GC HM - Weeks 7 & 8

The countdown is on. Taper-town is here! 

Honestly, the last two weeks of pre-taper training left me a little drained and over it. I know now for a fact that doubling up (instead doing of a long run) KILLs my legs. I think after that first run, my legs enter rest-ville and start chilling out, thinking they won't be running for another 48 hours. And then I be all like WADDUP SUCKERS BACK TO WORK. Its not a pretty sight. 

Anyway, I also added some pretty big tempo workouts these last two weeks. As I think (?) I mentioned, Jake had advised me to just do one key workout a week; and I have had some success in avoiding injury that way (though see Gracie's post today re a 10-day cycle... another good way to do it).

So heres what it looked like. 

Week 7

Sunday: 8.5 miles (In Alice Springs)

Monday: am: 6 miles easy (Alice), pm: 8 miles easy (Sydney)

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: 6 miles easy

Thursday: 11 miles with 2 x 3 miles at HM pace - 6:53 avg pace

Friday: 3 miles easy

Saturday: 6.5 miles easy (in the Blue Mountains!)

Total: 48 miles

(Unfortunately my running photos didn't really work out, but I do have a photo of the Three Sister from a Blue Mountains trip we did earlier this year). Its soooo beautiful there. 

Week 8 

Sunday: am: 8 miles easy (Blues), pm 6 miles easy (Sydney)

Monday: off

Tuesday: 6 miles easy

Wednesday: 7 miles easy

Thursday: 11 miles with 6 x 1 mile repeats and 0.25 mile jog recoveries (ended up being about 3 mins recovery): 6:41, 6:45, 6:51, 6:51, 6:49. 6:45 = 6:47 avg pace.

Friday 3 miles easy

Saturday: 7 miles easy

Total: 48 miles

Was reasonably happy with both tempo workouts though unfortunately I have done them before and a wee bit faster. So Im not counting myself out of the sub90, but... might be a stretch. Kristen reckons it'll come down to conditions on the day. Probably right. 

Ultimately though the nice thing about having been injured so much last year, is that Im genuinely happy just to be able to run at all. Its effing good. 

Aaaand I'll just go ahead and reread that paragraph when I start obsessively checking the weather for next Sunday. 

Sleep Running

So apparently I do this really weird thing as I fall asleep at night.

Its not that. But I do that too. And, lol.

Anyways, for several minutes (or maybe longer, I have no idea) I legit start to RUN in my sleep. Like, move my legs back and forward rhythmically. Hopefully with a proper cadence of 180 spm... 

I find this exceptionally strange and didnt actually believe it for a long time. I have no memory of it at all. And unfortunately getting video evidence would be even weirder. And possibly break some privacy laws or some such.

Anyway, anyone else have significant others reporting on their sleep-exercise? Anyone trying to do plyo or drills while catching some zzzs? Some tabata burpees in time with your snoring? 

GC Training and Running Alice

Training for the HM in the last few weeks has been up and down, partly because of niggles and partly because we're out and away a lot. Its sort of easy when nothing is happening to get into a sort of running/work/sleep monk-esque routine, but then... If you're not actually an elite, you're likely going to want to have time for, you know, people and fun things. Oh and less time to do those pesky recovery things like stretch, roll and sleep. 

Anyway one of the fun things we did recently was trapse our way to the Red Centre. I'll do a separate post on the trip, but below are some pics of my runs there. 

The path I took both times was a part-paved part-trail path through "town". I present to you, town:

    

Watch out for the civilisation. Its everywhere.

The majority of the trail ran alongside the Todd River. And when I say "river" I mean:

It floods like once a year I think? The rest of the year "river" is more of an aspirational concept.

Anyways, lets talk training for Gold Coast, which is rapidly and scarily approaching. With any luck, a month after the race I should have finished my training posts. Look forward to the race recap in approximately October 2018. 

Week 5

Sunday: 16 miles easy

Monday: off

Tuesday: 8 miles easy

Wednesday: 6 miles easy

Thursday: 10.5 miles with 3 x 2 miles at HM pace. Paces were 7:00, 6:50, 6:51 with an avg of 6:53. Reasonable on target though a little slower than Id like.

Friday: 3 miles easy

Saturday: 7.5 miles easy

Total: 51 miles.

Week 6

Sunday: 16 miles

Monday: off

Tuesday: 7 miles easy

Wednesday: 9 miles easy

Thursday: off

Friday: 30 mins elliptical with 20 mins of 1 min hard/1 min easy.

Saturday: 3 miles easy

Total: 35 miles 

Obviously the second week was a bit down. I discovered a pain in my right quad in the first half of the week. It didnt feel serious but with my injury history, you definitely rest that crap out rather than trying to push through!

Mileage and workout wise, im right where I wanted to be, and reasonably on target with what Kristen and Jake (wasatchandbeyond) had advised. The tempo was a bit slower than Id hoped to be running at this point so sub130 might not be on the cards this time round. Nevertheless if I can toe the line at GC uninjured i'll consider this shebang a success! 

GC HM: Weeks 3 and 4 - blogpostus delayus

Better late than never though, right? 

Gawd, I'll never be one of those people who can blog after their daily runs. How do they do that? What could they possibly be thinking about while running that warrants sharing with the world?! I have to be honest, my mental activity while running is made up of about 20% thinking profound reflective shit, 10% wanting to stop running - and general stopping-running-related thoughts - and 70% wondering how i'll last til I get to the next available public toilet. Seriously tiny bladder this one.

Wearing a hat keeps sun off my face. Does not help with the lazyness or bathroom sitch.

Anyways, below is my training for weeks 3 and 4:

Week 3

Sunday: 8 miles easy (working too much for long run. Being an adult is hard!)

Monday 

Monday: 10 miles easy 

Tuesday: off

Wednesday: 9 miles easy

Thursday: 8.5 miles with 2 x 2 miles at HM pace. Quite encouraging this one, with 6:48, 6:51 (0.5 mile jog recovery) 6:50, 6:51.

Friday: 5.5 miles easy

Saturday: 7 miles easy

Total: 48 miles

Week 4

Sunday: 15 miles easy (longest run in cycle so far!)

Monday: off

Tuesday: 8 miles easy 

Wednesday: 7 miles easy

Thursday: 4 miles easy

Friday was pissing down and ran 10 miles easy instead of tempo

Saturday: 6 miles easy

Total: 50 miles

Definitely topping out in mileage here; both what I can handle physically, lifestyle wise and also what a half marathon even warrants. Honestly mid-40s would have been fine, though. I actually sort of (stupidity alert) just wanted to see if I could run this much without hurting myself. Turns out, consistent with EVERY RUNNING BOOK EVER, if you increase by 10%, dont do speed work while increasing, and run super easy, your legs wont hate you and declare war on your ass. Like literally either; piriformis syndrome is a bitch. 

Per usual i will leave you with photos. 

One of Iron Cove on my long run (looking uncharacteristically gray, but it was quite dramatic and lovely on the day)

And one of me making a bitching chocolate cake. Because cake. 

I got those almonds and that icing eeeeeeverywhere. It was not my most skilled moment in the kitchen.  

But! Pay no attention to the mess. Look at this thing- its freaking gourmet!

Shoes

The stereotype never specified which kind of shoes a girl is supposed to be obsessed with... right?

Do you throw away your old kicks when you hit the mileage limit on 'em? Keep them for walks / cross training? Get paid out by people who WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND ABOUT RUNNING for having just a few too many?