Week 1 - A Confidence Boosting Week

And with that, week 1 of marathon training is DONE!

Here was the plan for this past week:
Monday: Body Ride at Revolve - check! :) 45 minutes of Jason Tran being awesome and me sweating my butt off. 
Tuesday: Run - check! Short tempo on the treadmill. Walked home in snow!
Wednesday: OFF - check!
Thursday: Uplift Fusion - check! So fun to do this class with Theodora, Jen, Melissa, and Laura! 
Friday: Run - check! Another morning gym run - 3 x 1600, which I felt awesome during.
Saturday: OFF - check! I was exhausted from staying up too late packing
Sunday: Run - check! 8 mile long run on the treadmill.

Mileage: 19.5

I know, I know...it's only one out of 16 weeks, but it was a really great week! I feel like it's important to have a confidence boosting week early on, too. It gives me hope that this will be doable in the end, though I have a lot of work left to do.

A little about my runs:

Tuesday tempo: 2 mi warm up, 2 mi at 7.5, 2 mi cool down. I took it easy on the warm up, starting at 6.5 and going up 0.1 every half a mile till I got to 7.0 for the last half-mile. For the first tempo run, I ran at 7.4 and felt good, so bumped it up to 7.6-7.7 for the second tempo mile. The cool down was similar to the warm up. It didn't feel easy, but it also didn't feel impossible. I'm so glad I'm getting over these fast-looking speeds and trusting myself to get them done!

Thursday intervals: 1 mi warm up, 3 x 1600m with 400m rest, 1 mi cool down. Not gonna lie - mile repeats terrified me during Chicago Marathon training, and I basically could not complete them. Looking back at my training logs back then, I see that I could not complete this workout without some serious walk breaks during the miles I was on! And I was running these repeats at a 7.6 - this workout had the mile repeats at 8.0! I felt awesome in the first one, and continued to feel good for the next two (though they were definitely more difficult as I went on!). Still, REALLY proud of this workout. I walked home from the gym with a giant smile on my face!

Sunday long run: Not much to report on this one - ran on the treadmill because it was pouring rain and I just didn't feel like dealing with it. I also felt like watching Homeland, so that is exactly what I did! I did a progressive run, starting at 6.5 for the first mile and ending at 7.0 for the last mile. It was unbearably hot in the basement so I was struggling with that aspect, but the speed didn't feel terribly difficult and my legs could keep up. Good run!

Run and Homeland followed by wine and Homeland

I'm really enjoying using the FIRST app for this training - the same training plan I used for Chicago, but with faster speeds! I'm mostly following this training plan, but I also purchased the NYRR marathon training program - it's like having a virtual partner there with you throughout training, and so far I like it! I'm planning to blend ideas from both plans, and hope that they will complement each other and my running.

The FIRST app is great - it fills in all of the speeds for me for every run, lets me switch back and forth between min/mile and mph for easy conversion, and I can check off all of the runs as I get them done (so necessary for this Type A girl). 

Check, check, check!

In addition to the app and the NYRR plan (which also has a log), I also have a Google doc that I use mostly to help me organize my Classtivity classes, but is also fun for me to tick off as I complete the workouts. 

Hot pink means I GOT IT DONE.

Speaking of Classtivity, I completed my December challenge! Granted, one of the 10 classes was a cancellation (hence the red above) due to a migraine, but I would have gone if I had felt like a human being. Ten classes in 20 days - not something I'd recommend, but I'm so glad I didn't let the pass go to waste! I'm going to miss those classes over the next two weeks, but I luckily have a couple of apps that will keep me on top of my strength workouts, and I'll be in California soon enough for lots of outdoor runs!

And here is this week's plan:

Monday: Strength workout

Tuesday: Run (speed or tempo)

Wednesday: Strength workout - plus sitting by the fire, drinking hot cocoa, and opening presents.

Thursday: Run (speed or tempo)

Friday: TBD - off?

Saturday: Long run

Sunday: TBD - off?

Have a very merry Christmas if you celebrate it! And if you don't, enjoy the day off :) 

Happy holidays all!