Wow, I can’t believe that we have hit the half way point already! Ours is a 16 week schedule and it is the end of week 8. And, what a week it was-not pretty for me! I have been struggling with a couple different, yet related issues. First off, I have been running at a much faster pace for some reason. Perhaps I am finally on the verge of some sort of breakthrough with respect to my training. The Tuesday, 6 mile run, should have been around an average 9:40 pace for me, but for some reason my first 3 miles were 9:22, 9:17 and 9:15. I kept telling myself to slow down, but I just didn’t! After the 4th mile, which was 9:35, I just could not catch my breath! I had to walk a bit during the last two miles and ended with a 9:35 average. I felt light headed, winded and completely out of shape! Which brings me to my next problem, nutrition. I did not eat much the day before, and took this six miles for granted. I told myself “its just 6 miles, it will be fine” and had my regular breakfast. I should have respected the run!

When the 4 mile run scheduled for Thursday rolled around, I was a little nervous. I did eat more the night before, got some good carbs into me, but what would happen with my pace? Once again I told myself, “its just 4 miles, it will be fine.” It was for the most part. My first split was 9:19, then 9:17 followed by 9:12! I knew I should slow down but this time it was just for 4 total, so I let it go and ended with an average of 9:17. I was irritated with myself for not being able to control my pace, but that was quickly replaced by the fact that this little 4 miler put me over the 500 total mile mark on my Nike run app!

This means that I have averaged 50 miles a month since I started keeping track (as I started the app last June, 2016). This is a major milestone for me and I am proud of my old body!

My happiness lasted a couple days until I realized that I had to run 8 miles on Saturday and was really worried about my inability to regulate my tempo, something I used to be really in tune with and was able to manipulate at will. My goal for this run would be to start at a slower pace and increase, albeit incrementally, with each subsequent mile. I prepared a well balanced pasta dinner for Friday night and we planned our trip into Seattle for the run around Green Lake-the same destination as last week’s 8 mile run. We got lucky in that the rain held off until I was (almost) done. Of course, my hubby was done 15 minutes before me, as he is so much faster. Here are my splits:

My goal was to have all green, which would mean that I did, indeed, get faster each mile. But, I am still very happy with this result! I did run too fast on the fourth mile, and was on track to finish strong but I got caught up in an event that was held at the Lake, a charity walk, which made darting in and out of people a much slower pace than I had preferred, you can tell that occurred in mile 7. Overall, I did a much better job of controlling my speed/pace, which was the overarching goal for this run. The week ended far better than it started!

Next week, we ramp up again. This time we have a 5, 4 and a 9 mile run! My husband will stay on this schedule, but I have to make some sort of change. I, unfortunately, will be having a colonoscopy on Wednesday. If you have had the pleasure, then you know that fasting is required on the day before, which is our Tuesday, 5 mile run day. I don’t think it would be wise to run on a day where all I have in me are popsicles and jello! I think I will run 5 on Monday and then get back on schedule.

I will let you know next weekend how this all plays out-wish me luck!

April 2017 Half Marathon Training Schedule
This is a blank and printable April Calendar. Courtesy of WinCalendar