Half-Marathon Training, Week 11

Tuesday: 2 miles. I did four half-mile repeats. My paces were 9:42, 9:00, 9:11 and about 11:00. I obviously wasn’t feeling that last one. I also did 36 lunges, 35 pulse squats, 20 regular squats and core work.

Wednesday: 30 minutes of yoga. 50 hip raises, 50 crunches, 15 single-leg V-ups each side and a 1 minute plank.

Thursday: 3.1 miles at the Cinco de Mayo bar crawl with my running group. We ran to three different bar/restaurants that were about a mile apart. It was a lot of fun and I got to know some awesome runners in Chicago. I also did 20 pulse squats and 20 crunches.

Friday: Rest day. I ran/walked .25 mile to just get outside on a busy workday. Other than that I did about 10 minutes of yoga.

Saturday: The plan was to run 14 miles. I went to Starbucks to get some coffee before my run. When I returned, my key wouldn’t open the hallway leading to my apartment. I was locked out of my apartment for two hours, ruining my plans to run. I had to meet a friend around Wrigley Field later so I couldn’t push my run back that day. I decided to go to Orangetheory instead and do my long run on Sunday before the game. I was frustrated and defeated, so I did my best to adjust to the new plan.

The Orangetheory workout started with 2.34 miles on the treadmill. We rowed 450 meters, 300 meters, 150 meters and 800 meters as well.

Floor workout:

• Alligators with TRX straps
• Speed skaters
• Hip raises with heels in TRX straps
• Squats onto the bench with weights
• Double-tap crunches

Sunday: 12 miles. The plan was 14 miles but I ran out of time before needing to get ready for the Chicago Cubs game. I have actually never done 14 miles before a half marathon (usually it’s up to 11 or 12), so I was OK with going up to 12 miles. I felt that if I had enough time I could have kept going for another 1.1 mile, so that’s all that matters. The weather was finally perfect! I stopped to admire the blooms and take in the views of the city along the lakefront path.

Week’s mileage: 19.69
Yoga minutes: 50

Reflections:

I’m struggling with what my goal pace should be for the race. Should I try to set a PR or be happy with running faster than I did at my last race? I’m really not sure. I know that if I don’t run a faster pace I would be disappointed after all the hard work I’ve done for the last three months.

Perfect weather on Sunday was such a gift! It renewed my motivation and made me grateful to live here in Chicago.

Previous recaps:

• Week 10
• Week 9
• Week 8
• Week 7
• Week 6
• Week 5
• Week 4
• Week 3
• Week 2
• Week 1

How are you doing on your fitness goals? Let me know in the comments!

Shop my running essentials: