Category: Training

Winter of 2020 - Week 1 Banner

Winter of 2020 – Week 1

After a week of down-time, I started my winter training cycle! My goal is just to be fitter by spring so I can properly train for the 2021 London Marathon next fall. However, I was so focused on house-hunting that the first workout caught me by surprise.

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My Winter 2020 Training Plan Banner

My Winter 2020 Training Plan

Over the summer, I worked the half marathon plan in Daniel’s Running Formula so I could develop some speed. Then, I I took August off and started a 12-week training cycle in September with a focus on running long again. One of my goals was to run a 15-miler by the end of the cycle and I achieved that in October. Along the way, I averaged about 50-60 miles per week. I ended the training cycle in November by running the 2020 Alexandria Virtual Turkey Trot downtown around the Tidal Basin and Hains Point.

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Fall of 2020 - Week 12 Banner

Fall of 2020 – Week 12

After a fantastic long run on Sunday, I did a mini-taper before running the Alexandria (Virtual) Turkey Trot on Thursday. My course was a 5-mile loop around the Tidal Basin and Hains Point. Next up: a recovery week before training for an undetermined spring marathon.

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Fall of 2020 - Week 11 Banner

Fall of 2020 – Week 11

This would be my last hard week of training because I decided to run the 2020 Alexandria (Virtual) Turkey Trot next week. But, it was still a stressful week because my boyfriend and I put a contract on a house! Ultimately, we didn’t get it, though, and by Thursday I was relieved to run off some of the anxiety!

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Fall of 2020 - Week 10 Banner

Fall of 2020 – Week 10

n Sunday, I completed a 16-mile run that included a stop at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. My Yasso 800 workout was slow and my medium run was cut short but considering it was roughly a year ago that started high blood pressure medication after showing up at my doctor’s office in hypertensive crisis, it was a good week.

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Fall of 2020 - Week 9 Banner

Fall of 2020 – Week 9

For the first time in 7 years, I was not running the New York City Marathon on the first Sunday in November. Instead, this was a recovery week and I dropped by mileage by 30%. With the lighter load, I did a RunWashington’s DMV Distance Derby run on Thursday only to discover I ran it the wrong direction!

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Fall of 2020 - Week 8 Banner

Fall of 2020 – Week 8

The week started and ended with rainy weather but it didn’t impact my workouts. On Sunday, I ran a strong 15-miler in drizzle and by Thursday, the remnants of Hurricane Zeta came through the region and I got drenched during my 11 miler w/4 miles @ goal marathon pace workout.

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Fall of 2020 - Week 7 Banner

Fall of 2020 – Week 7

This week, I hit all my goal paces and distances. I’ve been struggling for over a year now and it felt great thinking that I’m coming out on the other end of it. And, I got several doses of motivation this week including a 2020 Boston Marathon Virtual Experience finisher box!

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Fall of 2020 - Week 6 Banner

Fall of 2020 – Week 6

This week, my goal was increasing the spread between my easy run and workout paces by doing the former slower. I ran Sunday’s long run so hard that afterward, the Garmin Recovery Advisor suggested four easy days! But I ran a great speed workout and medium-long run two and four days later.

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Fall of 2020 – Week 5

After five weeks of hard training, this was a cut-back week. I dropped my mileage from the week before by 30% but kept up the intensity. Sara Hall’s finish at the 2020 London Marathon provided inspiration during Sunday’s run! And, I attempted to improve one of my RunWashington’s DMV Distance Derby times.

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