I made my first batch of annual owl cookies last night. I actually made the dough on Monday, so yesterday all I had to do was slice and bake. I’m planning to post all the details tomorrow, in case you’re interested in making your own. They’ve been a Halloween staple in my family for…well, forever. I can’t remember a Halloween without them!
My running is still going well. I’m not doing a good job with working in biking or swimming on the off days, but I’m covering my core running workouts. Last night I got home from work later than expected and with the other things on my to-do list for the evening, I didn’t have time to go to the track for my speed workout — but I did still have time to run…so I decided to swap Tuesday and Thursday workouts this week.
(Side note: I often wonder whether I am “messing up” something about the training plan when I adjust workout scheduling and switch up the days. Am I making the training plan less than ideal? But I don’t really think so. As long as I’m not skipping workouts entirely, I figure it’s ok to shift things from time to time to better fit my schedule…or even my mood.)
In any case, the swap meant doing a tempo run, so off I went from the house. The schedule called for a 25-minute “hard” tempo (plus warmup and cooldown). “Hard” means goal half marathon pace MINUS 10-15 seconds, or about 9:45-9:50/mile for me.
My first thought? “Dang. 25 minutes at sub-10 pace? I haven’t done that in…a very long time.”
My second thought? “Plus, it’s 85 degrees, AND humid.”
My final thought? “This is going to suck, and might be downright impossible for me right now.”
But I did it! I covered 2.55 miles in those 25 minutes for a 9:49 pace. It was tough — especially the last 5 minutes — but I did it, and I did it DESPITE the summer throwback weather we’ve been “enjoying” this week. So I’m excited. This bodes really well for the future. I’m not counting my chickens just yet, but I am feeling very optimistic about my chances of setting 5K PR within the next couple months. I’m still nervous about whether I can really get to PR pace over the half marathon distance — which of course is the ultimate goal — but at least I know I’m headed in the right direction.
Swapping workouts should be fine as long as you’re fresh for your long run. I wouldn’t recommend doing a speed workout the day before your long run. Other than that, you should be fine.
What Jennifer said – I’d try to avoid putting two hard workouts on back-to-back days (intervals and long, etc), but other than that? Whatever schedule that lets you get the workouts in is the best one for you.
Yep, that part I know — I don’t schedule back-to-back hard workouts. I wonder if there is anything to say that a track workout should come before a tempo workout etc. I highly doubt it makes a difference what order you do them in, as long as you do them.