Yesterday’s run was the first long run in my new half marathon training plan. 6 miles isn’t that long compared to the ten- and twelve-milers that are coming, so there wasn’t much mental build up. I rolled out of bed, laced up, and took off.
But first, I had a pretty great dinner the night before.
Key #1 to a good Saturday morning run: quality carbs on Friday night.
Homemade bean and mushroom burger on a whole wheat bun. Beans, whole grains, and veggies are good carb sources. When I run first thing in the morning, I don’t usually eat first, so I try to make sure that my meal from the night before is full of good fuel.
Plus a side of cauliflower and sweet potatoes, roasted with cumin and nutritional yeast. More good carbs and lots of vitamins.
And beer to drink, which totally counts as quality carbs, as long as you don’t have too much. One is my magic number. In this case, it was Wolaver’s Wildflower Wheat, a summer favorite.
Now back to the run. As I was strapping on my Garmin, I thought about where to run. I didn’t want to run in the park, since I always run there.
Key #2 to a good Saturday run: choose a route you don’t run during the week.
I decided to retrace the route that Daniel, Steff, and I had biked on Thursday. I had never run north along the Hudson before, so this was a new and stimulating little exploration for me.
Once I got to the river, I got the George Washington Bridge in my sights and ran toward it.
The path was pleasant, although I didn’t make it quite as far as the scenic forest we rode through earlier in the week.
Blue skies and views of NJ.
As I got nearer to the bridge, I came across Riverbank State Park, where Steff and I did a speed workout on the track in the spring.
I turned around before reaching the bridge. I’ll save that for a longer long run as my training progresses. But the six miles flew by, thanks to my still pretty unfamiliar route and some great listening material.
Key #3 to a good Saturday run: look forward to your listening.
Whether you prefer the soundtrack of your natural surroundings or you like to create personal running playlists, a long run requires that you engage your senses and mind if you want to keep from getting bored. If I’m on a music kick, I’ll download a few brand new songs before each long run. Most of the time, though, I listen to podcasts while I run. Each podcast is full of brand new information and keeps my mind stimulated. I’m going to do a post soon and list some of my favorites, but on this run I was listening to Jillian Michaels talking about healthy living. Talk about motivating.
With a big downhill at the start and a big uphill at the very end, this run absolutely flew by. 6 miles in 55:23, and my splits looked like this:
Mile 1 — 9:28
Mile 2 — 9:11
Mile 3 — 9:16
Mile 4 — 9:12
Mile 5 — 8:56
Mile 6 — 9:18
Another thing that flew by? The first week of my half marathon training. How did it go?
This is what I scheduled for myself:
And here’s what I actually did:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Total |
| 4 miles | 5 miles tempo | Strength with free weights (planks, pushups, lunges with bicep curls, tricep extensions, chest flies) | 11 mile bike ride | 3 miles easy | 6 miles | Rest and potential bike ride… | 18 miles |
Not too shabby. I surpassed my mileage goals, but I’m not doing as much strength as I’d like, so I know what I need to work on this week. Nice.
Now, for a relaxing Sunday afternoon and perhaps a bike ride… toward ice cream, of course. Love summer.
