It’s been a little over a week since my last post– when I ran a 5K 6 days after my marathon.  Yes, that was rough.  Fortunately, running is going a little better now.  I am feeling much more like myself and have quickly jumped back into training.  But not my typical marathon or half marathon training cycle.  Summer is a fun time around here because I train specifically for shorter racing distances.  I have two big races coming up and they need to be FAST!

First up, I have the go! Mile race in Little Rock on June 14th. 

That’s right- it is an all out ONE MILE sprint of a race.  I ran this last year for the first time and it was a crazy wonderful experience.  So nerve wracking- so fast.  I was more nervous before this race than any marathon because I knew I would be running ALL OUT.

I thought this sign at the go! mile race was very appropriate!

Kicking it in for a 5:17 mile

My next big race is the fastest 5K course I’ve ever run- and I’ve run A LOT of 5k’s…

Race is Friday, July 4th in Little Rock

I ran this race for the first time last year.  It’s a very special race to me because it was the first 5K I broke 18 minutes.  I wanted to see a 17:xx at the finish almost as much as I wanted to go sub 3 in the marathon.

17:52

If you live in Arkansas or happen to be passing through around July 4th this is one 5k you want to keep on your racing calendar!

Training
Training for a one mile and 5k race has been so… refreshing.  Well, obviously when I say that I am NOT referring to the sweltering temps and humidity.  But the actual training itself has been a wonderful change from marathon training.  In general it’s less mileage and the speed work is FAST.  It challenges me in a different way than marathon training.

After an “easy” run in the 80 degree weather with my friend Kerri

Does the heat and humidity affect your running pace?  Absolutely! I’ve been running for a week and a half now and my easy runs have been a little slower than usual.  I’ve been blaming it on the heat/ humidity and marathon recovery.  It is what it is.  In cooler weather my easy pace naturally falls into the 7-8 min pace range.  Right now we’re looking at 8-9 minutes.   I do not want to push through it right now.  It’s so hot out there and on my easy days I want to give my body a break from trying to focus on a certain pace.  I know this has helped me have the physical and mental energy I need to push through on my hard effort days. 

I thought this chart explained it well

This summer training is especially exciting because I have a new summer training partner!  The last time I had a track partner for speed work was in college.  Jackie is actually a college senior who is training in her off season for basketball but she is doing most of my speed work with me.  She is FAST!  Having a training partner really pushes me.

On my easy run days I am lifting weights with her and even throwing in some plyometric drills to build strength and balance.  It’s been years since I’ve had a regular weight routine and Jackie really knows her way around the weight room.  She works with me on technique and form and has been like my own personal weight training coach.  I have been doing my own simple core routine for years (basically abs and push-ups) which I know is better than nothing but this new workout regimen is really shaking things up for the better. I’m looking forward to seeing how this helps my running.

The Workouts
In case you were wondering how I’ve transitioned from marathon training I will throw out a quick recap of the workouts since my marathon.

Week 1:

• Sun. 5/18- 26.24 miles @ 6:49 pace 
• Mon. 5/19- Off
• Tue. 5/20- Off
• Wed. 5/21- Off
• Thur. 5/22- Off
• Fri. 5/23- Off
• Sat. 5/24- 1.5 mi w-u @ 9:00 pace, 3.15 mi @ 6.11 pace, 1.5 mi @ 10:00 cool-down

Week 2:

• Sun. 5/25- 7 mi @ 9:08 pace 
• Mon. 5/26- 10 mi @ 8:11 pace 
• Tue. 5/27- 9 mi with 200 m repeats at the track.  2.5 m w-u , 15 x 200m w/ 200m recovery jog between sets (37, 38, 37, 37, 37, 37, 37, 38, 36, 37, 37, 37, 35, 35, 34), 2.75 m c-d
• Wed. 5/28- 8 easy @ 8:15 pace/ gym
• Thur. 5/29- Fartlek. 2.5 mi warm-up , 30 sec HARD effort, 30 sec RECOVERY , 60 sec HARD effort, 60 sec RECOVERY.  We did this 7 times. Hard effort @ 5:30-5:55 pace, 3.5 mi cool-down
• Fri. 5/30- 8 mi @ 9:08 pace/ gym
• Sat. 5/31- 14 mi @ 8:28 pace

Week 3:

• Sun. 6/1- Off
• Mon. 6/2- 7.5 miles including (300m-ish?) hill repeats. This was actually my fastest set of hill repeats to date. Having someone to do them with made a huge difference. We only did 10 (instead of my usual 14-15) but we sure made them count! The last time I did these (before the Poconos Marathon) I ran 1:17-1:19 for most of them. These sets were between  1:09-1:16. I felt like I was going to pass out the last 3 sets and when we were done I actually did lay down in someone’s yard on the side of the road for a few minutes.  Pretty sure I pushed myself to the max! Thank you, Jackie.
• Tue. 6/3- 10.5 mi @ 8:17 pace/ gym
• Wed. 6/4- 10 mi with 300 m repeats at the track. 3.5 mi warm-up, 12 x 300 m w/ 300 m recovery jog between sets (57, 55, 56, 56, 56, 56, 56, 56, 56, 56, 55, 56). My training partner really pushed it at the end and finished a few seconds ahead of me the last two sets. 
• Thur. 6/5- 8 mi @ 8:07 pace/ gym
• Fri- plan to do some 200’s, 400’s and 800’s! Should be fun…

Coming Soon
Lately, I’ve had quite a few questions regarding injury prevention/ dealing with injuries.  I am going to start working on a post to discuss some of the things I do to prevent injuries but also how I’ve dealt with some of the injuries I have had in the past.  Hopefully I can get it posted before go! Mile. 🙂