Rock ‘n’ Roll DC Half Marathon Training Week 7

I’m linking up with Holly and Tricia for their Weekly Wrap.

Hoping everyone had a good week!

Rock ‘n’ Roll DC Half Marathon training is here!  I am excited to be training using again the Hansons Method for this race.  In a nutshell, this training is based on the concept of cumulative fatigue.  You train your body to run often so that you are frequently running on tired legs.  The idea is to run this way so that during the last miles of a race you are prepared to push through the final miles.  These plans are 18 weeks (I am starting a bit late so I will start with Week 4) and have you running 6 days (easy, speed/strength, tempo, and long runs) a week with one rest day. 

Week #7, January 9-15

Monday:

• PLAN – 6 miles easy, 10:15-11:38 pace
• ACTUAL – 1.33 @11:24 average pace

It was my first day back to work after 2 weeks of winter break.  I was actually looking forward to going back.  Yes, it is true.  The day went by pretty quick and I left exhausted ready for a nap. Once home I laid in bed debating whether or not to go running.  I checked the weather again (it was 29 degrees) and decided it wasn’t too cold for a run.  I got ready and out I went.  I wore my new Oiselle Vim Jacket and a Wazzie Wool Long Sleeve shirt underneath.  I wasn’t cold and found myself comfortable.  It had begun to snow so I made sure not to go off too fast for fear of falling.  A little over a mile into my run I felt something pull in my left calf.  It was so weird because I felt like I had hit a wall that forced me to stop.  It did not hurt a lot but enough to know that I could not continue my run.  I ended up walking back home.

Once home I ate and had a text conversation with a friend about what happened during my run.  She told me to iced my leg and to wear compression socks.  I also took an ibuprofen.  I knew it could be an injury but also knew I had to see a doctor for an official diagnosis.

Tuesday:

• PLAN –4 x 1200, 8:03-8:55 pace
• ACTUAL – Did not run.

I went to the doctor.  She asked me a bunch of question regarding my leg and pain.  I pointed out a tender/sore area in my left leg and she told me that that area did look different from the other leg.  She ended up giving me an order for an MRI for Thursday.

Wednesday:

• PLAN – OFF
• ACTUAL – OFF

Thursday:

• PLAN – 4 tempo miles, 8:46-9:18 pace
• ACTUAL – Did not run.

Another day of no running.  Leg felt a bit better but it was uncomfortable to run.

 Friday: 

• PLAN – 5  miles easy, 10:15-11:38 pace
• ACTUAL – Did not run.

Saturday:

• PLAN – 5 miles easy, 10:15-11:38 pace
• ACTUAL – Did not run.

Sunday:

• PLAN – 12 miles long, 9:53-10:29 pace
• ACTUAL – Did not run.

Week 7 was quite interesting.  I may or may not have an injury and cannot run.  Even with no running, according to my FitBit, this week I ended up with over 47,000 steps.  I miss running.  I am bummed out because it will be over 40s this week (that’s warm in Chicago) and I don’t know if I will be able to run.  However, I do know that my leg and health is much more important than running.  Hopefully it isn’t anything serious and soon I will resume my training for my race in March.

Total mileage for the week: 1.33 miles

Total mileage for this training cycle: 126.89 miles

Total mileage for the year:  32.03 miles

Here’s how training has gone so far:

• Week 1
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4
• Week 5
• Week 6