Half Marathon Training - Week 5

What a rough week for training. So much going on with home searching and my cat being sick again. However, I have good news on all three fronts; 1) Found a house and made an offer!!!!!!!!! 2) Cat is improving 3) Still got in some good training last week and this week should be a good one.

Swimming
I wasn't able to get in any swim sessions.

Cycling
Because my legs were hurting my Sunday, I swapped my long run with a long ride. It wasn't really as long or intense as I would want, but I was riding with my Dad and I am trying to help build up his conditioning so we can do a century ride in late September. The ride felt really good, although my new bike shorts were giving me some issues in the nether regions because the chamois was really bulky. I am used to tri-shorts with the ultra-thin chamois. Oh well, another thing to get used to.

Running
I only got in one run early in the week. I wasn't feeling really well and was exhausted. I still got in the run though. At some points I had to walk for 30 seconds because I was having trouble breathing. I am not happy I had to skip my long run this week either, but I will be good this upcoming week.

Strength
I got in two of the three NTC sessions in. I literally was not around long enough over the weekend, aside from my bike ride, to get in the third session. I am kind of bummed, because it was one of my favorite NTC routines; The Descent. I will keep trying to force myself to get all of my strength sessions completed each week though. The more sessions I am getting the better I am feeling during cardio workouts and the quicker I recover.

Nutrition
I was able to get almost everything logged during the week. Even though I didn't log the weekend, I still did pretty well with portions and calories. Sunday I had two cupcakes from Wegmans though, but I have no regrets because oh man are the delicious! Plus I rarely eat them.

Final Thoughts
Basically family overrode my time for exercising, and that's about the only excuse I accept. I shouldn't have anything major this week and the weather looks to be great, although super hot, and I hope to get all of my workouts in. Have a great week!

Half Marathon Training - Week 4

A much better week overall from the prior week. However, I still had house hunting and other things comes up, so I did miss a few workouts. Overall a great week for nutrition and exercise though. I even got in more stretching, which I feel is what allowed me to achieve my Saturday and Sunday workouts.

Swimming
I got in a swim this week, which felt amazing. I was extremely tight from strength training on Monday and I felt awesome afterwards. Thanks to this swim I had no trouble with my run.

Cycling
I was excited to finally get in a ride this week on the SRT. I did a run-bike brick and cycling really helped me loosen my left hip after my run. I hope to start getting more rides in, but I'll take what I can get for now.

Running
I got three of my five runs in this week. Although the two runs I missed were easy days, they are still important days and I hope to not miss any for this upcoming week. Overall, each run felt pretty good.

So far it's looking like my easy pace is around 9:30 minutes per mile and my tempo is around 8:30 minutes / mile. This is fine for now, but I am really hoping I can run my Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon in September around an 8:30 minutes / mile pace. That would put me around a 1:51 half marathon time, which would be awesome, especially since my best HM is around 1:40.

Strength
I only got in one of my two strength sessions. I loved my Monday session even though the DOMS was extremely bad. As a matter of fact, it was so bad I was having trouble walking on Tuesday. Sadly, I didn't swim or do any stretches, which I think dramatically slowed recovery. Thankfully I did a swim on Wednesday though. I had no excuse for missing the other strength session, since it was a short benchmark test. I technically had three sessions, but the third was too intense to fit in with my running over the weekend, so I pushed it to the following Monday. This isn't so bad since it was scheduled for Sunday anyway.

Nutrition
Overall I did pretty well with my nutrition. I still snack way too much, but crazy schedules don't really seem to allow me to get any sort of schedule. I did not do as well as logging either. I kind of wish there was a way to have MFP remind me to enter everything each night. I know I can set regular phone reminders, but it's just one of those things I wish an app offered but doesn't. On a positive note, I have added a reminder for this, just not via the app.

Final Thoughts
I think this was a pretty good week considering all of the life stuff trying to get in the way. I have been getting myself more active as well. I hope to keep this progression and to always work towards more consistency. Hope everyone else is doing well.

Half Marathon Training - Week 3

Had a pretty rough week. Cat was sick again and back in the hospital, so I didn't have time to exercise for most of the week. However, I still got some workouts in and felt really good from them. I'll be getting back on track this week and it will be as though I never missed a week!

Swimming
I didn't get to swim at all.

Cycling
I didn't get to ride at all.

Running
I only got in one of my four runs. Even though it was the only run, I still got in 3.5 miles felt really good. I definitely need to start working on figuring out a way to retain water better, because even on these short distance runs I am needing a lot of hydration.

Strength
I only got one of my three strength sessions in. I had really hoped to at least get my strength sessions in, but I did not. I am sure this week's strength is going to be extra tough because of that.

Nutrition
For the most part I did much better with logging my meals and keeping closer to my calorie limits. I still have a lot of work to do on myself, but I will definitely get there.

Final Thoughts
Overall a bust week, but family first. I still got in a run and strength session and will get back on track this week. I was really happy to progress with at least my nutrition, as that will ultimately help me out with my weight loss goals.

Half Marathon Training - Week 2

I started off the week well, but I think my body is far from being used to this level of fitness activity. So, starting Thursday, I had to take 2 days off. I was hit with some severe allergy issues which were causing my chest to constantly hurt and be short of breath, even after taking allergy medication. I really didn't like missing a run and 2 strength sessions, but I am pretty sure I am better for it right now. On a good note, I have these two training weeks under my belt now, plus the prior weeks of running, so I now have a good idea on paces for training. They aren't the paces I want, but all that matters is I have baselines now so I can start tracking my progress more accurately as well as making planning a lot easier.

Swimming
I didn't have time for swim sessions, but plan to resume swimming during Week 3.

Cycling
I didn't have time for cycling sessions, but plan to get a long ride in during Week 3.

Running
I got 4 out of 5 runs completed. Fortunately, I only missed an easy run day. I just wish I could have done some other sort of cross training in its place; but my allergies prevented me from doing anything at all. I was finally alright to run again Saturday, which went really well. However, my Sunday long run was not as great. Although I completed my 6 mile long run, my hips and lower back were excessively tight, even despite my efforts to stretch earlier before the run. My last 2 miles were really tough since my left hip was in pain. The final mile I was concerned I might have to walk since I was struggling to keep good running form. Fortunately I was able to keep proper form and finished out the run. My hip is still a little tight and sore, but nothing is injured and I feel great otherwise.

Strength
I only got one of my three strength sessions in this week. As I already noted, wasn't feeling well. I will be extra vigilant not to miss my strength during Week 3, as I need to keep building muscle and work on keeping my muscles loose to prevent any running injuries.

Nutrition
I didn't bother logging anything this week and my nutrition was healthy, but portion sizes out of control again. After my long run Sunday and feeling bloated and weighed down, I am getting my act together and starting logging and watching my calories in going forward.

Final Thoughts
I hit a new long distance record since I have been back from injuries. Aside from muscle tightness and the resulting hip pain, I am feeling great and will be adding additional stretching to the mix. I look forward to some hard training and a 5k time trial this upcoming weekend. It will be a time trial since I was too cheap to pay an entry fee for a 5k race.

Half Marathon Training - Week 1

I completed my first week of half marathon training. I am extremely pleased to say that I not only got in all of my runs, but I felt pretty good during and after each of them. I am having considerably more back tightness than usual, so I will definitely need to dramatically increase my stretching. I also need to be extra vigilant about getting my strength sessions done. I felt amazing 2 weeks ago when I got in all of my strength sessions; a primary reason I think I felt so well overall this week.

Swimming
I got in 2 relaxing swims. Both were at a much slower pace than I would like, but I didn't push myself either since the whole purpose of the swims were to loosen up my muscles from running. And these two sessions did just that. It felt great!

Cycling
I rode stationary after one of my runs. I went at a fairly easy cadence and resistance in order to help "shake-out" my legs. This worked out well, but not as good as swimming.

Running
I got in 5/5 of my runs; 2 easy, 1 interval, 1 tempo, 1 long. Although my easy runs were at a more relaxed pace, they were still challenging since all but one run was outside and with hills. I'll definitely need to be starting to bring water with me on most runs, but I was able to manage with no hydration for my runs under 5k. Also, I really love using Nuun Energy or Hydration when I run, but I cannot use my small belt bottles for a tab. So, I need to figure out a solution for this.

Strength
I only got in 1/3 strength sessions completed. The session felt really good and I am definitely mad at myself for missing two really important strength sessions.

Nutrition
I have been doing terrible with nutrition. I don't have time to log my food, let alone plan meals. Also, my portion sizes are getting out of control and I have been stress binge eating junk food. On a positive note, I am at least getting back to cooking more, and aside from 4th of July, every meal I have cooked has been super healthy and restricted portion size.

Final Thoughts
I will continue to get my runs in, as well as cross training. I really need to start getting more rides in as well, but I will not miss a run for that. I will also be making sure I don't miss strength training in addition to making sure I stretch more. Aside from that, I will worry about nutrition once I can get more consistent with cooking.