It’s Tuesday, which means it’s time for another edition of Training Tuesday, where I share my Cleveland Half Marathon Training experiences for the week.

Another week of  Cleveland half marathon training is DONE. Despite some soreness in the beginning of the week, it was a pretty good week. I ran outside several days and even got back together with a running buddy, Erica, for two – not one – runs this week. Again, mileage was lower than it had been prior to training season where I was earning 30+ miles a week, but I’m not taking my miles for granted and trying to stay uninjured.

Monday: On the schedule – 3.5 miles.

Actual run –   4.5 miles outdoors! The weather was perfect to run outside – I was even slightly WARM which was awesome. My legs were a little tight from the race still but it felt SO good to be outside!

Tuesday: On the schedule – 35 minute tempo run.

Actual run – 3.7 miles, 35 minutes tempo run. It was rough – normally tempo runs aren’t that bad for me but this day for some reason it was rough. You can see I literally have to write down minute by minute what I’m doing when running tempo runs  – I get mushy runners brain otherwise and forget.

Wednesday: On the schedule – 3 miles.

Actual run – 4.27 (3 miles plus warmup and cool down). Didn’t make it outside but instead got in some indoor miles.

Thursday: On the schedule – NO RUN. 

Actual workout –  I did the elliptical on EASY and lifted some weights. I’m really trying to take my off days seriously!

Friday: On the schedule – 3 miles.

Actual run – 7.89 miles. I wasn’t sure if I’d have time Saturday to get in a long run (or motivation, I knew we’d have a friend in town Friday through Sunday) so I headed out early with Erica, one of my running buddies. We hadn’t run together in FOREVER and it was so nice to see her! I got in 3 miles before meeting up with her and finished what I thought was only 4 more miles … my Nike+ had stopped working, though, and I didn’t realize I got in a few extra miles. Whoops!

Saturday: On the schedule – 7 miles.

Actual run – I was planning on doing an easy 3 (Friday’s workout) but instead ran with Erica again! Erica wanted to do 6 and I figured I’d try to get in a few with her — I got in 6.89 miles (not sure what’s up with the .89 miles on both Friday and Saturday) and felt pretty good. Woohoo!

Sunday: On the schedule – cross train or rest.

Actual run – none! Spent some time on the elliptical for a short workout and then got in a few walks with B and two movies at the Cleveland International Film Festival. Perfect off day!

Overall thoughts about the week:

The good:

• I got back outside and it was great! Some days were a little chilly but it was so nice to be back outside and off that dreadmill.
• I proved to myself that I could do a semi-long run (7+ miles) in the morning before work. It had been some time that I dragged myself out of bed and outside in the cold and dark and I was pleased with my ability to do so.
• I ran with Erica twice in one week. Sometimes running indoors for a long time makes me doubt my ability to run not only outside, but also with others. Nope – still got it!

The bad:

• I was pretty sore for a few days after Malachi. I don’t know why but those 5 lies really put a stress on my body. Guess I raced hard?
• I didn’t 100% follow the plan – I ran a few extra miles. Not that that’s REALLY bad, but it’s still something I shouldn’t make a habit of.
• Interval running still kicks my butt. Even an “easy interval run” (meaning not 200 meter repeats) was tough this week.

 

Questions for you:

• Did you finally get outside and run this week?
• Do you like running with other people? Yes, while I do love my alone runs and the solitude of it and being able to think to myself, running with others keeps me entertained and motivated.