Half marathon training – Week 3 – Back at 30 mpw

The most exciting part of my third week of training is that I hit a total mileage of 30 miles. I haven’t been at that level since the week of the marathon (last week of November) and it is good to be back! I was also pleased to see that my January mileage came in at a very respectable 104.4 miles. I still don’t feel 100% fit but I do feel like I’m on track for a good spring racing season.

26/01	-	Rest day
27/01	7.0 miles	Speedwork: 8x800m in 4:13/4:04/4:03/3:58/4:01/4:09/4:01/4:02
28/01	XT	60 min on elliptical plus weights
29/01	7.0 miles	Tempo run (moderate): 5.0 mi in 8:59/8:52/8:46/8:45/8:22
30/01	-	Rest day
31/01	12.0 miles	Long run: avg 162 bpm, 10:50 min/mile
01/02	4.0 miles	Recovery run: avg 160 bpm, 11:07 min/mile
Total	30.0 miles	YTD: 108.4 miles

Once again the toughest run of the week was Thursday’s tempo session. My legs were a little tight/tired at the start and I struggled to maintain pace through the five miles. Aerobic stamina aside, it takes a surprising amount of focus for me to maintain tempo pace for 40+ minutes. Anytime I let my mind wander too much I slow down. I don’t have this problem in races. I think it’s just a bit harder to get “up” for an early morning week day solo run. On the plus side I made it my goal to do the miles progressively faster and I was able to achieve that.

Saturday’s 12 miler went pretty well. I had company for the first six miles and then then did the second six on my own. I started to fade a bit around mile nine and I was a bit chilled for the rest of the run. I toughed it out though. I need my endurance back!