Training Log: Rock’n’Roll USA Half Marathon (Week 5)

Yes! I finally am able to do my planned workouts for my training program for the Rock’n’Roll USA Half Marathon (March 17, 2012). Even after nudging up the intensity this week, my ITB isn’t bothering me and my glute/piriformis is almost 100% better.

This week they published the course map. They have not published the course elevation profile yet, but I am pretty sure that miles 5-8 will be a steady climb. That means I need to focus on hill work. Here’s my training log for the week:

Monday
Walking: 1 mile (morning dog walk)
Weights: 40 min full-body routine
Yoga: “standing” section of “Yoga for Runners”
Walking: 1.5 miles (afternoon dog walk)

Tuesday (TM Intervals)
Running: 45 min manual program
   alternating 90 second incline (level 3) or speed (6.7 mph) intervals,
   with 60 sec recovery intervals
Walking: 1.5 miles (afternoon dog walk)

Wednesday
Elliptical: 20 min forward/reverse intervals
Weights: 45 min full-body routine, adding squats for good measure

Thursday
Treadmill: 45 min Hill Interval Program (Level 4), mostly @ 6.0 mph
Walking: 1 mile (afternoon dog walk)

Friday
Walking: 1.3 miles (morning dog walk)
Yoga: Rodney Yee “Twists” program
Running: 3.7 miles after work with Tiger Lilly (avg pace 9:15 min/mile)

Saturday
Walking: 2 miles (morning dog walk)
Walking: 1.5 miles (afternoon dog walk)

Sunday (Treadmill Training Run)
Walking: 1.5 miles (morning dog walk)
Treadmill: Random Program Level 3, 9 miles @6.3/6.5 mph
When the weather forecast said 25F with 25 mph winds, my friend and I decided to meet at the gym at work to do our long run on side-by-side treadmills. As we predicted, we were the only people there, so we could chat freely–until the last 1.5 miles when we were both too tired to talk. At that point I took out my iPhone, and put my “TM Tunes” playlist on speaker to push us on to the end.
I varied my pace between 6.3 mph (incline 1-3) and 6.5 mph (incline 0-0.5) and was dripping with sweat when we finished. I don’t like doing long runs on the treadmill, but if I’ve got to do them, doing them with a friend makes the time go more quickly than watching even the most engrossing movie on my DVR.