Gretch Runs

Hi everyone!  I had a great and busy weekend away from home, which means that it interrupted my training a bit.  Sometimes that's all you need to feel inspired to work hard again, and some time with family is always good.  We went to visit Dan's family for his grandpa's birthday, and it was such a great trip.  We had a lot of fun, but now it's back to reality.  Here's a look at how my week of training went: Monday Rest Day! I did my arm workout, and didn't run. Tuesday 3 miles / 9:34 pace I went on a run before work, and felt so sore when I started.  I took the first mile nice and easy, and started to feel a lot better.  It was so nice out in the morning, and it's crazy to me how light out it is by 6AM.  Crazy to think that I used to run in the dark all the time and now I need sunglasses!  I ran around Point State Park, which was getting ready for Arts Fest. Wednesday Rest Day! I did my leg workout, and didn't run...

Compared to last week, this one was amazing!  Everything felt good again, and I was excited to get out for my runs.  It's still hot and sunny out, but I can already tell that my body is getting used to it.  Here's a look at how my week of training went: Monday 3 miles / 10:00 pace Started off the week with a doozy- it was raining outside so I decided to run on the treadmill at my gym for an easy 3 miles.  When I got there, the building was being evacuated because of a fire alarm going off in a restaurant that's connected to the gym.  I eventually got in, but the alarms went off for my entire run.  Not exactly the best Monday ever, but I got my run in and felt really good! Tuesday Strength training- arms Wednesday 3 miles / untimed According to my training plan, I was supposed to have a speed workout today.  I got home from work, not really looking forward to it, when Dan asked if I wanted to go for a run with him and Sel...

I'm just going to warn you all today- this week sucked.  It happens to me every year and I've come to expect it- the first hot and humid week of the season is always so hard.  I feel sluggish and slow, and running a mile feels like I'm finishing a marathon!  Luckily this was a "step-down" week in my 5 miler training plan, so there weren't too many miles on my schedule.  I hope that forcing myself outside on hot days (and waiting until later in the day to run) helps me adapt to the hot weather faster!  Here's hoping to feeling better in the coming months! Monday 3 miles / 9:28 pace I went on an easy run around North Park, and then met up with Dan and Selma at the dog park.  Nice easy way to start the week! Tuesday Rest Day! No running, but I did my arm workout for the day.  I also went to Tuesday Trivia, and didn't win again!  It's still fun, so always worth it :) Wednesday 3.5 miles / 8:16 pace I had 400 meter repeats on...

This summer I'm planning on focusing on getting stronger and training for shorter distance.  For the past few years, I've been training solely for longer races (10 milers, half marathons and full marathons), and have sprinkled in some shorter races as part of training.  I really miss running these shorter distances, so I decided to spend the summer working on my speed and getting stronger! My first goal race is the Butler 5 Miler at the end of June.  I ran this race last year and really liked it, but ended up having a bad race.  It's about a month and a half away, which gives me the perfect amount of time to train.  I'm going to be loosely following Hal Higdon's 8k advanced plan but replacing some of the runs with strength sessions. My training will follow this schedule: Monday  - 3 mile easy run with an arm workout Tuesday  - short speed workout (alternating 400 repeats and a tempo run) Wednesday - no running, but a leg workout Thursday ...

This week I got back to training, and I could not be more excited.  I talked about how much I enjoyed training this entire year to get ready for the Gettysburg Marathon, so I was really looking forward to jumping right back in.  I'm going to be focusing on shorter distances for a while, and trying to get some speed back in my legs!  I'll share more about my plan and what races I'll be doing later this week, but here's a look at what my week of training looked like. Monday Rest day! No running, but lots of yard work!  Sometimes I think that's just as much of a workout as actually going to the gym or out for a run... Tuesday 3 miles / 9:39 pace First run of my new training cycle!  Just an easy 3 miles before work.  I felt a little sore from the yard work but otherwise felt great. Wednesday Rest day! Another day of no running, but I did an arm workout.  I'll be sharing the routine that I came up with (along with my en...