We're all out there chasing our better selves (FredtheDuck chases on)

Ok, so as mentioned, two of my weekday runs were on the treadmill this week (I'll write about them more in my Monday recap). Today, I finally got to be outside. I was excited. And then I looked at the weather. 77*, 89% humidity. And the sun wasn't even up yet. It was a gross, hot slog. Also, my excitement at being back outside after few treadmill runs was significantly tempered by the fact that it was pitch black for the first half of my run. I hope tomorrow's weather is better... and that the weather for the half, which is now just a few weeks away, isn't like this. Woof.
 
Monday Training Update: Week Ending 8/20
This was the plan for the week:

T - 4.5 miles @ EB + Strides
Th - .5 miles @ WU, 4 miles @ tempo, .5 mile @ CD
F - 4 miles @ EA
Sa - 7 miles @ long run (blind)

As I alluded to in an earlier post, we had a family emergency earlier this week, and the scheduling conflict it created made it so that I had to move both my Tuesday and Thursday runs to indoor runs during my lunch break at work. I have to say, the treadmill is growing on me a little. I still much prefer running outside, but I also like being able to sleep in an extra hour. That said, it's still tough to mold my work schedule around that (I have to stay late to accommodate the longer break, and that's tough because I also do daycare pickup). I also ended up having to cut the .5 mile CD off my Thursday run because I had a meeting 20 minutes after and needed time to shower and cool off a little.

Friday I was back outside and it was HOT and HUMID. Ugh, that run was gross. I couldn't get comfortable at the EA pace, so I ended up running faster than my pace called for. Effort-wise, it felt fine. And if you look at my splits each mile, you can see that I kept trying to get myself to slow down. I suspect that after a few runs on the 'mill, my pace and mechanics were just off a little.

Saturday was a shorter long run, at just 7 miles. The original plan was for @MoanasPapa and I to run it together and take turns pushing our kiddo on the jogging stroller on a pretty trail near a coffee shop we like. Typically we don't bring her on the long run, but said family emergency made our go-to childcare (my dad, who lives with us) unavailable. Anyways, as we were getting ready, we found out that the front tire tube on the stroller has a huge hole in it. We ended up deciding that I'd do my run Saturday to stay on cumulative fatigue schedule, and he would go Sunday since it was going to be pretty hot by the time I was done. We also decided that I'd just run a local route instead of driving to the trail we had talked about running on. @MoanasPapa decided to load our kiddo on to his bike and ride part of the way with me, which was great fun. They stayed with me for 2 miles, then detoured to play at a park along the trail. I ran another 1.5 to the turnaround, then headed back and picked them back up at mile 5. Boy, I was glad I did, because I had been dreading the uphill that would come in the last mile of that run, but I ended up distracted by all the talk about how much fun they had at the park and all the things my toddler can do on the play structures now, so it made that part go by really fast. I also did pretty well with my pacing, for a blind run. Strava has me at 12:08/mi, which would be too fast, but my Apple Watch's activity app has me at 12:30, which is 3 seconds off (on the slow side).

This coming week is the toughest week of the plan. Same T, Th, F runs as last week (hopefully all outside this time), but Saturday is 10 miles. It will be my last long run before the half. I think I feel ready to do 10 miles. I don't know that I feel ready to do 13, especially with the pace requirement that Parks imposes. But, I'm putting my trust in the plan and in my determination, and hoping it all comes together in the end.
 
This coming week is the toughest week of the plan. Same T, Th, F runs as last week (hopefully all outside this time), but Saturday is 10 miles. It will be my last long run before the half. I think I feel ready to do 10 miles. I don't know that I feel ready to do 13, especially with the pace requirement that Parks imposes. But, I'm putting my trust in the plan and in my determination, and hoping it all comes together in the end.

My toughest week is coming up as well. Bleh! I think if you can do 10 you can definitely do the half. Really a half is just a 5k with a ten mile warm up or a 10 miler with a 5k cool down at the end, whichever helps.
 
Sorry to hear of your family emergency. I hope things are better now.

Good training though. The heat and humidity this time of year can stink (we've actually be fortunate here with cooler temps than usual), but they do wonders for you when fall finally arrives.
 


My toughest week is coming up as well. Bleh! I think if you can do 10 you can definitely do the half. Really a half is just a 5k with a ten mile warm up or a 10 miler with a 5k cool down at the end, whichever helps.

I'm going with 10-miler with the 5k cool down. Eeeeeep.

I hope things are better now.

They are, thank you!

they do wonders for you when fall finally arrives.

I just registered for an actual fall race (Marine Corps 10k, held the same day and with the same finish line as the Marine Corps Marathon). So I'm definitely excited to test this theory!
 
You got this. If you can get the 10 mile under your belt then the HM is in the bag!

Thank you! I'm hoping the 10-miler this weekend goes well. Supposed to be great weather, so I have no excuse.

That was a good segue to a post I have been thinking on today... One of the things I love about running these days is how often I surprise myself to the upside. I often doubt myself when it comes to my running. I can't run that far. I can't run that fast. I can't run that far if I run that fast. This week, I made the mistake of checking to see what time I was targeted to finish the half at based on my training plan, and noticed that the time listed means I would run the entire 13.1 at tempo pace. Gulp. I can't run that far if I run that fast! There's no way! I'll bonk! And I've been meaning to come on here and ask if that is really the pace I'm supposed to aim for (I'm starting to think through pace strategy).

But then I had today's tempo run. I did this same run (.5 WU, 4 @ tempo, .5 CD) last week, but it was on the treadmill and I cut the CD because I was tight on time between meetings. Anyways, I wanted to do this one outdoors, but for some reason, I was really intimidated by it. I went to bed kind of anxious about it, even. My path would have my warm up go up the hill out of my neighborhood, so easy enough. Then I'd pick it up and do a mile of street running before I got to the track, then 8 laps around the track, then take the "long way" back from the track for another mile of street running, then cool down going down the hill back in to my neighborhood. Again with the doubts: What if I have a hard time at tempo on the streets vs. the track? What if 8 laps around the track feels really tough compared to six, and then I'd still have to get home? This will make my Saturday 10-miler awful. The run was fine. I made it up the hill, picked up to tempo, ended up actually going faster then tempo because it was really comfortable and I felt good at that pace the entire time, and I wasn't even close to being on fumes when I got to the cool down. The weather was great and I really enjoyed the run. So, I surprised myself to the upside. And it isn't the first time in this training cycle.

I'm still not exactly looking forward to the 10-miler on Saturday. And I'm not willing to commit to a goal pace of tempo for my half... I'm sticking with "just finish and don't get swept." But I can do more/better/harder work than I my head believes I am capable of. And days like today are a good confidence booster. Take that, brain.
 


I recently had a very similar mental experience. We had a good 6 mile training run on Tuesday and at a faster pace than we normally go. Toward the end of the 6 miles, I could tell I was starting to fatigue a bit. Nothing major, I wasn't struggling or anything, but I could feel the strain of 6 miles at that faster pace. Once we finished, I also noticed that is just a few seconds faster than the pace I need to run our half marathon at in a few weeks to hit my A goal. Yikes. I was thinking about how I felt at 6 miles and that I didn't know that I would have had another 7.1 worth of juice to finish it out. My DH reminded me that races give you the added benefit of adrenaline and motivation that you lack in training runs and he's right and I just have to trust that I can pull it off, but it still gets in your head sometimes!!

I'm fully confident you'll manage that 10 miler and far more easily than you are giving yourself credit for. You absolutely can do more than your brain wants to admit sometimes. Trust in your training and stick with the plan and you'll have success - whatever that ends up being on race day.
 
Two words: cumulative fatigue

Remember, we aren't training you for miles 0-4 (as the 4 mile Tempo would seemingly equate to). We train your for miles 9-13. Here's one way to think about it:

Think of a room without a noise. Peaceful and quiet. Now someone flips a switch and you hear a noise like a low level hum. At first, it's really noticeable. Annoying even. Over time you'll get used to that noise. You'll drown it out. You'll notice it's there, but barely. Now someone flips a switch and the noise turns off. Suddenly you become so surprised at the lack of the noise. Now you start to re-remember what it was like when the noise wasn't around. Wait, I got used to that noise so much I forgot what it was like without the noise. Ahh, peace and serenity...

That noise - is cumulative fatigue. If we setup the training well, then slowly over time I've created the noise. I've gotten you more and more used to it, that you never really noticed it too much. Now comes the taper (or the flipping off of the switch). You just completed the third to last hard workout. Which means on next Thursday (8/31), we'll hit the switch and you move into the taper. Over the 10 days after the last hard workout, you'll recover. So much so that when race day comes, you're going to feel different (no noise). You might not feel great during the taper (common actually to fell sluggish), but don't worry. Your body is focusing on recovery and not performance during those ten days. Even more so, do not test yourself during those last 10 days. As Admiral Akbar would say:

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You will likely only increase fatigue and not reap benefits in those 10 days. So enjoy the easy days during the taper and know you're going to be just fine on race day. And yes, the plan is designed for you to be able to run for 13.1 miles at Tempo. However, it's your first HM. So I say set the Tempo as the cap. No matter how you feel, don't go faster than this until late in the race. But you can certainly go slower than it at your leisure. Enjoy the race!
 
Monday Training Update: Week Ending 8/27
This was the plan for the week:

T - 4.5 miles @ EB + Strides
Th - .5 miles @ WU, 4 miles @ tempo, .5 mile @ CD
F - 4 miles @ EA
Sa - 10 miles @ long run

So if you've seen the post above, you know that my tempo run was a fun outing and a nice confidence booster. (Also, thanks @ZellyB for the kind words, they were a great shot in the arm!)

Running, of course, is a fickle friend, so naturally my Friday run was derailed yet again by GI issues about 2.5 miles in. I made it to 3.5 before I had to bag it and head in. This is enough of an issue that I flagged it for my doctor, who agreed that at the effort and distance I’m running at when it onsets, it isn’t typical. Especially because I typically don’t eat anything before these short AM runs. Tests and procedures have ruled out a couple of things (including nasties like colon cancer), but we are still trying to figure out what’s going on. Happily, the answer hasn’t been, “Well just stop running and you won’t have the problem.”

Our 10-miler was confidence-building, for sure. I’ve mentioned here before that we decided to do some of our long runs on the trail that the half will be on, but in loops, and in reverse. My goal was to get the uphill part done early in each run to simulate some additional fatigue, since the course has a net downhill. This run was from mile 6 up to mile 1, then back down. And it was tough in terms of hills in the first half. Apparently some of the steepest hills of the course will be in mile 1-3. Luckily, we’ll be going down them on race day. Going UP was a real test, but I was pretty happy with our overall pace (actually faster than our scheduled LR pace by about 12 sec/mi). The best part? I thought really hard as I approached mile 10 about whether I could do another 3 miles. I landed on “Yes, absolutely.” And I had the @DopeyBadger post above about cumulative fatigue and the taper in the back of my mind, too – so if I could do 10 on Saturday when I’m deep in cumulative fatigue and still feel like I had enough in the tank to go longer, I’m pretty hopeful that I’ll finish the half under the course time limit.

I was also happy with the fueling strategy I’ve landed on. I ended up switching to carrying a hydration pack on runs longer than 6 miles – the hipbelt just isn’t enough water for me at that point. So now I’ve got water onboard, and can carry clifbloks, which I eat every 45 minutes, plus the occasional shot of tailwind from one of the small Nathan bottles that is usually in my hipbelt. It isn’t a ton of tailwind, and my primary hydration source is really the water from the pack. (Full disclosure: I did get hit with GI issues around mile 3, and I think I’m going to have to just accept that I’ll have to pit stop during the race - hopefully that won’t damage my ability to finish within the course time limit - but that was BEFORE I had either tailwind or clifbloks, so I don’t think an adjustment is needed there.) I felt pretty steady throughout the run, so I think that’s the approach I’ll stick with on race day.

So that’s that. I’m down to one hard run (my tempo run this week, which should be more fun than hard), then taper, then race day on 9/12! I’m as ready as I’m going to be, I think.
 
Woohoo!! Great job on that 10-miler and especially that at the end you knew you could go on to finish another 3. You are going to do great on your race!

Sorry about the GI issues. I've dealt with those off and on during morning runs. I seem to be a bit better right now with it, but I never could land on a common cause for why some mornings it would hit and others it wouldn't. So, like you, I just kind of assume it might happen and plan for it and then if it doesn't, it's a win! :)
 
Great job on the 10 miler! I will say one of the benefits of carrying a hydration pack is it provides a handy place to store your fuel. Congrats on finishing the hardest week!

Hopefully your GI issues won't cause you trouble the day of your race.
 
Yeah!! Finishing a 10 miler and still feeling like you could've gone further has got to be a huge confidence boost! Your hard work is definitely paying off.

GI issues are no fun at any point but it's the worst to have it hit during a run. Hopefully the dr can figure out a solution soon!
 
Congrats on the 10 miler!!!...and I think I needed that reminder about cumulative fatigue too. The amount of times I've said "there's a reason for this, just get through it, it'll be a happy tired when you are done"

I've found the last page of the training plan is when all my mental demons come to taunt me & its mixed with my body going through phases of feeling really tired and really strong but off an on. It generally goes something like this: "oh crud, these are hard mileages" "oh crud, how am I gonna pull this off" and "oh crud, my legs are cinder blocks" and "oh wow but I'm doing this" and "oh phew, but then I taper" and it usually equals during my race my legs aren't cinder blocks anymore (knock on wood)

You got this, I got this, We got this!
 
You got this, I got this, We got this!

We do. I just came in from my tempo, which was my last hard run before the race(!!!). I slept horribly last night, but the gorgeous sunrise erased my negativity about how tired I was pretty quickly. It was a tough run (side stitch halfway through, and pitch black outside the first 2/3 of it), but I was glad to get it done and felt really proud that it was the last tough one of this cycle (minus the race itself, of course).

Since I know you and several others who sometimes check in here are in the thick of their plans right now, I wanted to pop in to say, we are almost there! We got this.
 
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Hooray for completing the training! Just look back at where you were and where this training has taken you and just smile. The last page of training always looks scary, but you crushed it! Welcome to taper town! Next stop, victory lap!
 
Hooray for completing the training! Just look back at where you were and where this training has taken you and just smile. The last page of training always looks scary, but you crushed it! Welcome to taper town! Next stop, victory lap!

Oh thank you (for everything!)! I'm finishing my plan with a whimper though - I meant to run on the treadmill at work today, but got here and realized that I left my gym bag at home. Womp womp. Thoughts on whether I do 4 miles tomorrow and 4 miles Sunday, or just bag today's and carry on?

I can't believe the race is in just over a week!
 
Oh thank you (for everything!)! I'm finishing my plan with a whimper though - I meant to run on the treadmill at work today, but got here and realized that I left my gym bag at home. Womp womp. Thoughts on whether I do 4 miles tomorrow and 4 miles Sunday, or just bag today's and carry on?

I can't believe the race is in just over a week!

Up to you. Either decision is fine in this case.

:car:
 

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