodie got a Halloween costume! It says “I ate my Halloween costume)
Stay tuned and I will have the half marathon details in next week’s update! For a sneak peak here’s my review of the race on BibRave!
Miles for the week (running only) – 24.6
I look forward to this week of training and again am so thankful for Coach Simmons for all of these workouts and for truly getting me to where I am with my running. Feel free to check out his website: www.lifelongendurance.com and contact him with coaching questions! Coaches are for not only elite athletes, but everyone! Every single person with goals can benefit from personalized coaching. It can seem intimidating or unrealistic to have a coach, but it’s really not! Coaches are there to help and want to see you improve. It’s truly an investment in yourself.
Did you race this weekend? Where, how did it go?
What are your goals? 5K? Marathon? Triathlon?
Jenna runs 
I forgot you are down in Texas Jenna, and still having to deal with the humidity. In Canada we are starting to experience cooler weather which makes for great running. There is a lot of events to choose from up here over the next 6 weeks, and then from mid November there is nothing until spring while winter sets in.
It would have been an amazing feeling to smash that half marathon time. It would be such a boost for you as you now focus on the full marathon. You are very disciplined and it will take you a long way in your running journey.
This weekend I have a 50k trail race called Run for the Toad, which is my last big event for the year. Looking forward to it. 🙂
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Oh very nice – we are just now experiencing a bit of a break in the heat and humidity down in Texas. Yes, I am very happy with my half marathon time! Thank you so much for the kind words. You will do great on your 50K! I’m very impressed by the ultra marathoners. Like you said, it shows discipline and in my opinion not only physical but incredible mental strength. I hope you have a great race (I’m sure you will!) and I hope for great weather and conditions for you! Thank you again for your encouragement!
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You are most welcome Jenna, and thank you for you kind words of encouragement for myself. My 50k went very well. It poured rain the night before while I was sleeping (well…attempting to sleep…lol) in my tent the night before. There was camping available right at the race site. Trails were slick in places, but only a misty rain for part of the race which I am very fortunate! 🙂
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Oh wow! Congratulations!! That is an amazing accomplishment.I’m glad you had a good race despite the rain – at least it maybe cooled the temps down a bit. Glad you were safe on those slick trails! Hope you are recovering and taking it easy! 🙂
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Thanks so much Jenna. I really appreciate this. 🙂
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