Training Log: Rock N Roll USA Half Marathon (Week 9)

Well, I guess I have wrapped up my last week of “training” for the Rock N Roll USA Half Marathon! Now I have to think about easing up and getting ready for race day!

Honesltly, I don’t feel like I’ve trained that hard–especially not lately. I did pretty well with my long runs, but my nagging ITB/glute/piriformis issue forced me to back off from hills and intervals, and made me ditch my 4-day-per-week running plan before I even got started. Maybe for once I really will be able to relax about my time and enjoy this race, but my friend is still chasing that 2:00:00 finish.

Monday (Weights)
Elliptical: 20 min warm-up
Weights: 45 min full-body routine

Tuesday (TM Intervals)
Running:
Warm-up: 5 min walking, 10 min running
Speed Intervals: 3/2 intervals at 7.0/6.2 mph for 30 minutes
Cool-down: 2 min running, 3 min walking

Wednesday
Elliptical: 20 min warm-up
Weights: 45 min full-body routine
Walking: 2.5 miles (afternoon dog walk)

Thursday (Easy Run)
Running: easy 4.1 mile run with Tiger Lilly (avg under-10-ish pace)
Walking: 1.5 miles (afternoon dog walk)

Friday
Walking: 1 mile (morning dog walk)

Saturday (Hilly Neighborhood Run)
Walking: 1 mile (morning dog walk)
Running: 7.5 miles
I set my alarm for 5:00 so I could take Tiger Lilly for a walk before my friend came over at 6:00 to tackle my neighborhood hills. My Weather Channel App said it was 35F with a wind chill of 27F, but luckily the wind died down, the sun came out, and it turned into a gorgeous early morning run!

Garmin Data: Total Distance: 7.5 mi, Total Time: 1:10:00, Avg. Pace: 9:21 min/mi
Split Times: 9:47, 9:23, 9:17, 9:37, 9:25 9:24, 8:57

Sunday (Wilson Bridge)
Walking: 1.5 miles (morning dog walk)
Running: 6.23 miles, 56:00 min (avg pace: 9:00 min/mile)
I felt so good after yesterday’s run that I decided to get in one more Wilson Bridge run after church. The steady incline on the bridge and the steep switch-backs on the Maryland side should be good practice for the steep segments of the RnR course. It was colder than I expected (upper 30s instead of low 40s) but the sun kept me just warm enough. This pace wasn’t “easy” but it was comfortable.

Friday I printed out the 5 pages of instructions for the RnR Half, and my friend and I are figuring out our plans and logistics for the expo and race day.

Ready or not, here it comes!