We're all out there chasing our better selves (FredtheDuck chases on)

Just a quick update to say that I've been in contact with Coach. I think we're going to switch me to five days a week running for the next plan. The only way I can get my runs in routinely during the week is to run in the morning, but I only have an hour to give to it (I'm at work at 7:30 AM and have an hour commute... I know some people can do it, but getting up BEFORE 5:00 AM to run was a jump I'm not ready to make yet). I want to continue to improve and build fitness and endurance, so it seemed like maybe upping days was a logical next step. We'll see how I feel about it when the plan actually starts...

The plan right now is for me to do 4 weekdays (prob M T Th F) and get my LR in on Saturday before my kiddo has her gymnastics class. Saturday is my day to "sleep in," so that goes out the window, but whatever, that's how it'll have to work. My husband, who is also a DB runner, is sticking with 4x/week because that's what his new work schedule can accommodate, and will do his LRs on Sunday (So he'll run something like W, F, Sa, Su).

A couple of random thoughts about this:
- Maybe running 4x weekdays will be better on my schedule because I'll basically just get up at 5:00 every day during the week (thinking that one weekday rest day will be yoga). More consistency in schedule then, including in what time I go to sleep.
- I think @MoanasPapa was smart to be realistic with his schedule and not push to do 5x/week just because I am. He has more time on Fri (he teleworks that day, so no commute time) so the only day he'll have a strict time limit is his W run.
- As much as I love running with @MoanasPapa, I'm glad we're splitting up for LRs. Why? Because he's faster than me, and when we run together he runs at my slower pace. He's never made me feel like I was holding him back, but in my mind I always felt a little bad. This will give him the chance to perform to his potential.
- I'm glad we have a treadmill now. I'm still having such trouble with my breathing in the colder temps... I don't think adding another day would have been something I'd be willing to consider until temps during my running times got back into the high 30s.
- I am a little worried about having only one rest day after my LRs. I'm generally OK at hitting my LR paces, I'll just have to make sure I'm extra good about hitting the pace the first day back after the LR.
- I'm grateful to DB for being willing to write two divergent plans for us now that we're moving away from training together.
 
Good call with the 5x/week. I had the same thing when I was in school ... sometimes you just don't have time for a longer run in the mornings. I really like the idea of doing yoga on your non-run weekday to keep the consistent wake up time!
 
I fully support your decision to sleep until 5 am. I generally get up for work at 5:45 and that's my limit. I applaud anyone who can wake up earlier than needed to work out.
 
I fully support your decision to sleep until 5 am. I generally get up for work at 5:45 and that's my limit. I applaud anyone who can wake up earlier than needed to work out.

Same here! I was successful in getting up early and running before work twice in the past year. Sleep always wins for me.
 


Good call with the 5x/week. I had the same thing when I was in school ... sometimes you just don't have time for a longer run in the mornings. I really like the idea of doing yoga on your non-run weekday to keep the consistent wake up time!

Thanks! I'm interested to see how the 5x works out, and am tired just thinking about it. I got the plan last night (will make a separate post about it in a few) and am both intimidated and excited. I'm pretty sure that's exactly the way I should feel. Also, we'll see how good I am about that yoga... I can definitely see it alternating between "need sleep" and "need to stretch."

I fully support your decision to sleep until 5 am. I generally get up for work at 5:45 and that's my limit. I applaud anyone who can wake up earlier than needed to work out.

I wish I could say it was easy for me, but that's a lie. The 5 AM alarm just seems rude. And, you should have seen the look my husband gave me last night when he realized I'd now be getting up at 5 every weekday. I try to be super quiet, but he's less than excited about it.

Same here! I was successful in getting up early and running before work twice in the past year. Sleep always wins for me.

Pre-kiddo it was the same for me. Now it's the only time I have to get a solid run in (I can't run after dinner - my stomach can't handle it), so it's either before work or nothing.
 
I fully support your decision to sleep until 5 am. I generally get up for work at 5:45 and that's my limit. I applaud anyone who can wake up earlier than needed to work out.
My alarm on weekdays for my morning runs is 4:45am. It's the worst. But it's the only time I have to get my run in.
 
Hey look! A new running plan!

So, it turns out my training for the next half marathon starts... THIS WEEK!

Coach DB got us our plans last night. I was tired even looking at it. This one is gonna be a challenge. But it has some fun new stuff in it (Daniels T paces! Progression runs! LRs that use tempo speeds!) that should give me some new things to try (and to conquer, I hope).

So I've got 18 weeks before Cleveland on 5/20. I jump right in this Friday with an 8x400 speed workout with a new pace: SPEED... which is 9:39. GASP. Paces in the single digits?! Me?! Then I've got a 4.5 EB Saturday and a 5 mile LR Sunday.

My basic schedule will be:
M - EA
T - EB
W - Off
Th - SPEED
F - EB
Sa - LR
Su - OFF

Although that gets changed around (especially in the second half of the plan) to include progressions and tempo runs. My max distance this cycle will be 11 miles (I maxed at 10 for my first HM). I'll run just shy of 475 miles (including the HM race itself) this cycle.

My paces are staying the same for now, with the addition of a couple of new ones:

WU/CD: 13:50
EA: 13:02
EB: 12:11
LR: 11:47
Tempo: 10:58
Strength: 10:48
SPEED: 9:39
Daniels T: 10:11

At this point, I have only one race besides my A race on the calendar, which is a local 5k we like to run that's hitting its 10th anniversary. Since it's only 2 weeks before the half, we'll treat it as a training run, so neither of us will race it.

As of today, my DB-predicted HM finish is 2:18:12. One of my 2018 goals was to finish +/- 5 minutes of that time. That would represent a fairly big PR, and will take hard work and consistency on my end to get there. I want to do it, so I will. Here we go.
 


You've got this! :thumbsup2

Thanks, Coach!

First run of the new cycle is in the books. I ended up doing it on the treadmill because it was in the 20s and there's still ice on the ground from a storm earlier this week (plus I didn't want to flare the lungs up again). I actually was a little nervous about this one leading in to it, and ended up waking up like an hour earlier than I needed to, then having trouble getting back to sleep. But it went well! I was able to hit the SPEED pace on the treadmill comfortably (meaning, it was tough, but I didn't feel out of control). What I'm really proud of, though, is that I did run those quarter mile resting intervals. Every one of them. I always feel the need to walk a bit after a speed interval, but this time, I felt ok to run every one of them. I did kinda wish that they were the old "45 sec RI" because a quarter mile took SO MUCH LONGER, but I figured the extra time to catch my breath was probably helping me hit the pace on the speed intervals without struggling too much. Plus I was happy to get some distance in. So that's advancement right there.

Hey, @DopeyBadger, I should have realized this sooner, but I think there's an error in my week one. There's a day off on a phantom day. So it reads that today was speed, tomorrow (Saturday) is EB, Sunday is LR, and then "OFF" with no day next to it, and then it picks back up with week 2 on Monday. I suspect that I was probably supposed to do speed yesterday, EB today, LR tomorrow, but that ship has now sailed because I didn't notice the potential misalignment. What should I do? I'm happy to just run as written, but wouldn't have a day off until Wednesday and I'm not sure whether you want that.
 
Hey, @DopeyBadger, I should have realized this sooner, but I think there's an error in my week one. There's a day off on a phantom day. So it reads that today was speed, tomorrow (Saturday) is EB, Sunday is LR, and then "OFF" with no day next to it, and then it picks back up with week 2 on Monday. I suspect that I was probably supposed to do speed yesterday, EB today, LR tomorrow, but that ship has now sailed because I didn't notice the potential misalignment. What should I do? I'm happy to just run as written, but wouldn't have a day off until Wednesday and I'm not sure whether you want that.

Got me there, thanks for finding it. Looks like it was suppose to start on Thurs to Sunday. Just delete the long run of 5 miles and keep Sunday off.
 
Monday Training Update (Week 1): Week Ending 1/21

This was the plan for the week:

F - .5 @ WU, 8x400 @ SPEED w/ .25 mi RI @ WU, .5 @ CD
S - 4.5 @ EB

So I went in to the week with the plan to just do maintenance runs to keep up while DB worked on my training plan. So I did that on Tuesday (just a few miles on the treadmill), and then got my new training plan mid-week!

The speed workout was tough but definitely not unsustainable, even on the treadmill (still ice on the ground, so that was done indoors). Like I said last week, the thing I was happy about with this run is that I did run all of the RIs... normally I just walk for like 30 seconds and then get back to running, and my previous attempt to run all of the RIs wasn't the most successful. I think the key is actually the longer RIs, which seemed counterintuitive to me at first, but it makes sense: My RIs are slow enough that my heart rate does have time to go now, and .25 miles is just long enough that I start to get bored and am looking forward to breaking it up with a speed burst.

I dutifully got up early on Saturday to get my 4.5 in before we had to get up and out for kiddo's gymnastics class. It was 20*, so that was on the treadmill, too. @MoanasPapa and kiddo came and hung out in the basement for the first mile or so of my run, and she was tickled by the fact that I was running but inside. Then she got bored so they went back upstairs. It was a nice distraction, and when they left I tucked in to an episode of Fixer Upper, which made the rest of the run go fairly quickly.

Just like that, I'm already in week 2. This is my first cycle with Monday running, and I was glad it was a short run because it meant I got to hit snooze one time. It was more of a moral victory than a physical one, but that's ok. Happily, it was 48* this morning, so I got to run outside! I'm hoping for more of that this week (especially Thursday so I can do my speed workout at the track instead of on the 'mill), it was glorious to be back outside.
 
Monday Training Update (Week 2): Week Ending 1/28

M - 3 @ EA
Tu - 4 @ EB + strides
Th - 1 @ WU, 4x800 @ SPEED w/ .25 mi RI @ WU, 1 @ CD
F - 4.5 @ EB + strides
S - 5 @ LR

So this was my first full week at 5 days a week. For the most part, it's been fine, but I definitely had a little less pep in my step during my LR on Saturday. I know enough about the process now not to worry about how that bodes for longer runs later in the plan... my endurance will (hopefully) get to where it needs to be.

Monday's run was outdoors, which was nice. I've been grateful for the treadmill, but those outdoor runs really take a lot less mental effort.

We had winter weather on Tuesday, so that one was on the treadmill. I've come to enjoy my "one paced" runs on the treadmill because I can zone out with a show (Fixer Upper lately), since I'm not messing with speeds the way I do for a speed workout.

Which brings me to Thursday's speed workout. I don't know why I get so anxious about these, but I do. Sometimes I'll wake up early in the morning and have trouble getting back to sleep because I am thinking of how I'm going to tackle the run. Unfortunately, it was in the low 20s when I got up for this run. Despite the fact that I really prefer to do my speed workouts at the track, I couldn't justify the potential bronchospasming that would likely come with it in cold weather. So treadmill it was. I felt strong with each speed interval, and was glad that I didn't feel a huge fade during the last one. I also ran all the RIs (no more walking those). The 1 mile CD is tougher mentally for me when I'm on the treadmill. When I'm at the track, I know that I still have to get home, and that lots of that route is down hill (put another way, my hardest running of the day is done). I don't have that luxury on the TM, so I definitely had to convince myself that I really did need to get that full mile in.

Friday's EB was uneventful and was on the treadmill again. I felt a little tightness in my right calf, but it subsided at about a mile.

My Saturday LR was outside. Kiddo asked if she could come, so @MoanasPapa loaded her up on the bike and off we went. However, they detoured to a park to play, and that left me with a little more than four solo miles to do. Normally fine, except I left my headphones at home because I thought I'd have company. So, just me and my thoughts. My pacing was a total mess this run, and I was way off what I was supposed to be aiming for (my LR is supposed to be 11:47/mi, I did this at 11:00/mi). The effort felt fine, but I need to focus on that a little more. I think some of it is because I never really "zoned out" and got in to a steady running groove (which also made it seem like I was working more than I normally feel like on such a short LR). But I think a lot of it is because I've been on the TM so much lately. The effort and my perception of it just isn't the same.

My run today was off-pace, too, this time to the slow side. It was also outside. So, here's hoping that I can get outside more and get my sense of effort back soon. Tomorrow's not looking good, though - snow in the forecast.
 
HEY! I'm also doing a 5-day a week plan. EEK!! Hoping I can keep up with it.

Loving that single digit speed work though.

You got this!
 
HEY! I'm also doing a 5-day a week plan. EEK!! Hoping I can keep up with it.

I bet you can. The key is going to be how much you want to. At least, I think that'll be key for me. When I did my first DB plan, I was TERRIFIED that I wasn't going to finish my first half, so that gave me motivation to really stick to that plan as much as possible. My "interim" plan this winter didn't culminate in a race, and I let life get in the way more than I probably could have. For this third DB plan, I have a race with a goal, but it's not exactly a stretch goal. So I'm hoping that my appreciation of the work DB has put into helping me better myself is enough to keep me on track. I certainly never thought I'd be grateful to "sleep in" until 6:30 yesterday (my off day), but here we are.

I suppose for me another motivating factor for me is that I can see the improvement in how I look and feel compared to this time last year (I don't cringe at most pictures now :)). But I also like beer. So I'm kind of thinking that if I run, then I can keep drinking beer without worrying about getting too out of shape again. So that's some incentive for me personally :drinking1

Single digit speed work is :scared1:, but I know enough about how Billy's plans work now to trust the process, even if I doubt myself in the beginning.

I'm so excited that you guys are on a DB plan now! I'm really looking forward to seeing how you settle in to it and where you go as a result of it!
 
I really like that you understand the plan and that you can acknowledge that while your endurance isn't 100% there yet, it will get better as you follow the plan. That's an amazing amount of perceptiveness and understanding (those are probably entirely the wrong words) and I'm really impressed!
 
Sometimes I'll wake up early in the morning and have trouble getting back to sleep because I am thinking of how I'm going to tackle the run.

This happens to me sometimes too!

But I also like beer. So I'm kind of thinking that if I run, then I can keep drinking beer without worrying about getting too out of shape again. So that's some incentive for me personally :drinking1

I can so relate. Cheers! :drinking1
 
Monday Training Update (Week 3): Week Ending 2/4

M - 3 @ EA
Tu - 4 @ EB + strides
Th - 1 @ WU, 3x1200 @ SPEED w/ .25 mi RI @ WU, 1 @ CD
F - 4.5 @ EB + strides
S - 6 @ LR

I'm super behind on everything board related, but did want to put this here for longevity. My runs were mostly uneventful this week. Monday's run was the only one that was outdoors, and I had some random pacing issues (rare that my pace is slower than called for). I say random because every time I looked down at my watch, I was well above scheduled pace and had to keep forcing myself to slow down. But when I finished, I was slower overall than scheduled. I don't know why. I felt totally fine. Maybe just too much time on the treadmill? But, my long run two days earlier was also outside and was fine from a pacing perspective. So... :confused3

Anyhow, Tuesday was back to the 'mill and was fine. Wednesday's speed was intimidating, as always, but was also pretty comfortable once I got into gear. Thursday's run got cut short (GI issues... I'll leave it at that), so I felt cruddy about that, but I tried my best to knuckle through and had to throw in the towel.

My Saturday 6 was on the treadmill. My kiddo came down while I was on there... "Mama, you runnin'? You runnin' mama? My mommy's running!" which is super adorable. The only thing besides her visit that sticks out is a quote I read on the main thread recently (maybe from BalooinMI? I don't remember.) that said "The first mile is a liar." I was feeling that statement SO MUCH during this run. I did not feel like getting on the treadmill. My legs were tired. I was tired. I felt clunky that first mile, and like the whole run was going to be unenjoyable. But I settled in, and by mile 3 I was feeling awesome. Happy to be running, happy I had a decent-but-comfortable run in terms of distance that day. It was funny because I was watching a Fixer Upper and it was one of those ones where she commissions Jimmy Don to make a sign, and I was wondering if I could commission a sign to put up over my treadmill space that says "The first mile is a liar." Maybe someday I will.
 
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The first mile is a liar is a great saying. Great training week and really glad you had a good 6 miler on there.

I wonder how much Jimmy Don charges. :D
 
Monday Tuesday Training Update (Week 4): Week Ending 2/11

M - 3 @ EA
Tu - 4 @ EB + strides
Th - 1 @ WU, LADDER (400, 800, 400, 800, 400, 800, 400) w/ .25 mi RI @ WU, 1 @ CD
F - 4.5 @ EB + strides
S - 6 @ LR

I've come to be really thankful for my Monday runs because they take the least time of any of my runs, and because they're nice and easy miles when my body is tired. Speaking of which, this five days a week running is definitely tiring. I'm sure it's a good tired. But even just adding a few extra miles a week and getting rid of two back-to-back rest days has made a big difference in how I feel physically.

My Tuesday and Friday runs were uneventful and on the treadmill, so I'll just focus on the other two:

My Thursday speed workout was actually a bit longer than it was supposed to be. I got about a third of the way through the ladder and started doing mental math in my head about how much time I had left, and realized I was going to have to cut the run short in order to get to work on time. But that didn't make any sense, because Billy is really good about sticking within a few minutes of my hour-long window. So I went back and checked my schedule, and while the text said to do a mile of warm up and a mile cool down, the numbers (and the total) had only .5 miles for each. That made me feel better, because I had already decided I was going to finish the intervals and cut the cool down short, but I hate not meeting my mileage goals. So it was fun to know I would not only not be short, but I was actually going to end long.

Saturday was almost a non-starter. I did my Friday run on the treadmill in the midafternoon (I was working from home because we had contractors coming in to tell us that we need a new roof... now). Since I was home, I did a short cool down and took my shoes off, and continued walking around my house barefoot. I think that's not a good idea for me (walking barefoot after a run). By the time evening rolled around, my ankle was really hurting. I figured it was nothing super serious because I hadn't had an acute incident (like a twist or a slip). I told myself when I went to bed that if it still hurt in the morning, I'd reschedule the run. Well, it still hurt. But then after a while it felt more manageable.

We ended up deciding that @MoanasPapa would take our kiddo to gymnastics, and during her class I would run from the gymnastics facility to the place we like to go to lunch after. Turned out to be almost exactly six miles. It was great to run outside, even though it was POURING rain for some of the run and there were a couple of tougher hills. And the timing was perfect... I actually beat them there by a few minutes and had time to go to the coffee shop to get a spiced chai latte with almond milk.

This week will be a little more challenging scheduling-wise. I'm on a cross-country flight tomorrow, then back on a plane on Saturday afternoon. Hey @DopeyBadger, do you think it would be OK for me to do my speed workout tomorrow morning instead of Thursday? If I'm going to be sitting on a plane for five hours tomorrow, it might be nice to have worn myself out with a run beforehand. Then I don't need to worry about finding flat ground in SF to do it, too.
 

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