A1A Training: November in Review

At the beginning of November, as I started half marathon training, I was so excited to know I'd be writing a month-in-review post. At the beginning of this week, though, that excitement turned to frustration and disappointment.

I'm sick.

I'm the kind of sick that can't be run through. And that means my last week of my first month of training - which was supposed to be a crowning glory week - was a total bust. I am trying to remember two things as I sit down to write this with tissues, tea, and albuterol on hand: as far as motivation, consistency, and follow-through went, this month was perfect. As far as my legs, lungs, and body went, this month was perfect. I couldn't have asked for a better first month of training...so even though this week is a wash, I can look back on November with pride.

I was on track to best my planned mileage, but that didn't end up happening.

As you can see, I started off the first week extending almost every run. I wanted to see what my body could do, and the plan I wrote is very conservative all the way through February. I basically wrote a "just get it done" plan but want to see if I can train on an "actually run this race like a race" plan.

The second week, I followed the weekday plan more closely but still built up mileage for the long run. I was really proud of myself for getting up early and doing these long runs by myself. It's been a long time since I've done that, and I forgot how amazing it makes you feel!

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Today I did my first morning long run of training. 🏃🏻‍♀️ I had forgotten all the perks of morning runs! 1. Waving to other runners who understand what it means to be up this early to run. 2. The slightly lower temp, even if the humidity is still brutal (72/96% when I started today) 3. Being done and having the rest of the day free. (Today is baby shower day!) 4. Proving to myself that I CAN do this and that I WILL do this.

A post shared by Ali (@abk_runs) on Nov 10, 2018 at 6:28am PST

I didn't have a need to play with nutrition on any of my long runs; I brought food with me on my 8-miler but didn't stop to eat it. I was feeling so good, I was afraid to stop and drink/eat! I didn't want to mess up the roll I was on.

Anyway, despite this last week being a bust, I have to be proud of this month. I managed to run even on days I thought I might skip because of volleyball, and I made adjustments as necessary without flaking out. I was also surprised and pleased by how steady I kept my paces on my long runs; I didn't need walk breaks on any of them. It's like my body remembers how to do this distance running thing!

I am so looking forward to feeling better so I can be back on track ASAP. I'm upset that I missed my long run this weekend and I really don't want to miss next weekend's, too.

Planned Distance: 53 miles
Actual Distance: 51 miles

ABK