Ramping Up the Running

I'm officially six weeks into half marathon training with only three to go! And you know what's  exciting? I finally hit 25 miles of running for the week recently for the first time in oh, at least seven months!

For whatever reason, 25 miles has always been that magic number where I consider myself really running seriously. Sure, 20 miles per week is good, but 25 just feels like I'm really having to put effort into making time for my runs. And that's even more true now.

Now days, in order to get my training in, it often means I'm running while Henry is sleeping, whether that's after his morning feeding before the manfriend leaves for work, or after bedtime requiring me to don a headlamp. I've been trying not to do too many stroller runs simply because they aren't that fun and I think they mess with my stride a bit, but sometimes they are necessary.

Last week's workouts:

Monday - Yoga with Adriene flow

Tuesday - 25 min strength workout while H napped + 3+ mile headlamp run

Wednesday - 4+ mile stroller run

Thursday - 15 min strength workout + Flyers speed workout (10 min warm up, drills, 25 min tempo run, 6 x 300m @ 5K pace, cool down) Holy moly. Anything that hurts this bad has gotta be making me stronger/faster, right? 

Friday - rest

Saturday - 3.75 miles easy around the neighborhood + 10 min yoga flow

Sunday - 9.6 mile long run (The legs were still feeling Thursday's workout!)

A few random thoughts: 

  • Yoga with Adriene has been a fun new way to fit in yoga at home. I love her super laid back, but positive attitude and the fact that I can pick from a ton of different kinds of classes (morning yoga, yoga for when you're sore, foundations, etc.). I'm also embracing that in this season of my life I'm not looking for "kick my ass" yoga like I might have before. At this point, just regaining some flexibility and challenging myself here and there is what I'm looking for in my yoga practice. I hope to get back to taking classes in the studio on occasion, but this works for now. 
  • My average pace these days (w/out the stroller) is around a 9:00 per mile, which before was more of my easy or warm up/cool down speed. I don't care so much, but I am curious how long it will take to regain my old pace. But at this point, I'm happy being the tortoise; slow and steady wins the race. 
  • Two weekends ago I joined in on a little trail run for my friend Laurel's birthday. It's been so long since I've run trails, but I was still surprised at just how sore those 4 miles left me. At least it was fun!


Dear trail running, I forgot how much I miss you. 

  • Breastfeeding + running more has left me hungry all.the.time. these days. Sometimes I just stare at the cupboard or fridge wondering what else I could possibly eat to fill me up that doesn't consist of nuts or nut butter. 

How was your weekend? What are your favorite go-to snacks or meals that keep you satiated for a while?

Comments

Lisa's Yarns said…
My weekend was fun as we had a party every night Friday through Sunday! I also fit some fitness in as I took 2 yoga classes and ran 10 miles

Way to go on your training! I am impressed with you for fitting it all in despite being the mom to an infant!

My go to snacks are Apple with peanut butter, Greek yogurt with granola, carrots and hummus or salsa and popcorn. I can only imagine how hungry you are these days since you are sustaining the lives of 2 people!!!
Leigh said…
Way to go getting all of your runs in! And I hear you on the long run + breast feeding = crazy hungry!
Taylor said…
Oh man, just breastfeeding would leave me starving so I can't imagine how hungry you get after also being so active! I would have to eat an extra meal right before bed just to make it through the entire night without being famished! When I had gestational diabetes the nutritionist told me to eat a quesadilla before bed, so I did that for a while after baby arrived, too. Yum! I wish I could still get away with that! Good luck to you!
Raina said…
I say "Just eat the nut butter"! You earned it!
It sounds like you are doing so well with your nutrition and bouncing back from having the baby quite well. Enjoyed your post on the RunhubNW blog today :)
Amber said…
Awesome job on all the running!! 25 miles a week is a lot, I haven't ran that many miles in a week for a longggg time! Usually an apple with peanut butter, a protein shake or green smoothie or a granola bar is my go-to snack when I need to hold off the hunger for a couple of hours.
25 miles a week is impressive!! My sweet spot is 30; after that I feel like I am being serious. Less than that, I sometimes feel that I am not putting in as much effort as I should. My go to snack is usually dried fruit or peanut butter, and I have been making "energy balls" from both. However, they are dangerous, as one ball is "tiny" but is about 100+ calories each, so they are easy to overeat!!

Popular Posts