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| Kalama Beach Park - my favorite place to start! |
Week 7 of 12 on the road to the Windward Half Marathon:
Sunday: Stretch and Strength - Rest and relaxation!
Monday: 4.5 mile run - Even though this run was 1/2 mile longer than previous Monday runs, they are starting to feel like short runs. Wow, what's happening to me? I like.
Tuesday: Speed work - 8 x 400 at 5K pace - Okay, today is the day it happened. I blew it off! Too many family obligations. First time in more than 6 weeks. I felt really bad, but then I got over it.
Wednesday: 3 mile run and strength - (Mokulele Drive hill - my nemesis!) This hill is just like taking medicine, not pleasant, but good for you. I dutifully completed the hill in decent time. Still walking, but not as much.
Thursday: Rest day - Have I mentioned that I love rest day?
Friday: 4 mile run - Family schedule was pressing so I cut this run a bit short. Only ran 3.7 miles. Better than nothing, right? (See lesson #1 below....)
Saturday: 9 miles - Running 9 miles in a small town, you have to get creative. I ran from Kalama Beach Park to the first half of the Windward Half Marathon route, then tagged on a bit at the end to make the miles. It was hard but felt really good - eventually. (See lesson #2 below...)
The best thing about this week: Being able to run 9 miles is such a confidence boost. I'm already feeling the benefits of training for a longer race.
The biggest challenge of this week: This week, it was family obligations that not only took away from training time, but also took mental energy. I must keep in mind that all this running is a stress relief that helps balance my life. It helps me be a better me.
A couple more lessons learned in week 7:
#1 - I've made a mental shift about training. I find myself thinking that the run I do today will help the run I need to do tomorrow. If I skimp on my miles today, it will make tomorrows run even harder. So doing the hard work today will pay off tomorrow if I don't let myself get lazy. Isn't that what I try to teach my kids about their school training? Do the work of memorizing your multiplication tables now so math is a lot easier for the rest of your life...
#2 - During the long runs, I know that the last couple of miles are the most important. It's there that I'm not only working my muscles, but I'm also training my mind. When I start to feel that twinge of discomfort, do I press on or just keep going until it works itself out? That's the mental toughness that a long race will require. I see that as the mileage goes up, so must my mental resolve to keep pressing on. That's kinda like life too, I guess.
Thanks for sticking with me through this. We're on the down-hill slide now. Only 5 weeks until race day!
A couple more lessons learned in week 7:
#1 - I've made a mental shift about training. I find myself thinking that the run I do today will help the run I need to do tomorrow. If I skimp on my miles today, it will make tomorrows run even harder. So doing the hard work today will pay off tomorrow if I don't let myself get lazy. Isn't that what I try to teach my kids about their school training? Do the work of memorizing your multiplication tables now so math is a lot easier for the rest of your life...
#2 - During the long runs, I know that the last couple of miles are the most important. It's there that I'm not only working my muscles, but I'm also training my mind. When I start to feel that twinge of discomfort, do I press on or just keep going until it works itself out? That's the mental toughness that a long race will require. I see that as the mileage goes up, so must my mental resolve to keep pressing on. That's kinda like life too, I guess.
Thanks for sticking with me through this. We're on the down-hill slide now. Only 5 weeks until race day!
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