Hi All! My name is Jen and I am taking over the blog this week. I have been a member of the NewEra team for a month. The NewEra coaches have set me up with a specifically tailored training plan with my goal October marathon in mind. I also want to become a stronger and faster runner.
Just a little about me. I’m Canadian. I live in beautiful Devon. I love cats, gin and donuts. I also love all things running and anything that pushes my body to it’s limit. I’m looking at potentially doing a triathlon in the future, but first I want to successfully run my first marathon!
Anyhow, let’s get this show on the road and dive into last week’s training plan.
Monday – Rest Day
Tuesday – Tempo
1 mile warm up
10 mins @9:30/mile (3 mins recovery) 5 mins @ 9:00/mile (2 mins recovery) 3 mins @ 8:30/mile (2 mins recovery) 2 mins @ 8:30/mile
1 mile cool down
My plan has had a mixture of interval and tempo runs on Tuesdays, which is specifically working on me becoming a faster and stronger runner. Saying that, this is my first tempo run. I’ve enjoyed my interval sessions up until now and enjoyed this tempo session just as much. I know you’re thinking, ‘How can you enjoy THAT?? It looks HARD!’. I like to challenge my body to see what it can do and that is what these runs do for me. And yes, it is hard but it’s so worth it! Plus, I know they are in the plan for a reason and will help me reach my goal.
Wednesday – Gym Session – This gym session was all about upper body strength training. I use mostly free weights and resistance bands and throw in a couple of machines for certain exercises. This session consisted of chest press, bicep curls, shoulder press, seated cable row (with weight machine), 10 x push-ups, 10 x burpees and I finished with a short ab workout. This is a typical upper body workout for me. I also did 8 minutes on the rowing machine, which was hard after my weight workout. My arms were definitely shaking afterwards!
Thursday – Easy 5 Miles – Another incredibly warm run. I usually run in the evenings when it tends to be cooler, but not lately now that summer has arrived. This was supposed to be an easy run but I found myself feeling strong (despite the heat) and a couple of times when I checked my pace, I was running about 9:30/mile. Overall, I did 5 miles in 50:47 with an average pace of 10:09/mile. I celebrated by drinking all the electrolyte drinks and watch Stranger Things Season 3 on Netflix.
Friday – Rest Day – To be honest, I drank a bit too much gin on this rest day. My only excuse for it was that it was Friday, the weather was too nice to be inside and the pub by the river was calling my name. I just couldn’t resist…
Saturday – Gym Session – Lower Body Strength Training – For this session I worked on my lower body. If I want to become a stronger and faster runner, I must strengthen the muscles in my legs. It’s a simple fact. Today I did single leg step ups, forward lunges, jump squats (with resistance band), calf raises, monster walk (with resistance band), clam shells (with resistance band), single leg bridge and a short ab workout. I went on the rowing machine again for about 8 minutes. I’m starting to like this rowing malarkey and might continue adding a couple minutes to each session. It’s good cross training and good for my upper body strength as well.
Sunday – 9 Mile Long Run – For the long run this week, we started out early due to the heat and humidity. When I say ‘we’ I refer to my boyfriend, who joins me on my long runs on his bike. It’s nice to have company and he enjoys it too! The change in routine made my body feel out of sorts. I felt heavy for the first couple of miles. I think this was due to running too soon after eating. After mile 3 though, I found my stride and it was smooth sailing. I stopped for gels at mile 4 and mile 7. I’ve always found that gels every four miles on longer runs works well for me. I finished strong and felt great! To prevent the sluggish and heavy feeling, I must work on my fuelling before my run. Something simple for breakfast, like porridge, may be the answer here. Fuelling properly for my long runs is a continuous learning process!
So that’s a typical training week for me. It’s nothing earth shattering but it works around my schedule and is tailored to my needs. I’m finding that each week I’m getting stronger and just a little bit faster. Small gains are better than no gains at all. I’ve also been enjoying my runs more now that I’m starting to feel stronger. It’s exciting to know that I am seeing progress and have a whole team of people supporting me to reach my potential!
I hope you enjoyed reading this blog entry. If you have and would like to read more of my ramblings about all things running, you can find my blog at allinherstride.wordpress.com. You can also find me on Instagram at @allinherstride! Happy running y’all!
