Week 3 Recap: Increasing Mileage

Another good week, and I haven’t noticed any issues with the extra mileage. I know I’m cheating a bit on my 9 week half marathon program, but the running feels good (the 3 mile easy runs at 9:26/mile pace don’t seem like real workouts). Will keep an eye on my body to make sure I don’t cause any injuries. Midway through the program there is an easy mileage week to give the body time to heal and recover. Need to keep this in mind.

The Tempo work was consistent and better than the previous tempo run from 2 weeks ago. I lengthened the Easy runs and then added (5) 10-second hill sprints. The Long run on Sunday was my best run so far with great pacing.
Total miles for the week = 24.75

Sunday, 5 October 2008, 8:30am
Target: 8 mile LONG run at 9:26/mile pace
Actual: 11 miles = 1:36:09 (8:44 pace)
Ran to the west side of Javea, then thru les Valls (watching the old men harvest olives) all the way to the far side of Jesus Pobre (up to the old windmill ruins), then back down in the valleys, and finally straight up el Montgo. Great run this morning! It started out a bit cool, but quickly warmed up. I had a small cramp around mile 5, but ran it out by altering my breathing pattern. Pacing was great through the first 10 miles, then the last mile I slowed down considerably as I jogged, very slowly, straight up el Montgo to finish. That last 1/2 mile with 400 feet of ascent was very tough. Seems like my feet were hardly moving. I finished without any extra fuel in my bottles- needed one more bottle of Isotonica on my belt for this run. I also noticed my stomach “sloshing” around mile 10, which I think means I needed more liquids. All-in-all, it was a great effort…in fact it’s the longest I’ve ever run in my life!

Friday, 3 October 2008, 8:45am
Target: 3 mile EASY run at 9:26/mile pace
Actual: 4 miles = 35:45 (8:56 pace)
Cooler, slightly cloudy and humid. Added an extra mile onto the workout, then finished with 5 hill sprints and a 0.25 mile walk up el Montgo.

Thursday, 2 October 2008, 8:45am
Target: 5 mile TEMPO run at 7:55/mile pace (includes 1 mile warmup and 1 mile cool-down)
Actual: 5.5 mile TEMPO at 7:53 pace
Cool, breezy and sunny morning. Solid and consistent 3 mile tempo run at 7:43 pace then added a 4th mile at 8:24 (including a brief walk to take a drink and catch my breath) before I did my cool-down. Ran with water today, and I definitely missed the extra energy from the sugars in Gatorade.

Tuesday 30 September 2008, 8:45am
Target: 3 mile EASY run at 9:26/mile pace
Actual: 4.25 miles = 39:08 (9:12 pace)
Nice sunny morning. Topped off the run with 5 hill sprints and a 0.25 mile walk up el Montgo.