Week 17 Recap - We're Breaking Three!

Well, well, well. We are in the final stretch. It has been a long road to get here, but the end is in sight. The light at the end of the tunnel has grown from a tiny pin prick, one that I lost sight of once or twice, to a blinding beacon. There is only one more week of training left and then it is time to race. Let’s do this!

Also, next week’s blog post will not be published on Sunday, because I’ll be…wait for it…running the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Marathon. Rather, I will publish the blog post of the final week of training either Monday or Tuesday after the marathon. There will also be a full marathon recap posted to the blog shortly thereafter. I’ll just need some time to let the full experience marinate for a few days before I write about it.

***An IMPORTANT and, dare I say, EXCITING update!*** If you would like to follow along for race weekend, including the expo and race day, follow me on Instagram @imhaileymorgan. I will be sharing marathon content there throughout the weekend. I'm talking picking up my bib, trying to play it cool on race morning (and probably failing miserably at it), and post-race thoughts and feelings. So, if you’re curious and perhaps a bit like myself, by which I mean, a tad impatient, then join me on Instagram. You’ll have access to race updates days before the blog posts go live. I can’t wait to see you there!

Enjoy this week's training recap below! And be sure to head on over to @imhaileymorgan on Instagram to see this week's Reel. There may even be a couple seconds of dog footage in it, which makes it worth the watch.

Best wishes!

Hailey

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Sunday - May 19th, 2024

Prescribed Workout: active recovery

Activity: Elliptical

Summary: It has been a few weeks since I’ve used the elliptical as a method of active recovery. Today, I enjoyed reading while ellipticalling. I kept the intensity fairly low and it didn’t bother my knee at all.

Monday - May 20th, 2024

Prescribed Workout: 4 miles @ easy pace (7:22-8:21/mi) w/ last mile @ incline

Distance: 4 miles

Time: 33:00

Avg. Pace: 8:14/mi

Route: outside w/ Maple

Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary: Maple and I went on a wonderful run together today. We kept the pace easy and enjoyed running through some of our favorite places. My knee is still holding up, thank goodness. I’m doing my best to focus on running my easy days at an easy pace, stretching every day, and properly warming up.

Tuesday - May 21st, 2024

Prescribed Workout: 10 mile threshold workout

Workout Description: 2mi wu + 6mi @ 6:36/mi + 2mi cd

Distance: 10 miles

Time: 1:12:42

Avg. Pace: 7:16/mi

Location: treadmill + 2mi w/ Maple

Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary: I really enjoyed this threshold workout today. It felt good to hop on the treadmill and cruise for a few miles. The pace for the workout was 6:35. In years past, that pace would’ve intimidated me, but today it felt entirely doable. I’m a little over a week out from my marathon, so it was encouraging to come away from this run feeling like I could’ve run further and faster than I did. As the race looms nearer, I have been focusing on reminding myself of the workouts I have accomplished in this training cycle. I plan to have those on hand during the race, like little nuggets of encouragement to pull out when times become undoubtedly tough. Today’s run will be one of those nuggets.

Here are my splits:

Warmup: 8:00/mi

Miles 2-8: 6:35/mi

Cooldown: 8:32/mi

Wednesday - May 22nd, 2024

Prescribed Workout: 6 miles @ easy pace (7:22-8:21/mi)

Distance: 6 miles

Time: 48:20

Avg. Pace: 8:03/mi

Route: outside + 1mi w/ Maple

Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary: I was expecting to feel a bit tired today, as I usually do the day after a workout. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised by how good I felt. I kept the pace within my “easy range,” but it was definitely faster than I have been running other easy runs as of late. Maple and I enjoyed the last mile together, so all together it was a great day.

Thursday - May 23rd, 2024

Prescribed Workout: 6 miles @ easy pace (7:22-8:21/mi) w/ last mile @ incline

Distance: 7 miles

Time: 52:18

Avg. Pace: 7:28/mi

Route: outside with hills

Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary: For this run, I wanted to focus on hills. Specifically, I wanted to focus on running fast up hills. I drove to one of my favorite hilly routes to ensure that I had ample opportunity to practice keeping a steady pace while running at an incline. This particular route included a hill that I would call a “monster.” It feels like it is going straight up into the sky for forever. In reality, it’s only about a quarter of a mile long, but wow does it feel so much longer. Of course, me being me, I then got it into my head that I wanted to run a bit further out from my car because I wanted to see the new houses that they are building in that area. And that is the story of how I came to run 7 miles, rather than the scheduled 6 miles. Oops! I don’t regret it though. Not one bit. It was a truly wonderful run.

Friday - May 24th, 2024

Prescribed Workout: 4 miles @ easy pace (7:22-8:21/mi)

Distance: 4 miles

Time: 32:41

Avg. Pace: 8:10/mi

Route: outside w/ Maple

Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary: Maple and I shared four miles together this morning. The pace was easy, the temps were cool, and Maple was 100% adorable. Clearly, we had a great time.

Saturday - May 25th, 2024

Prescribed Workout: 12 miles @ easy pace (7:22-8:21/mi)

Distance: 12 miles

Time: 1:35:30

Avg. Pace: 7:57/mi

Route: outside + 2mi w/ Maple

Rating: 3 out of 5

Summary: Wahoo! This was my last long run of this training cycle. In a little over a week, I will be lining up for the marathon. I am very excited about that, for it’s been a long time coming. In light of that, I wish today’s run had felt a bit better than it did. For some unknown reason, my chest felt a little bit tight and that was causing my breathing to feel slightly strained. Normally, I have absolutely no issues with my breathing. It could’ve been allergies or the cold headwind or the fact that I had shoved my pepper spray down the front of my shirt so I didn’t have to carry it. Now that I’m thinking about it, perhaps it was a combination of all three. Despite that small snag, everything else went wonderful. The best part was when Maple realized that I was running her to Starbucks. We hit the corner of the road it is on and she took off at a dead sprint. I’m talking ears pinned back, preparing to win Olympic gold, bounding over ankle-breaking cracks in the sidewalk type sprint. There is nothing quite like hanging on for dear life at the end of a 12 mile run because your dog realizes she is about to get a pup cup and she needs to get there…NOW.

Overview

Training Phase: Competition Phase

Training Block: Taper

Total Distance: 43 miles

Summary: This week was the first full week of being fully immersed in the taper period of this training cycle. At times it felt strange to not be spending as much time running. However, it also felt good to see that I am more rested, hitting my paces, and maintaining a positive mindset. I’ll cheers to that and I’ll even cheers to next week right now. It’s the last week of training and that feels like it calls for some celebrating. *Clink!

Highs: 1) solid threshold workout, 2) Maple sprinting for free whipped cream in a cheap plastic container

Lows: 1) tight chest during my long run

Things that went well: 1) stretching pre-run

Things that I will be altering in the future: 1) stretching post-run

Rating: 

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