Weekly Recap: Week 1 of Half-Marathon Training with Hansons

Last week was officially the first week of training for Columbus! The Hansons Half-Marathon Method usually starts on Thursday and the standard rest day is Wednesday. I'm swapping Wednesday and Friday so Friday will be my rest days. I ended up with just over 20 miles, which will be the lowest mileage for quite some time! (And it's also the lowest mileage I've had in a while.)

A recap of Hanson's is that you run six days a week, and the cumulative fatigue of running so much will help you achieve your goals. Because you run six days a week, it's important to do your easy run EASY. The past two weeks I've been working on that because I tend to run easy -- especially with other people -- at a 10-minute pace, so I need to slow it down. I've been very vocal so my friends should be WELL-AWARE that I'm slowing it down unless I'm doing a race or speedwork.

Monday: off (last Monday off for a while, I hope)

Tuesday: 3 miles, 31:30/10:29 pace, Saucony Kinvara 6, 80 degrees & 58% humidity
Target pace: 10:10 to 11:52
Aaron and I ran 3 easy miles at Sand Run. According to my official schedule, this was supposed to be a rest day, but I don't really think an easy 3-miler is a problem. I would like to say that I was practicing pacing, but I didn't really feel like running any faster.

Wednesday: 4 miles, 9:57 pace, Saucony Zealots, 70 degrees & 78% humidity
Target: 3 miles, 10:10 to 11:52
It was the Fleet Feet pub run, so I swapped Wednesday and Thursday's runs. It was a bit of a struggle to keep the pace slower, but I'm happy with 10 minutes or so.

Thursday: 3 miles, treadmill, 10:47 pace, Saucony Kinvara 6 
Target: 4 miles, 10:10 to 11:52

Just a short 3-miler on the treadmill before beer school at The Rail. BTW, Homestead Brewing has some really nice offerings, so if you see them, try something!

I did go back to the sports chiro on Thursday morning for some more Graston and other treatment on the calf. It is progressing, and it feels pretty good when I'm wearing compression sleeves or socks. 

Friday: rest (this will be my standard rest day)

Saturday: 6.35 miles, 10:53 pace, Saucony Zealots, 64 degrees & rainy
Target: 6 miles, 10:10 to 11:52

Aaron and I met a friend in Kent for a run around campus and on the bike & hike there. It was a great run. I didn't have any calf pain, and we kept the pace right where I wanted to be. Then we headed to Bandcamp!

Sunday: 4 miles, 12:25 pace (w/ walking), Saucony Kinvara 5 (new ones!)
Target: 4 miles, 10:10 to 11:52

I finished up the week with 4 miles on the treadmill. I didn't feel great (the week's activities caught up to me), but I think I would have been better outside. (It was raining.)

Coming up: The first full week of training comes with speedwork! I'm a little nervous about my first workout, but I'm trying not to get ahead of myself. I also have an 8k race on Saturday, so that should be a good indicator of how fast I can run right now. I should probably find a shorter race to do later in the summer where I can (hopefully!) see some improvement.