Slowly But Surely

Literally.

I’m trying to get back to my “normal” self, but that has been taking some time and has also meant me accepting my slower-than-I’d-like paces. I’ve gotten to be more okay with that, especially now that I’ve let go of that November half.

There’s been some runs where I’ve felt, “YES!!! My body remembers what to do!!” and then only to have a run where it’s been, “Why do I feel like I’m running through a mud pit? Is this a Spartan Race? Where am I?”

On the canal, Helly. You’re on the canal.

BUT, I did have a muddy experience during one of my runs a couple of weeks ago that didn’t surprise me given how I’ve felt whilst running.

#lulufail

This was during a group run for my local Lululemon store. Yes, I was wearing BRAND NEW LULU when this happened 😥

I had an 8 mile run this past weekend that I so badly wanted to do with girlfriends, one of which was moving away that day. But in my hearts of hearts, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to keep up. I knew that if I tried, I would have yet another miserable feeling run.

So I let them go.

And I ran by myself.

On the treadmill.

It wasn’t a completely horrible run. I managed to do my two fast miles (7:30, 7:25), but holy hell were they hard to do on that machine. The rest of my miles were at a much more comfortable 9:15 pace.

Anyway, so that’s where I’m at. Slowly, but surely making my way…

–Does it take you awhile to return to your “normal” self after a tough training cycle?

–Have you fell in mud while running? Only me?

 

I’m Just Not That Into It

Pulling a Run Eat Ralph with my post title, lol (guess where it’s from!)

Anyway, it was short lived, but just like that, half marathon training is over.

SAY WHAT?!

In all honestly, I couldn’t get into it. I’d mentioned before how I’ve struggled acclimating to this heat (and I actually like hot!) and along with my extended Phoenix break (i.e. I’m out of shape), it’s required extra motivation on my part to get my workouts in.

And I just haven’t been able to muster any.

Where am I going from here?

Originally, I was training for a half marathon race I had never done before–3TV Phoenix in November. But I’ve decided to stick with my tried and true Scottsdale Half Marathon in December. I’m hoping familiarity, cooler weather, and more time to build a base will help make my mojo come back.

I’m not bummed, I’m not disappointed. I’m actually very happy with my decision. I don’t regret taking it easy after Phoenix at all. I knew I needed a break.

And now I know I need more time to get back into a rhythm:)

–Does it take a while for you to find your mojo after a big race?

–Do you take breaks after goal races or continue training?

Half Marathon Training: Week 1

A pretty uneventful week one, but I’ll take it! As I mentioned in my previous post, I take full advantage of easy days, lol!!

7/2-7/8

Monday:

5 miles, 9:03 avg.

Tuesday:

3 miles, 8:50 avg. Cross train at gym. I hate burpees. I hate mountain climbers.

Wednesday:

5.5 miles, WU-3x1mile (w/90sRI)-CD

I had low expectations going into these mile repeats as 1.) it’s hella hot here in Phoenix and 2.) i’m hella out of shape. Keeping that in mind, I didn’t sweat (ha!) the fact that my paces were not close at all to what I expect my mile repeat to be at (which I don’t really even know, lol).

7:24
7:15
7:06

Focusing on positives (which is the only way to go), I was pleased that I was able to negative split.

Celebrating ‘Merica with the run club and the fam ❤

Thursday:

Glorious rest day

Friday:

3 miles, 9:30ish pace??

The watch died mid-run and when I realized this, I cut the 5 miles to 3 and called it a day. Because does the run even count if it’s not on Garmin? Really though, I started way too late at 7 a.m. and it was 96 degrees out. I was done anyway.

1% ain’t gonna cut it, Helly

Saturday:

10 miles, 8:50 avg.

This was a hard run. It was hot (notice a repeat here?) at 90 degrees at 5 a.m. It’s just been hard for me to get going. I love the heat and much prefer it to freezing temps, but for some reason, I have not acclimated well this summer.

I’ve been finishing with a last one fast one to help my self-esteem and I was happy that I had the strength to finish the last mile at 8:03.

 

26 total miles–And that was week one in a nutshell. I can tell this is going to be a rough cycle already, but I’m going to channel my inner Phoenix Marathon training to get this done. It’s awesome to improve as a runner, but it only gets that much harder to keep on improving, lol!!!

–Are you ever intimidated by your own progress? Like, you’ve set a monster PR and then you wonder how/if you’ll top that?

 

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