Well folks, it's official. I am over halfway done with my training for this first half marathon! I'm feeling good, too. I had a light training week this week (per my training program - week 6) which just happened to line up perfectly with the holiday. My previous week recaps are here:
Week 6
Week 5
Week 4
Week 3
Week 2
Week 1
The decision
The cool thing is that my training plan called for me to do a 5K this week, and I already had planned to do one! This year, we were in Minneapolis with Paul's family for Thanksgiving again, so we participated in the annual Life Time Fitness Turkey Trot 5K. It's become a tradition in the family - this was their 5th year running the race! (Only my second year). It's a great tradition, though. It's fun to get out there as a group and earn our dinner! We've also started getting T-shirts made each year in obnoxiously bright colors. It makes us feel like a team, and it's really easy to find each other after the race! Plus, it's fun when someone running near you sees your nickname and cheers you on. (Check out last year's bright orange t-shirts here). This year, we wore green.
I look cold!
This year was a little intense for Paul and I. Because of our move we had to fly in for the holiday, which meant a red-eye flight from LAX to MSP on Wednesday night. Our flight took off in California about half past midnight and landed just after 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning - a 3 1/2 hour flight when you take the time difference into account. Despite the fact that we were both exhausted when we boarded, Paul only slept for about 3 hours and I got less than 2 hours of shut-eye. When we touched down, we grabbed our bags and took the light-rail straight downtown to the Target Center, where we met my brother-in-law Pat.
The Target Center is where the Minnesota Timberwolves play, and it also houses Life Time Fitness (the race sponsor and the gym where Pat is a member). There, we picked up our race t-shirts, stashed our luggage in Pat's gym locker, and met up with the rest of the family just outside at the starting line. Fortunately I had had the foresight to travel in my comfy racing clothes, so I didn't even have to change.
Despite the extreme lack of sleep, the race actually went well. I was quite surprised - usually I need at least 7-8 hours to function. It helped that I have been training, and the fresh air helped keep me awake (it was about 40 degrees and clear - the best weather you can hope for in Minnesota in late November). I didn't push it or race for time. Instead, I ran with my sister-in-law Megan and we chatted as we ran. We kept it at a nice easy pace, finishing in 31:46. The race flew by and I felt great.
After the race, though, I was like the walking dead. I was so tired. Before we could head back, we had to stop by the Target Center for some after-race goodies. There was a ton of free stuff for the runners, so we grabbed a stash of these mini-Clif bars. Perfect size for a little pre-run snack!
And that's not even all of them!
Then we all headed to Caibou Coffee for a celebratory hot chocolate. Our race numbers had a tear-off coupon for a large drink, so we had to use it! Once we finished there, I dragged myself back to the hotel, showered, and passed out for 3 hours before dinner. Best. Nap. Ever.
The rest of the weekend progressed pretty much like Thanksgiving should. Turkey was eaten, games were played, movies (The Blind Side - SO good - and Star Trek) and sports were watched. We even hit the Mall of America for some shopping on Black Friday, and all us kids walked away with spiffy new phones! We hit the gym twice while we were visiting, and I got to use the beautful facilities at Life Time Fitness again. I also connected with my side of the family, talking with my brother (who is in Utah), and video chatting with my parents, Nana, and several aunts and uncles (who were spending the holiday in Atlanta).
Here's how my week looked, training wise:
Monday: Stretch and Strengthen (20 minutes yoga, 10 minutes pilates, + the 6 mile long run from the previous week)
Tuesday: 4 mile run (4.04 miles - 40:32, 10:01 pace)
Wednesday: 2 mile run or cross train (2.04 miles - 19:22, 9:29 pace)
Thursday: 4 mile run + strength (5K race (Sunday's workout) - 31:46, 10:14 pace)
Friday: Rest or easy run (I rested)
Saturday: Rest (1.33 miles treadmill - 13:29, 40 minutes arc trainer - 505 calories to make up for Thursday's 4-miler)
Sunday: 5K race (1 mile warm up run - 10:00, full lifting set - described below)
On Saturday, I tried to do a 4 mile run to take the place of Thursday's scheduled run, but I couldn't get into it. I was having a bit of pain in my calf and shin on my left side, and despite stopping several times to stretch it out, it wasn't getting any better. I decided it was wiser to listen to my body than to run through the pain, so I switched to the arc trainer for a little cross training. If you've never seen one, it's kind of like an elliptical with a little bit different motion. It looks like this:
I can really feel it in my quads, and since those weren't hurting I bumped up the resistance and went at it for 40 minutes. I followed that up with a bunch of stretching, so hopefully I won't be having any more issues with that dang shin.
On Sunday, I decided to take advantage of the weight room - something I don't get access to very often. After a 1 mile warm up on the treadmill, I pumped some major iron. For me, that means 3 sets (12, 10, and 8 reps respectively) of each of the following:
(note: all upper body lifts except Lat pull-downs are done with free weights, all lower body lifts are done with machines)
- Shoulder press
- Bench press
- Bent row
- Tricep extension
- Bicep curls
- Chest flys
- Lat pull-down
- Leg press (sled machine)
- Inner thigh/hip adductor
- Outer thigh/hip adductor
- Leg extension (quads)
- Hamstring curl
- Calf raises
All the training stuff stuff aside, I had an awesome time in Minneapolis for the holiday. I feel very blessed to have both been born into and married into amazing families. I can't wait to see them all (both my fam and Paul's fam again) in 3 weeks when we head back to the mitten (that's Michigan, for those of you that don't come from a hand-shaped state) for an extended Christmas and New Year's holiday vaycay. I can't wait!
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