Looking ahead to this weekend’s Lost Trail Half Marathon. I think it’s the same course as the Fleet Feet Half Marathon I did back in 2011. I considered today a critical workout in preparation for the race because:
- It’s now been more than a week since last weekend’s Escape from Folsom 10 miler. I should be fully recovered. (I should have been fully recovered by Wednesday. I’m just being precautious with my knee and ramping up the mileage.)
- I did a solid run on Saturday and took yesterday as an off-day so I’d be rested to push hard today if I wanted. (Saturday’s run was a “Every Mile Faster” seven-miler. I did the first two miles @ 8:15 pace, then mile 3 @ 8:00, mile 4 @ 7:50, mile 5 @ 7:40, mile 6 @ 7:30, then back to 7:50 pace for mile 7.)
- The rest of the week is super-busy with work, so this was my one day to push myself plus have time to rest up for the race.
- This workout would give me confidence going into the rest of the week in preparation for Saturday, and motivation to eat right, find rest, and put together a CrossFit workout on Wednesday or Thursday.
Warmup: 1/2 mile slow jog (treadmill)
Timed workout (15 minutes): 100 pushups | 100 candlesticks | 100 weighted squats with 25 lb dumbell
- Set #1: 40 pushups, 50 candlesticks, 40 squats
- Set #2: 20 pushups, 50 candlesticks, 30 squats
- Set #3: 40 pushups, 30 squats
Then a 3-mile outdoor run. It was a little chilly and I was glad to have packed my jacket, winter cap, and running gloves. After running through side streets next to office buildings and hotels, I crossed a main road and found a nice route through a residential area. It meandered for about two miles with a few slight inclines and declines before delivering me to a main artery. I could see the tops of the aforementioned tall buildings and headed back up a long slow incline.
Then a 3-mile indoor run:
- 1 mile @ 10:00 pace with 5% grade
- 1 mile @ 9:00 pace with 5% grade
- 1 mile @ 8:00 pace with 2.5% grade
I felt really, really good on the treadmill. While not quite in full-scale endurance machine shape, I felt strong enough that I could have done another 2-3 miles on the treadmill. After the CrossFit workout earlier, I’m strong enough to tackle Saturday’s half marathon.
Post-workout snack: The hotel didn’t have much in the way of food, so I took about 8-9 hardboiled eggs. 🙂
