Gretch Runs

All of a sudden, it's the halfway point of training!  I can't believe it, but it's been going really well so far.  I've cut back on running miles compared to other cycles, but I've also added a lot more cross training.  I think it's really helping, and I'm feeling stronger than ever! Here's how my week of training went- Monday Rest Day Planned on running and /or going to Beat, but I started feeling really sick when I got home.  A bug was going around at work, so I decided to just get in some extra rest. Tuesday 3 miles Felt much better when I woke up, so after work I headed to the park to run and walk with Selma and Dan!  It was a beautiful, sunny day and the park was filled with dogs.  We stayed mostly on trails, which was great. Wednesday 7 miles Speed workout for the week was 8 x 800 at half marathon pace.  Jessie and I met after work at a local track to get it done.  Our watches were both really off from eachother a...

Happy Monday!  I hope you all had a great weekend, and got to enjoy St Patrick's Day!  I definitely did, and also had a great week of training.  Here's how week four went- only six more weeks of training to go! Monday 1 mile / 9:35 I had a busy day, but Dan and I managed to squeeze in a short run together.  It was windy and cold so neither one of us really wanted to run, but we got it done! Tuesday 7 miles / 8:54 pace Speed work day, a little earlier this week!  In the Kara Goucher plan, this is always one of my love it/hate it workouts.  It's called ice cream sandwich, and the goal is 2 miles at 15 seconds over race pace, 6 hill repeats, then another 2 miles at 15 seconds over race pace.  Since my goal pace is 8:20, I was planning on sticking around 8:35 pace.  Well, that immediately went out the window because I felt GREAT, and the weather was perfect!  My average paces ended up being 8:12 for the first two and 7:53 for ...

Hard to believe, but I'm now three weeks in to training for my next half marathon!  This was one of my most fun and diverse weeks of workouts that I ever had- it definitely wasn't a high mileage week, but I tried out so many different workouts and it was so great!  We also were blessed with some amazing temperatures, and I hope that means spring will be making its debut soon.  Here's how my week went! Monday 5 miles / 9:35 pace Cold run, but the sky looked incredible and there was a bit of sun!  I did a few loops around the pool by my house and got back to my car at around 4.65 miles, so of course I had to keep going to get to 5 of course! Tuesday Rest Day! Wednesday 5 miles / 8:49 pace I worked from home, so I was able to get in my workout during lunch.  The goal for this week's speed work was tempo- 3 miles at 8:40 sandwiched between a warm up and cool down.  It was a really chilly day and I just wanted to finish quickly, so I end...

I might sound like a broken record at this point, but hello from snowy Pittsburgh!  We got another 6 inches of snow last, so it looks like this upcoming week will be interesting in terms of training.  On a plus, last week was a great week and I crushed a few key workouts.  Here's how it went! Monday 3.6 miles / 9:43 Nice  and easy loop around my neighborhood as usual!  It was chilly but sunny out, so it actually felt really nice.  There were a lot of people out enjoying the sun as well. Tuesday Rest Day! I was originally planning on going to Beat Fitness, but Dan sent me a text and said he wanted to hang out.  So, we went to happy hour at BJ's and watched Free Solo instead! Wednesday 5.4 miles / 9:08 pace First official speed workout complete!  I met up with Jessie for the run after work, and Dan even joined us for the warmup.  We did 1 mile warmup, followed by 3x1 mile with a 20 second jog in between miles and a mile coo...

Week one of training is in the books!  Once again we had some crazy weather (huge snow storm, followed by an intense wind storm that left us without power for 10 hours), but I had a pretty good week of workouts.  Here's how it went! Monday 4.5 miles / 9:48 pace Nice and easy loop around my neighborhood.  There was some snow, but there wasn't much wind and it wasn't too cold, so it was actually pretty pleasant.  I ended the run with a few striders. Dirty Dozen The plan that I'm following has a core workout that's supposed to be done on Mondays, so I made sure to do all 12 of the moves right when I got home from my run. Tuesday Beat Fitness / 1 hour Class was pretty intense today, and I left completely sweaty.  The moves we completed were- dumbbell pull-down, kettlebell squats, TRX row, barbell back squat, hip thrusts, bicycle crunch, True From treadmill sprints, wall sits, mountain climbers, and club swings.  It was challenging bu...

Hello everyone from snowy Pittsburgh!  We've gotten a ton this morning- when I woke up there was nothing outside, but by the time I was about to leave for work, it was a complete blizzard!  Now we have a hefty few inches of snow, and it keeps falling. Training for my next half marathon starts this week, and I'm really excited to get back in the training groove.  Last year my entire focus was on completing my first triathlon, so I'm ready to get back to running and chipping away at a new PR. I will be running in the Capital City Half Marathon in Columbus, Ohio in 10 (more like 9.5) short weeks!  There are a few reasons why I picked this race, mostly because it's a flat course, good time of the year, and a few of my friends are also running it.   Plus, the post-race party sounds legit , with beer, pizza, margaritas, and carousal rids at the finish line.  So, I can either celebrate a good race or drink my sorrows away. Either way I win! Once ag...

Preseason is officially over, and my next training cycle starts TODAY!! I had another solid week of workouts, trying out a few new things, and taking a bit of rest when I got hit with a mini cold in the middle of the week.  I'm feeling back to 100% and ready to get running!  Here's how my week went-  Monday Core Workout I decided to start doing some home workouts during the week when I'm not going to a class or doing a run.  This workout was SO HARD and from the beginning my abs were on fire.  2 mile walk I took Selma for a walk around the park on a chilly, rainy day.  It wasn't ideal, but we had fun and it was still great to get fresh air! Tuesday 4.1 miles It was another cold and rainy day (one of those days where the temperature is right on the brink of turning the precipitation from rain to snow), so I wasn't really looking forward to the run.  I decided to just go out for an easy one or two miler, but of course on...