I did my first post half marathon long run this week. 10 miles, relaxed pace, no pressure. It made me feel like running is really part of who I am, because for the first time I was out there doing a double digit mileage run for no particular reason. Yes, I’m signed up for another Half Marathon in November, and a 10k before that. But I don’t have a training schedule mapped out yet, so this felt like a long run for the sake of a long run, just because that’s what you do once a week when you’re a distance runner.
.JPG)
Am I a distance runner? Really? Huh?
Labels aside, I need to figure out a plan of action for maintaining my running ability and preparing for my next two races!
I’d like to do some more interval workouts to improve my speed some for my upcoming 10k on October 14th. I think I should be able to easily PR since my first 10k was in June and I was running substantially less mileage at that point.
 |
| My most recent interval workout – a very short one, with four quick sprints. I went to a quiet road with the boys in the double jogger and ran one end of the road to the other as quickly as I could four times, and then jogged home. It wasn’t structured, but it was something! |
I’d also like to do hill repeats more often, since I now know how challenging a hilly half marathon course can be! The Chilly Half Marathon I’m signed up for in November has a similar altitude gain to the one I ran in September, and those hills were brutal! This time, I’d like to be ready for them.
Have you tried doing fartleks? I just throw them in on shorter runs- no rules or specific distances. Run fast from this driveway to that tree, or similar. I also did several days of hill repeats, but I’m so over that! My route for long runs has a few hills in it, so that’s enough for me at the moment.
Hi Ali! I haven’t done many fartleks, and I think I should work those in. Honestly, I enjoy them more than I enjoy longer intervals when I do them. I like your idea of throwing them in on shorter runs like that – I find that when I try to stick to really specific workouts, that I don’t enjoy it and therefore don’t schedule or complete them as well as if I’d just been more spontaneous with my efforts.
I’m the same with hills right now… I am hoping to work in hill repeats, but in the meantime, every time I encounter a hill on my run, I try to lean into it and keep my pace steady or faster in order to get better at hills! I’m also trying not to avoid hilly areas of running as much as I used to on my long runs.
Thanks for the ideas!