As I wrote about last week, I’m taking a couple of weeks to cut back on running and prepare to build back up to training for a marathon again this fall. To prove that I’m keeping true to my word, I’ll share my workouts from the last few weeks (the last time I did a recap was June 21st.)
Week of June 22-June 28
Sunday 6/22: 60 Minutes Waterfront Yoga at the Inner Harbor
Monday 6/23: 5.6 miles, easy (8:36 pace), PM- Body Pump
Tuesday 6/24: 6 miles, easy (9:02 pace)
Wednesday 6/25: 3.12 miles easy (9:12 pace), Body Pump, CX Works
Thursday 6/26: 5.76 miles in Boston (8:48 pace)
Friday 6/27: ~8 miles in Cape Cod (no garmin)
Saturday 6/28: 3.2 miles in Cape Cod (8:22 pace)
Total: 32.06
Week of June 29-July 5
Sunday June 29: Rest
Monday June 30: Rest
Tuesday July 1: 4.11 miles (8:37 pace)
Wednesday July 2: Elliptical, Body Pump, CX Works, PM-Yoga
Thursday July 3: 3.2 miles (8:17 pace)
Friday July 4: 5.4 miles easy (8:58 pace)
Saturday July 5: Rest
Total: 12.71
That’s right, I only ran 13 miles last week. I took 3 complete rest days (Sunday, when I was in the RRCA course all day, Monday, traveling back from Boston, and Saturday, because I had a race the following day).
I think the hardest part about cutting back is dealing with the feelings of “I should…”. Typically society is trying to motivate us to work out more, not to rest more, so it takes a lot of mental shifting to realize that its ok to do less sometimes and that it can be beneficial for long term goals.
I wasn’t exactly trying to get my mileage quite so low, but the nice part was I didn’t think about it and that was just how it worked out. I would expect it to be a little higher this week but probably no more than 20 miles.
I am also using some of this time of running less to tweak my eating a bit to see what will work best for me when I start training again. I recently read “The Paleo Diet for Athletes” and just finished “It Starts With Food” (The Whole30). I really like many of the concepts of Paleo which I had started incorporating into my diet- specifically trying to cut back on sugar. I wouldn’t do The Whole30 any time soon for a variety of reasons (maybe I’ll share in another post) but I do like making gradual changes to see how they affect me.
Eggs, nitrate-free bacon, spinach, plantains
How has your running been lately?
Have you read about Paleo/Whole30?
Has anyone tried The Whole30?
It’s nice to take a break every once in a while, don’t you think? And I love that your EASY runs are in the 8 min/mi range…you go girl! As for Paleo and the Whole 30, I have thought about trying them, but am worried about my running during marathon training and not having the energy from lack of carbs. Would love to hear why you won’t do the Whole 30 again!
As you can probably tell from my blog name I have a lot of stuff for paleo/running and share my experience with shifting to paleo while training on my blog extensively, if you have any interest 🙂
You are my #1 go-to resource on Paleo:) Part of my concern is that I won’t have enough foods to eat if I eliminated everything they recommend- but I love seeing your recipes that help me find more foods that I can try!
I will definitely check it out Michele!
A break is definitely nice…physically and mentally!
I also worry about not having enough carbs while training. I never tried the Whole30, but at this point I don’t feel the need to eliminate ALL the foods they recommend (I am cutting back but not eliminating dairy, legumes, and sugar) but I do love the concept of eating natural food including lots of fruits and veggies!
I’m totally with you. I’m not ready OR willing to eliminate dairy and or all sugars. Honestly, Life is too short if you ask me to restrict so much. I too try to eat as many REAL foods as I can and avoid processed foods as much as humanly possible!
Running lately has been good, I’d like to keep that up please and thank you. I haven’t done paleo or any of that, but I know that certain diets that are lower in carb and higher in those types of protein are great for some people. I think that the best part of paleo or any diet is the focus on lessening your intake of processed nonsense (which I am fully guilty of) and increasing real whole foods while also getting a better distribution of macros throughout the day
That’s exactly the part that I am trying to focus on- less processed food, less added sugar, more fruits, veggies and natural foods. I worry that I won’t eat enough if I cut out everything they recommend since I typically eat alot of grains while marathon training. As I find more natural foods that I like I may eat less of that stuff but since i don’t have any issues/side effects I figure I’ll just slowly make some changes.
Glad your running has been going welly lately- hope it continues!
Are you feeling freshing since slowing down the training? It’s hard for me to tell with the weather, but I think I’m feeling stronger than I was 2 weeks ago, plus that hip thing that was bothering me seems to be MIA which is nice. I am also struggling with the “should” a little so it’s good to read about what you’re doing for some validation that I’m on the right track!
*fresher not freshing!
Yes and no- I feel like when I run now my “easy” pace is faster than it was when I was training more often (even with the heat), but I don’t have that “fresh legs” feeling that I think I was expecting. I almost feel like I’m tapering and (maybe) will suddenly feel ready to run after another week or so (wishful thinking.) But yes I think the weather plays a big part in the struggle right now but I’m trying to just get mentally ready to deal with it!
Breaks really do us a lot of good in the long haul. I agree, though, it is hard to fight those inner nagging feelings to get out there, almost a compulsion and guilt. I really like how you list your paces. I need to work on really going easy on my easy days. I think it is that same feeling of guilt about taking time off. Like going easy is bad, but it isn’t!
Exactly! And I think blogging about it can be good and bad…on the one hand it holds you accountable (if you say you are gonna take a break, you should probably take a break!) but on the other hand you feel like as a running blogger you should always be running more and running faster!