Well! There’s no time to dilly-dally (my favorite activity besides running)! I raced the Portland Marathon Half last weekend, and now I have two weeks until the Tulsa Federal Credit Union Tulsa Run Challenge 5K + 15K!
I am so glad I have Lifelong Endurance to guide me through this training to help me preform my very best on race day! THANK you!
Monday
Plan: 4 miles easy/38:51/9:43 min/mile
Ran: 4.01/41:11/10:17 min/mile
Last run in Portland before heading home to Dallas! The city was calm after a busy weekend. Friendly faces still made an appearance around the streets and two people even cheered me on with a “good job!” This has NEVER happened in Dallas. Not once. It was nice.
I ran slow. My legs were stiff from yesterday’s race but I just took it easy and listened to my body and it did feel good to get the legs moving.
Tuesday
Plan: Hills!/2 mile warm up, 8 x :45 @ 5K effort hills + 2:15 easy, 2 mile cool down/7 miles/1:03:07/9:01 min/mile
Ran: 7.02 miles/1:05:18/9:18 min/mile
I was wondering how the heck my legs were even going to work today after racing on Sunday, running yesterday, and waking up at 4:00 am to catch a flight to Dallas today. I got to town, got home, unpacked, and headed for the hills. Literally. This was my first EVER actual hill workout, too! I was really slow to warm up but felt strong on my sprints. I was definitely wiped out after this one.
Wednesday
Plan: 5 miles easy/48:45/9:45 min/mile
Ran: 5.02 miles/45:25/9:02 min/mile
The weather was GORGEOUS! My legs felt almost back to “normal” since Sunday’s race. My left leg is still stiff, but it felt good to get out there!
Thursday
Plan: 4 miles easy/39:00/9:45 min/mile + Cross-training
Ran: 4.01/38:10/9:32 min/mile + Spin class
I felt soooooo sloooow to start! I seriously didn’t think I was going to make it! I had a serious case of cement legs. But I did (eventually) warm up, got into the groove and felt good afterwards as always!
Friday
Plan: Speed work!/2 mile warm up, 5 x 1000m @ goal 5K pace + 2:00 easy, 2 mile cool down/7 miles/1:04:45/9:15 min/mile
Ran: 8.10/1:12:59/9:01 min/mile
This was the TOUGHEST RUN EVER. I wasn’t sure I could do it! But I DID! I didn’t quite hit my goal 5K paces, which I set at 7:00-7:05 (I plugged my workout into my Garmin fort he first time!) but I was really proud of just getting into the low 7’s especially with how much I’ve been asking of my legs lately.
Saturday
Plan: Long run!/9 miles, last 5K progression/1:27:45/9:45 min/mile
Ran: 9.01/1:26:08/9:34 min/mile
This run felt good. It was nice to have a “short” long run for a change, especially since I’ve been non-stop since Portland and after yesterday’s tough speed work session. I brought it home with the last 3 miles in the 8:00’s and it felt good!
I also tried out a place called “Stretch Zone” in Plano and it was amazing! I really NEEDED a good stretch. These long legs didn’t even want to move certain directions. I need to do this more. As many runners are, I am terrible about stretching. FYI if you are in the Dallas/Plano area, this place is brand new and your first session is free! I LOVED it and definitely recommend it. If you happen to be so kind and mention my name I will also get another free session. Worth looking in to for the great price of free!
Sunday
Rest day!
How do you plan your race schedule for the year?
Do you have races you do every year, or change it up?
Jenna runs 
I’ve never planned a race schedule, other than the local race series. I generally run those every year, as long as I’m in town. Next year I’m going to give those a break and try something new. I’m pretty excited about it!
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Oh neat! Yeah I’m sure it will be nice to switch it up. Always fun to do something new. I have only been doing races for a little over a year but it seems like I’m hesitant to repeat races that I’ve done before just because there are so many out there I want to try! But there are 1-2 that I might keep a tradition because I enjoyed them so much. 🙂
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