Base Building Phase Week 1 | Weekly Wrap

Welcome to the Weekly Wrap. Began my base building phase week 1. Easing back into some speed and slowly increasing miles after the Berlin Marathon and injury.  It’s still off-season, so mostly zone 2 effort with some speed and agility.  Linking up with Holly and Wendy for this Weekly Wrap.

 

base building phase week 1

 



 

This week brought some more miles and speed work as I started my base building phase of training.  Monday was three weeks after the Berlin Marathon.  I’ve been recovering for three weeks, doing some easy miles.  This base building phase is still off-season – no races on the calendar – but it’s where I will lay the foundation for a more formalized training plan.  This was my first week above 30 miles since the race.  Actually, it was my FIRST week running 30 miles where it was ALL running – no pool running, no treadmill hiking, just all running workouts – since my injury back in July!  YEAH!

 

Monday 10/8

Run: Easy miles.  Ran an easy 4 miles before heading to work.

Other: Hyper Strength class at OYM.  Went to a new class with a new instructor.  Lots of upper body which I need!

 

Base Building Program Week 1 easy run
Foggy Monday morning

 

Tuesday 10/9

Run:  Track workout.  Getting back into regular speed sessions, woo!  My workout was a mini crescendo: .25, .5, .75. 1mi.  I was supposed to only run them at marathon to half marathon pace.  But I got excited about a “harder” speed workout AND I was the only girl at the track among some speedy guys.  The next thing I knew, I was clocking 6:40s for the repeats which is closer to my 10k pace.

 

Wednesday 10/10

Run: Rest.  Just a strength class for today.  I felt a bit sore from the track workout, but nothing major.

Other: Received my rejection from the London Marathon lottery… again.  Three years in a row of “Commiseration, your application was unsuccessful.”  The London Marathon is the last marathon I need to run in order to finish all the World Majors.  I am debating if I apply with a charity or purchase a Marathon Tours travel package, but most likely will do neither.

 


 

Thursday 10/11

Run:  Speed workout.  I think my coach was trying to kill me with the workout.  Or punish me for going to fast on Tuesday.  She basically doubled the workout I did on Tuesday and had me run: .25, .5, .75, 1.0, 1.0, .75, .5, .25.  The first part of the pyramid was at half marathon pace.  The second half was at 10k pace (faster).  I was so intimidated by this workout – 5 miles of speed! SO much more than what I had been doing.  But I was pleasantly surprised!  I made sure to stick to my paces this time around, and nailed the workout.

Other:  PT appointment.  I am continuing on with PT through the end of the month just to make sure I am totally out of the woods with my injury.  All my runs have felt great, but my PT says my hamstring and adductor are still pretty tight and I’m compensating.

 

 

Friday 10/12

Run: Easy run.  I was excited to run to November Project and get back into that run-commute routine.  But now that the sun doesn’t rise until 7am, the thought of leaving my house at 4:45am in the darkness kept me in bed.  Slept in and started my run around 6:45

Other: Agility Drills.  These remind me of soccer practice, but they’re great for developing speed, power and mobility.  I’ve been doing them three times a week in order to strengthen the stabilizing muscles.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

MOVE Runners are great at moving forward One direction, straight down the road But that will often lead to imbalances in our muscles, some get really strong while others are rarely worked – a recipe for injury 🙈 My focus for October/November is moving in multi directions, to target the lateral stabilizing muscles and learn to recruit them all together. Building a better base for next year’s season starts now 🙌 Not only will this be good for road speed but also my eventual return to trail 💪🏃🏻‍♀️⛰ Agility, stability, mobility 🔜 SPEED (I promise I like it and don’t look angry all the time) 😂 • • • • #speedwork #speedladder #agilitydrills #footwork #speedandagility #runcoach #strengthgains #fridayfitness #offseason #wintertraining #offseasongains #run #runner #nike #nikewomen #windrunners #instarun #gymselfie #marathontraining #trailrunner #ultrarunning #runitfast #runchat #runtoinspire #edgefamily #2018yearofthecompleteathlete #rabbitfoodrunner

A post shared by Becca Menke: MEd|Blogger|Coach (@rabbitfoodruns) on

 




 

Saturday 10/13

Run: Rest Day.  It feels SO WEIRD to take a rest day on Saturday.  But I don’t want to jump back into things too fast.  With two monster speed workouts this week, I needed more rest.

Other:  Took full advantage of no running to round up some friends for apple picking!!!  It was a picturesque fall day and apple picking is my favorite fall activity.  I drove a car full of friends up to Apple Holler for a day of apple picking, corn maze, cider and fall leaves.  Now, what apple recipe should I make?!

 

Apple picking with a bunch of good apples

 

Sunday 10/14

Run:  Trail Run.  My goals for next year are to get faster both on the roads and on the trails.  So for today’s long run, I alternated one mile of trail with one mile of road.  I kept the effort the same to see what pace that translated to for trail or road.

Other:  NEW RECIPE!  I shared pictures of dark chocolate peanut butter fudge on Instagram earlier this week and had an avalanche of recipe requests.  This is a really simple recipe that uses just a handful of ingredients and satisfied any dark chocolate or peanut butter lover.

 

vegan dark chocolate peanut butter fudge freezer fudge

 

 

And that’s a wrap!  Base building phase week one done!  I ran 32 miles this week – ALL running!  Throughout the next few weeks, I will hover between 30 – 40 miles per week, with an emphasis on easy miles and building some leg speed.  Lots of strength classes and agility drills as well.  This base building phase will set me up well for what’s next!  Typically I take my off-season base building phase around 30-45 miles per week and my peak season training between 50-75 miles per week.

As I start to plan my 2019 season, I will most likely do a marathon in March or April (need to find an alternative to London) and return to a 50 mile race in May.  Getting faster on roads AND on trails is my goal.

 

Was anyone successful with the London lottery?  What races are you thinking of for 2019? Let’s stay in touch!  Follow me on Instagram or Facebook for more food/fitness related posts.  

 

 

Happy running,

Becca

 

 

 

Share your thoughts below

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

12 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Liz Dexter
5 years ago

Brilliant – well done! I failed to get into London again but got a really nice running jacket (I donated my fee to their charity) so that’s a bonus. Now looking at Manchester or Edinburgh but will also try our running club ballot.

therightfits
therightfits
5 years ago

Marathon Tours for me for London…It was the only reliable option. Worth it, but pricey.

So glad you’re sticking with the PT! Why not? Definitely helps 🙂

Great week for you!

Deborah Brooks
5 years ago

I am still going to PT for my achilles injury over the summer. I get so frustrated bc I know things are still tight but I keep doing what they tell me to do. I wonder how we know when we don’t need to go anymore?

vitatrain4life
5 years ago

Hello there! I’m new here from the link up at Wendy’s place so congratulations on Berlin!! Sounds like you were injured but are now on the mend and being smart about recovery and build up. At least it looks like you have some amazing food and fresh apples to help you though some of your “extra” down time 🙂

HoHo Runs
5 years ago

YAY for an all running week! I like the way you alternated your long run between trail and road! One thing we lack around here are good/easy trails. Your apple picking adventure sounds like so much fun. I can’t wait to see what recipes you come up with this week. Thanks for linking!

kookyrunner
5 years ago

Nice workouts this week! I love that you are still continuing with PT just to be on the safe side.

Cari
5 years ago

Oh my that fudge! Not vegan myself, but I might give this a go as it seems to be a less complicated recipe
Love your fog pic
Congrats on strong week

Kimberly Hatting
5 years ago

Knock wood, I don’t have anything registered and paid for for 2019…yet. But I have all kinds of possibilities on the roster 😉 I need to do some of those stability drills…I am so klutzy

Marcia
5 years ago

That’s some great looking fudge! You had a great week of workouts. How fun to go apple picking. It was the perfect weekend to do so! I was all set with “rebound” races. I’m still in shock over my London ballet result.

Deborah Brooks
5 years ago

I think it’s really great that you take your recovery so seriously. Nice to see you feeling so good this week

Wendy
5 years ago

Hooray for a great week of running! It’s nice to see you back to form again. I totally thought of you today when I ran on the lakefront.