Hansons Week 7

Due to my race on Saturday, week 7 of training was altered a bit to accommodate additional rest and recovery.

Here was my week 7:

Monday: 4 miles easy  Rest

Tuesday: Speed - 8 X 600m with 1:30 min recovery

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: Tempo - 5 miles

Friday: 4 miles easy Rest

Saturday: 6 miles easy  10 mile race pace

Sunday: 10 miles long  3 miles easy

Adapting the plan:

For me, the speed and tempo runs are the most important runs which is why I chose to focus on completing those runs vs some of the easy miles. Initially I had planned to run the 4 easy miles on Friday, but I woke up with a headache and felt very lethargic, so I chose to use the day to rest and prepare myself for the race. Based upon my previous post regarding the race, I am really glad I used the day for rest and relaxation.

On Sunday I debated whether or not I wanted to run at all. Initially I felt sore from the race, but figured I could go out for a few miles and if I was not feeling well I could turn around and come back home. I ran the 3 miles at a very easy pace and overall felt good despite how hard I had pushed myself the day before. 

Tempo:

Hansons tempo runs are run at marathon goal pace and require you to hold your pace for the entire assigned mileage. Every few weeks of the plan, the distance of the tempo runs increases thereby increasing your endurance to hold that pace. Tempo runs teach your body what pace "feels" like so that you do run too fast or too slow. I am notorious for going out too fast (as most runners are), and tempo runs have helped me start and finish strong by sticking to a pace that I can maintain for many miles. I believe the tempo runs are the most important type of run a runner can do when training for a specific goal time and why these are a necessity for me to complete each week since I do have a target time in mind. Tempo runs also help you determine if your goal is reasonable. If you are unable to hold a specific pace during your tempo runs week after week, then you probably have picked a pace that is too fast for you to maintain for the race. If the pace is very easy and feels overly slow, it is a good sign that you can select a faster pace for yourself.

Tempo runs are exciting for me because I feel like week after week, I head out for a tempo run with a challenge to see if I can hold the pace for the assigned mileage. When I trained for my half with Hansons, I really felt a sense of accomplishment as the miles grew and I could maintain the pace. The half plan peaked at 6 miles for tempo runs, and the marathon plan goes to 10 miles. That seems like a lot now, but I am sure that each week I will get more settled into race pace and that my endurance will increase. Running a race this past weekend reminds me that I am faster than I think, and while I still struggle sometimes with pacing myself, I can push it when it matters.

Fatigue Level:

Other than the days before and after my race, I felt like I had more energy this week than the previous. I blame the sudden increase in overall mileage for how slow and tired I felt the previous week, and now that I am adapting to the plan better I am finding it easier to manage. The extra recovery days this past week also helped and while some may say that I deviated from the plan a lot, I also know that it is important to listen to my body and do what is right for me.

Nutrition:

I upped my carb intake this week in prep for the race and was happy to find that I was adequately fueled for the race and to sustain my mileage for the week. This probably impacted my fatigue level as well, but I felt that it was pretty on point leading up to the race.

Unfortunately I did not recover nutritionally as well as I should have. After the race I attended a party at a family member's campsite, and did not eat as much of or the right foods as I should have to recover and begin to build back what I lost in the race. 

Overall, I think the main theme to this week is listening to your body and knowing what is best for you. While I did stray from the plan, I still focused on the most important aspects of what I needed to prepare for my race. The extra recovery days were well worth it, and ultimately this will help keep me healthy both mentally and physically. I am someone who enjoys having structure and a plan to focus on, however I also believe that being flexible is important. If you are too hard on yourself for missing a workout or substituting with a different form of exercise, then you will never feel very satisfied with your training. The key to training is to be consistent and stick to your plan as much as you can, but building in additional time for flexibility will help keep you sane. It will also help you get to that finish line happy and healthy!

Finish strong!