Plan B (42M)

Plan A was my previous "best" training schedule - Two rest days, two workout days, two natural run days, and one hard long run day. Unfortunately, my body has not taken too kindly to the method during this quick build up. Plan B is going to be lots of "easy" mileage. No hard scheduled workouts, just two rest days, three moderate length natural runs, and two long runs. We figure if I want to run a half, I need to at least be able to finish it.

You can't bake a pie in a microwave, so we're going to have to pick the next best treat that you CAN make in a microwave. Finishing the race is better than flying down the streets for 8 miles and stepping off, so it's time to prepare for completing the full 13.1.

Sunday, January 27th
Planned rest day #1

Monday, January 28th
6M (half pavement/ half gravel)
Physical Therapy
*I ran with Jake today and he said it was a good run, so at least I'm out of my 9 minute mile phase!! My knee and ankle bothered me a lot on this run, but I have PT tonight so hopefully they are a little better tomorrow!

Tuesday, January 29th
6M with 4 strides (pavement)
*I ran with Jake again today. It was ridiculously windy so I decided not to look at my watch until we finished. Turns out we averaged somewhere around 7:20 pace - No wonder it felt so hard! :) My ankle and foot were extremely painful today though... particularly after the run. My phone rang in the other room a couple hours after we finished and I didn't know if I'd get there in time!! Strides got better with each one.

Wednesday, January 30th
11M comfortable (treadmill)
Physical Therapy
*I opted for the treadmill for this one since it was below 40 degrees and 16+ mph winds! Started very pedestrian and picked it up frequently over the first couple miles. Once I got to the lower half of the 7:00 pace range I just settled in. Splits were 8:30, 7:45, 7:26, 7:22, 7:16, 7:12, 7:12, 7:11, 7:09, 7:03, 7:00. I stopped after three miles to use the restroom and try taking a GU (which by the way seemed to have no effect other than quenching my hunger). I picked it up a tad the last couple miles just because I was ready to be done. My left knee got very, very painful starting around 6 miles and my ankle was bad as well. :/ Thankful that Friday is off (but I am happy with this run!)!

Thursday, January 31st
Planned rest day #2

Friday, February 1st
6M with strides (some pavement, mostly gravel)
*I ran to the gravel trail at DBU, did three big loops and two small loops, and then ran home. I stopped my watch at the intramural fields on campus to get in my strides on a soft surface. I still get really tired on my runs about 4.5 miles in. Possibly worst ankle pain I've had in a while on this one.. :/

Saturday, February 2nd
13M comfortable (gravel)
*I waited until the last minute to get this run done because I was dreading finding out how my ankle would feel and I was pretty tired from two late nights in a row. Thankfully, me being tired didn't really affect the run. If the wind had been about 15mph less I would've really had a perfect running day! ;) My ankle is continuing to bother me, especially when I turn right (right ankle). Hoping to find out more about it this week. My right hip flexor and left knee are beat up as well. I intentionally did not make myself push the pace today because it honestly took everything I had to convince myself it was okay to run. Even still, I averaged 7:18 pace which was very promising to me. I added 10 miles this week compared to last week, so we'll see how I feel the next few days!! :)