Base Building Week 8
Happy 2017! I made it through the final week of the Hansons 8 Week Base Building Maintenance plan and it coincided with the start of a brand new year.
Much like Week 7, the holidays and traveling interfered with some of my runs, but I closed out the final week feeling proud of what I accomplished. Here was what week 8 looked like:
Monday: 4 miles easy
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 4 mile progression run with 1 mile warm up/cool down
Thursday: 6 miles easy
Friday: 5 miles easy, 20 min abbreviated Iron Strength workout
Saturday: 8 miles long
Sunday: 4 miles easy
Total Miles: 29.49
Two more important statistics:
December mileage: 124.55
2016 mileage: 1,306.19
Monday's easy run took place at my family's house in PA, and it was a beautiful 58 degrees outside. It felt so nice to run in shorts and it was the first run I completed outside without snow or ice in weeks!
Returning to IL, I was happy to find that most of the snow had melted and I was able to complete my last progression run of the plan unencumbered. I rocked this run and it was a great way to close out the 8 weeks.
Saturday was New Year's Eve and I completed my long run then instead of on Sunday. I was scheduled to do 10, but I was feeling so poorly from a night out on Friday and I had skipped the week 7 long run, so I thought it best not to rush back up to higher mileage. It felt good to take in a run on the trails as my final run of 2016.
I had already recapped my favorite moments of 2016 here, but looking back over the year and my total mileage, I am really proud of what I accomplished. Even though I completed only 3 races this year, I achieved new personal records in all of the distances - 10 mile, 13.1, and 26.2. I stayed injury free, and raised over $1,700 for Team PAWS. I met and ran with some new friends and sought out new and interesting races. I am still putting some thought into my 2017 races, but I am excited to see where this year takes me.
All in all, the Hansons 8 Week Maintenance plan was fantastic. It gave me something to follow the past few weeks and keep me motivated through the holidays. With a race coming up in a few weeks, I am glad I could capitalize on my marathon fitness and only really need to put in a few more longer runs before the race. I enjoyed the different types of SOS workouts - the fartlek and progression runs. The fartlek runs really pushed me outside my comfort zone and the progression runs helped me learn how to better pace myself from the start of a run. To think that in 2015 I did no speed or tempo runs of any kind and 2016 was full of runs that helped me gain speed and learn better pacing. I honestly feel like a better, stronger runner and I encourage anyone looking to build up mileage safely or maintain fitness to find a base building plan to follow in the winter months leading up to spring races.
2016 was also the first year of blogging for me and while I am still growing my fan base, I want to thank everyone who stops by to follow my journey and provide support!
Much like Week 7, the holidays and traveling interfered with some of my runs, but I closed out the final week feeling proud of what I accomplished. Here was what week 8 looked like:
Monday: 4 miles easy
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 4 mile progression run with 1 mile warm up/cool down
Thursday: 6 miles easy
Friday: 5 miles easy, 20 min abbreviated Iron Strength workout
Saturday: 8 miles long
Sunday: 4 miles easy
Total Miles: 29.49
Two more important statistics:
December mileage: 124.55
2016 mileage: 1,306.19
Monday's easy run took place at my family's house in PA, and it was a beautiful 58 degrees outside. It felt so nice to run in shorts and it was the first run I completed outside without snow or ice in weeks!
 |
| Shorts and no snow! |
Saturday was New Year's Eve and I completed my long run then instead of on Sunday. I was scheduled to do 10, but I was feeling so poorly from a night out on Friday and I had skipped the week 7 long run, so I thought it best not to rush back up to higher mileage. It felt good to take in a run on the trails as my final run of 2016.
 |
| Here's to many runs in 2017! |
All in all, the Hansons 8 Week Maintenance plan was fantastic. It gave me something to follow the past few weeks and keep me motivated through the holidays. With a race coming up in a few weeks, I am glad I could capitalize on my marathon fitness and only really need to put in a few more longer runs before the race. I enjoyed the different types of SOS workouts - the fartlek and progression runs. The fartlek runs really pushed me outside my comfort zone and the progression runs helped me learn how to better pace myself from the start of a run. To think that in 2015 I did no speed or tempo runs of any kind and 2016 was full of runs that helped me gain speed and learn better pacing. I honestly feel like a better, stronger runner and I encourage anyone looking to build up mileage safely or maintain fitness to find a base building plan to follow in the winter months leading up to spring races.
2016 was also the first year of blogging for me and while I am still growing my fan base, I want to thank everyone who stops by to follow my journey and provide support!
Comments
Post a Comment