Welcome to the Weekly Wrap. There were lots of changes to my training plan this week and I’m starting new training adventures. Sad to postpone my ultra training until the fall, but excited to see what my speed can be! Linking up with Holly and Wendy for this Weekly Wrap.
Cha-cha-cha-changes are a’coming! My training plan is about to undergo a major change. I briefly detailed it in my Friday Runfessions post, but basically I have new time benchmarks to hit in order to stay on the Windrunners. Unfortunately, that means no ultra for me this May. Instead, I am focusing on short and FAST. The 5k. I’ve never trained to race a 5k before as it had always been a part of my marathon training. Honestly I’ve run 3 5k races that I can remember outside of high school cross-country (and even then I don’t think they were true 5ks). Time for new training adventures!
I have no idea what this means for training. While I am disappointed I will miss out on ultra races this spring, I am looking forward to the new challenge. I wish I could have the best of both and still train for my 50 mile race and race fast and flat. We shall see!
Monday 11/26
Run: Blizzard! I was the only person on the path – unless I just couldn’t see others in the low visibility. My footprints disappeared within minutes. Only got through 3 miles at zone 2 because I was going much slower and had to leave extra time for the commute to work.
Other: New recipe. I teased it last week, but I posted a recipe for vegan cranberry thumbprint cookies. They’re a bright and festive cookie for the holidays. Get the recipe here.
Tuesday 11/27
Run: Speed. Sprint Tuesdays is back in action! Since the marathon, the group paused speed and focused on easy base miles. This week we all got speedy again. I ran 6 miles at marathon pace.
Other: HIIT Strength. There were only 3 of us in the class so the instructor got creative. Sled pushing, rope hauling and lots of other exercises to target the arms and back. Oooof.
Wednesday 11/28
Run: Rest. Did zilch today, other than resistance band work. Nada nada nada.
Thursday 11/29
Run: Treadmill tempo. I wish I could say my workout went to plan, but again, nope. At this point, I think my issues are more mental than physical. I was supposed to do a fartlek, alternating between half and full marathon pace. Half way into it, I psyched myself out, thinking it was too hard. I know I could have done it, so I just have to figure out a way around that mental block.
Other: HIIT Class. Another HIIT at On Your Mark. More ropes this time and lots and lots of squats.
Friday 11/30
Run: Easy recovery run + strength. Ran to NP for PR day and then ran to OYM to make the strength class at 7. I’m trying to balance social time with serious training. There’s definitely room for improvement, like remembering to bring a change of shoes to On Your Mark so I don’t have to do barefoot sprints on the bike.
Other: New Post. I alluded to it at the beginning of the post, but I joined in for the monthly Runfession link-up. Runfessions are where you make your running confessions for the month. Read it here.
Saturday 12/1
Run: Hilly long run. This weekend I was in Maryville, TN to celebrate Katie and Kyle’s wedding. Katie is one of my best running friends. We have traveled to all the World Majors together, she introduced me to November Project, and shares my love of vegan food. In the morning, I ran around Maryville College’s campus and the greenway, exploring the area. Even though it was raining, the run was gorgeous.
The guest list comprised mostly of other running friends. Kelly, Kyle, and I spent the afternoon exploring Knoxville before the wedding. We found a holiday craft market and enjoyed drinks on a rooftop bar – in December!
That evening, we celebrated at the RT Lodge. Everything was absolutely lovely. Katie looked like a model and Kyle a Southern gentleman. This was one of the weddings I’ve been to where I knew the majority of the guests. Running bonds are strong! It was a lot of fun seeing everyone all dressed up. We danced and celebrated, and spent a lot of time in the photo booth.
Sunday 12/3
Run: Easy zone 2. A mix of champagne and dancing made for some tired legs! Ran a bit over 4 miles before heading back to the Lodge for breakfast. I wanted to get one more run in shorts before heading back to the Chicago cold. 70 degrees and sunny just feels so good!
Other: Craft night! Heading to a friend’s house later this evening to make some nail art. I’ve NOT a crafty/artsy person so this could get interesting.
And that’s a wrap! One chapter of training closes and new training adventures begin! I still will make it out to trails as much as I can because they make me so happy. I’m hoping that in the long term, the focus on short speed will lead to fast trail speed.
How was your week? Let’s stay in touch! Follow me on Instagram or Facebook for more food/fitness related posts.
Happy running,
Becca
I had plans to train for a 5k this year. Didn’t happen, and I think I ran just a couple of them. Oh well. Good luck!
Gotta love winter in the south. I miss that!
How exciting to have a total training change up! Your trip to TN for the wedding sounds like so much fun . That running path is gorgeous!
I didn’t realize the Nike Windrunner team imposed pace requirements. I’m sure you’ll do well with your 5k training. The ultras will be there at a later date. The trail in TN looks lovely and the wedding sounds like a fun time with friends. You can’t beat a good southern rooftop bar. 😉 Thanks for linking!
What gorgeous photos. I love autumn running shots. Glad you were OK through blizzard running
Good luck with the transition to speed, hopefully they made changes with enough time for you to transition your training. Thumbprint cookies are my favorite to make – off to look at your recipe
So curious!! What made you change paths? I’d love to focus on short and fast. I don’t know if that’s in my wheelhouse, tho. I’m excited to follow your journey!
I really want to be able to stay on the team and compete for Nike. This is an opportunity that doesn’t come often, so I can postpone ultras until the fall.
Sorry that you’re getting so much snow in Chicago already!
I think that you will totally kill this new challenge. Sometimes change is good and while you’re not training for an ultra, training for a 5K is still a lot of work. Looking forward to following your journey!
Sounds like a great challenge for you! Will you be doing most of your speed training outside or on a treadmill. Looking forward to hearing more about your training and how it’s going
I think it’ll depend on the weather. The tread will allow me to dial in and force me to hold paces, but outside will mimic race conditions. I’m annoyed they didn’t tell us sooner when there were more races to choose from and when it was warmer out!
Sounds like an amazing weekend in TN! Running in shorts and 70 degrees sounds really nice…the wedding looks like a blast, but the runs look even more fun! What are the time requirements for Windrunners? I assumed most of the elite type sponsorships have tough requirements…but also curious, how long are the times “good” for? A year? two years? I’m sure it will be a fun new change to train for the short fast stuff and you’ll do great! Good for you for getting out there in the snow 🙂 It can be very peaceful as long as its not… Read more »
For the 5k I have to run sub 19:30. They didn’t say how long the requirement will be good for, but the qualifying window is from last June through upcoming March. Since I was injured for most of the window, I don’t have a time from the fall. I’m nervous but know this fast focus will benefit me in longer distances.