Look what you made me do has been on repeat (seriously.) since it was released. I can't get enough! Naturally, I had to include reference to it here. I know there are a lot of mixed opinions about it, I actually wasn't crazy about it the first time I listened to it... BUT I did audibly GASP when she said "Because she's dead". Now, I'm obsessed with it. What do you think of it?
Also, have you heard the Toxic LWYMMD remix that someone did?! It's delightful! Check it out below:
But I digress, back to half marathon prep report.
Monday: As usual, Hal has the week start off with a 3 miler. Hal is a genius. It makes easing into a new week a little easier. It's such a nice way to kick off peak week. No major issues to report. My hamstring is still a little sore. I made sure to KT tape it and stretch. I also learned not to form roll on the spot it hurts like I had been doing (whoops!).
Tuesday: I had planned to do another Track Tuesday, but mother nature threw a wrench into that plan. I like running in the rain, so I decided I'd do my tempo run for the week. I dressed too warm, which I feel like I do every single time it rains... why do I have such a hard time dressing correctly for the rain?! Anyone else out there do that too? I need to make sure to follow Runner's World's guidelines next time. Run went smoothly. At one point, I was like oh I really like this pace and I was at 9:03, which is faster than my goal pace. That was a really cool moment!
Tuesday also provided a feel good moment. Without going into too much detail, I got to help reunite a lot senior doggie with his family. It made my heart feel very happy. I also realized, I had officially had my highest mileage in a calendar month since I've started running (and there were still two more days left of the month!). I have also beaten the miles run in a calendar year, with 4 months left to go! After dealing with a lot of injuries these past few years, I can't even describe how good it feels to really be back and finally moving forward to become a better, faster runner. Former record for a month:
Wednesday:
Wednesday: 3 easy miles. This run officially took me over the 100 mile mark for the first time ever. What a great feeling to hit that mark. I've been steadily increasing my mileage, so I'm hoping to hit more miles in September than I did in August. That is all going to rely on how I feel after the half though. I'm hoping my training helps me get a quick recovery so I can get back out on the road.
Thursday: For some reason I did not feel like running at all on Thursday. I brought my running gear to work and forced myself to change and head to the track. During the warm up I kept thinking, maybe I'll just stop now. I can just come back and do the workout tomorrow. Before I knew it, it was time for my first interval. Man, my heart was just not in it. I stopped a few times, stretched out my hamstring (still bothering me bit) and assured myself that after this interval I could quit. Then something happened, it it hard to describe but it is almost like my heart got back into the run out of the blue. I was pretty happy for that two. Besides the disaster first interval, all other intervals were faster than my goal pace. Official workout: 1 mile warm up, 4 x 1600 with .3 mile recoveries and a 1+ mile cool down. Part of the issue for me, was during interval 1, I tried to go slower so I was in the 9:0X range. I had a hard time holding that. For the final three intervals, I just let myself go hard enough where I was working, but not so hard that I would be able to hold the pace. My body seemed to like being in the 8:5x range more than the 9:0x range.
Side note - this was the first time I've been on a track and someone was running the wrong way. I'm still really new to the track, but is this something you see a lot? Do you say something to the runner? There were maybe 10+ people on the track all going the same way. I'm not sure why this person would run the other way? All I'll say is it was very frustrating have to doge her twice a lap. Maybe there is a reason I'm not aware of because I'm new to the world of track workouts. If so, someone fill me in please!
Friday: REST DAY. *Insert happy dance here*
Saturday: I was supposed to do a 55 minute tempo run today. With my hamstring still bothering me, I decided to go out and do 5 easy miles. I was hoping this would get everything loosened up again. I'm not looking to get injured so close to the half. So, that's what I did. I went out and tried to keep my heart rate down. Average BPM was 147. R & I also took the day to walk around the Great Swamp. It was really great to get out of the house and explore nature. The highlight for me was getting to see baby turtles. They were so cute and tiny!! I've included a few picture from the Great Swamp.
Sunday: Final run of the week & my IMO the hardest of the program. 2 hours running 3:1. If you're new to this (I wasn't sure what it was when I started this plan) 3:1 means you do 3/4 of the run at an easy pace and the final 1/4 at or near your race pace. I'm just realizing that as I write this I've been doing these wrong. I thought the last 1/4 of the workout was progressively faster. I can't believe I've messed up these runs the entire training cycle. For this run, I was in the mid to high 9's instead of the low 9's. That makes me a bit nervous for the half.
My body felt really good during the run. I was able to relax and just go with the flow. I did get a little bored towards the end, but besides that (and the fact that I did the run wrong) I'm proud of this run. Closing thoughts about peak week: This training cycle seems like it has been one step forward with confidence of hitting my goal and two steps back. I'm proud of myself for doing 6 runs this week. I'm proud of myself for doing 36 miles this week and for hitting 100 miles in August. Is this going to be the race I break the 2 hour mark? Deep down I believe I can do it. I feel like I'm ready but only race day will determine that for sure. It is also bitter sweet that peak week is over. It means the training program is coming to an end. I feel like I've gotten attached to the program and I'm not ready to see it end. Can anyone else relate or is this weird?! I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to shoot me an email, connect via social media or leave a comment. xoxo, Wilk
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After week 8, my body was exhausted. Thankfully for me, Hal sets his program up in such a way that week 9 was a lighter week. My hamstring was still sore so I decided to really keep it easy. I also mixed up the called for plan for the week, so it wasn't really according to Hal's plan. I went more on how my body was feeling. Here are some pictures from this week. Monday: We were out of town Monday at an amusement park. It was so much fun and we did a ton of walking. So, active rest day! Checkout this awesome coaster. It was seriously so scary, but so much fun. 100% recommend going on it if you ever have the chance. Tuesday: I was still quite sore from week 8 but from past experience I knew the type of soreness I was having would be able to be shaken off the soreness by doing slow runs. I had only planned to do 3 miles, but I could really feel the kinks getting worked off so I went a little further.
Wednesday: After Tuesday's run, I decided to switch things up and do some 5ish milers at a slower pace. I was feeling like my body was finally recovering but wanted to go a little further than 3 miles to keep working things out. This run was solely based on how I felt. Surprisingly, I ended up with negative splits on the last 4 miles. My final mile was 9:58. My body felt really great and I didn't feel like I was pushing myself at all. Overall, great run! Thursday: My body felt great for this run, so I decided to stick with about 5 miles. Temperature was great. Nothing to complain about today! Friday: I had a wedding to attend Friday night (Friday night weddings are my FAVORITE!). I knew I wanted to get a run in but hadn't really decided on length. I've been toying with the idea of wearing a cheerleading bow in my hair for the half, so I wanted to start wearing if during my training to see if it would be annoying to run with. Besides that, Friday's run was just based on feel. I ended up doing a little over 4 miles. Friday night was filled with celebrating love and lots of dancing. Wedding Style Details: My dress was from Rent the Runway (Get $30 off your first rental: https://rtr.app.link/e/aQa6l4d3YF (disclosure: I'll also receive a $30 credit when you use that link)) by the designer Parker. I've worn several of dresses by Parker over the years and I've loved them all. This one was no exception. It was comfortable, easy to dance in and the ruffled of the shoulder sleeve added a fun twist to the little black dress. Shoes are Badgley Mischka. They are actually the shoes I wore for my wedding. I've found other options here and here. Saturday: Planned rest day! After drinks, dancing and celebrating, I knew I'd want to use Saturday as a rest day. Sunday: My hamstring is still tight. It feels like it make have gotten worse. My guess is that all that dancing irritated it. I decided to use Sunday as a rest day. I need to be fresh for peek week! 18 miles for the week. BRING ON WEEK 10 aka peak week, baby!! xoxo, Wilk Anyone who knows me well, knows I have been cursed with "expensive taste"(definition: I go into a store, find something I love & it's the most expensive thing in the store / 100x out of my budget). Do you suffer from expensive taste? Well, suffer no more & save your wallet! I'm sharing my two biggest secrets to looking like a million bucks, without spending it & I've got a link and a code to save you even more!
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