In this weekly blog series, I plan to share a training recap as I prepare for Brew City 1/2 Marathon in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It will include an overview of my training plan with the good, the bad, & the ugly which every runner undoubtedly experiences along the way. Enjoy and let me know if you have any feedback or thoughts based on your experience.

Monday, February 27th:

After 2-days off and the weekend spent pretty much sitting around at a course in Chicago, I was ready to get back at it. It’s hard to believe week #9 is already here as time is flying by. I’m most looking forward to transition from phase 3 to phase 4 which is less interval pace and more threshold pace running.

Today, Kristen and I set off for Planet Fitness on East Capitol Drive around 4:30pm. When we arrived, there were plenty of open treadmills and the after work crowd hadn’t fully settled in just yet. Once we got going, the place started buzzing but there was a good vibe.

The workout today was 5-miles with 4-minutes at interval pace with a 3-minute recovery. Similar to last week, VO2 max training with short but sustained efforts at a high intensity.

During the 1-mile easy warm-up I was curious how this run would go… At home before we left, I got bored and decided to eat two bowls of rice krispies. I’m usually not a big cereal person because it’s super filling for me. However, when you’re bored and rummaging through the kitchen cabinets, things can go sideways quickly.

As the warm-up mile got completed, I realized I forgot my heart rate strap. The metrics, particularly heart rate, seemed a little bit off early on but then things came together as the run went on. Later in the warm-up mile I added a few 20-30 second pick-ups to prime the legs for the faster paces yet to come. It can be very challenging going from easy to interval pace because they vary so much in intensity.

During each 4-minute interval I started at a moderate intensity and picked up the treadmill speed a few points every minute. From there, and on each subsequent interval, I was able to start faster and progressively push the body to the limit. Things felt good once the rice krispies got settled in my system and I was pleased with the execution of this run. Although the Garmin metrics improved from the beginning, they never seemed accurate so I went by feel and listened to my body.

(4) 4-minute intervals later and the speed work portion was done. This run actually goes by rather fast despite dreading the degree of exertion between minutes 3 and 4. Soon I’ll add a few more repetitions before transitioning to threshold pace. Since power is one area that tends to decline more quickly as we age, I made it a priority to have plenty of fast running early on. Hopefully the next 9-weeks will allow me to put a reliable degree of endurance on top of this speed to peak for race day.

Wednesday, March 1st:

I was looking forward to the run today for multiple reasons… first, it was 45-degrees and sunny outside. Second, the plan called for 3-miles at easy pace with 5 strides. It just felt so simple that I know I could coast along with minimal effort and enjoy the outdoors.

When planning the run, I debated between knocking it out around my neighborhood or driving to the lakefront. Sometimes a run of this length almost feels like a nuisance to drive somewhere... But I knew if I did I would enjoy it more.

I drove over to Veterans Park along the lakefront and decided to see the sights in a short 30-minute run. A few dynamic warm-up drills were completed beforehand, such as: leg swings, split squats, alternating lateral lunges, and single leg hip hinges. With the weather being so beautiful, there were quite a few people running and walking the path. It’s always nice seeing such a wide range of people enjoying the day and the positive mood good weather brings.

For the route, I actually started north on the path and did a quick loop around the small pier. From there, I ran south past the Milwaukee Art Museum, Discovery World Science Center, and around Lakeshore State Park. There were plenty of fisherman trying their luck and people walking dogs. To the west, the sun was setting behind downtown Milwaukee and the air began to cool as day shifted to dusk.

The run overall felt simple, effortless even. I monitored my heart rate which was extremely low to the point where it felt incorrect. In situations like this I often adjust the heart rate strap assuming it’s not positioned correctly.

After reflecting on my Garmin after the fact, I was running basically all in zone 2 with an average around 65% of my maximum heart rate. Accurate? I’m not truly sure. But it could also be an improvement in fitness which will become more apparent on this weekend’s 10-mile long run.

After 3.6-miles, I got back to the car before walking 2-minutes and beginning my 5 strides. The main road appeared to be the perfect spot for these as it’s flat and fairly smooth, without the pot holes found in the parking lot. Despite having plenty of space and the easy run today being short, I ran these at a moderate pace without pushing too hard. They felt good to open up the muscles and joints before wrapping up for the day.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a little cooler and the schedule calls for Fartlek’s. I’ll try to get out mid-afternoon and look forward to some faster paces. Until then!

Thursday, March 2nd:

Today’s run called for 5-miles with 8x2min at interval pace with 1min recovery. I was looking forward to it, to be honest, because lately I’ve had longer 3- and 4-minute intervals which are a little daunting. I perceive these as short & sweet, but intense.

For simplicity sake, I left from home in Riverwest and ran north down Humboldt to East Capitol Drive and hopped on the Oak Leaf Trail. It has been very reliable, in addition to being flat and fast.

After the 1.5-mile warm-up, I was ready to set the watch to the preprogrammed Fartlek workout and knock it out. Things heated up quickly as I started pretty aggressively. Truthfully, I was curious if I could hit 100% of my maximum heart rate despite 2-minutes being a fairly short period of time for the heart rate to spike. I couldn’t… The run itself was the fastest I have run this training cycle.

From a pacing standpoint, I generally introduce faster paces early within a training plan and then gradually slow down the pace for more sustained efforts. Intensity is one area which can cause things to go sideways quickly when not monitored properly. With this approach, the body gets accustomed to faster paces while mileage is low and then never has to run anything faster throughout the remainder of the plan. It’s safe and effective. But my decision to crank it up a gear probably was not the smartest.

8, 2-minute intervals went well. Although the pace felt fast, my body was up for the challenge and didn’t protest beyond some hamstring soreness. Faster running generally places more stress on the hamstrings and hip flexors as leg turnover increases. This is the speed which the legs move through the swing phase as your muscles have to move rapidly to prepare for the next foot contact.

On the way back home, I started in upper zone 3 as the heart rate was still slightly elevated from the speed work. As time went on it continued to drop into zone 2 which felt like an extremely slow contrast to how I was running just moments ago.

The last run for this week will be a 10-miler at easy pace. I’ll look at the weekend’s activities and decide if Saturday or Sunday is a better option. Saturday is always preferable to then use Sunday as a complete rest day to wind down and re-focus on the week ahead.

Sunday, March 5th:

Today got derailed due to other extracurriculars getting in the way and a lack of discipline. But I’m also not super worried about it.

On the plan, I had a 10-mile long run scheduled. With Kristen’s 3 nieces in town, I thought I could break this run up into two segments to still hang out and have fun with the kids. Unfortunately, after completing 6-miles in the morning, I just never got around to 4-miles in the evening. The day was better suited for playing card games and going out for Mexican food.

The 6-miler was beautiful as the sun was shining and there was a crispness in the air. I left from home in Riverwest and ran east on Burleigh to Humboldt, and finally down Locust street. As I crossed the bridge, I debated turning into Riverside Park but I knew with all the snow melt things would be super messy on the trails so I opted to stay on the roads. North on Oakland Drive and east down Kenmore took me to Lake Drive where I ran into Shorewood. From there I turned west down East Capitol Drive and looped around back home.

Honestly, I had no plan for this run besides getting approximately 4-5 easy miles so the route kind of took form as I got going. It was fairly quiet outside but I could tell people were starting to get active on a beautiful Sunday morning. Without headphones, since I forgot them at home, I had an hour of peace, quiet, and reflection. It’s interesting where the mind goes when you’re running sometimes… From past car accidents to the days upcoming events, and everything in between. I think it’s beneficial to get away from podcasts and music at times to simply provide the mind an opportunity to be free from distraction.

With the intention of this run being easy pace, it was executed very well. I maintained a zone 2 and zone 3 heart rate for it’s entirety and felt like I was running strong throughout. Pacing continues to improve without an reduction in heart rate that shows improvement in cardiovascular fitness. I regularly reflect on my mile pace and the heart rate associated with it to track trends over time. Rather than simply running faster to get faster, which most runners do, I allow the mix of easy conversational running and speedwork to create a positive adaptation over time.

Since things went sideways and I didn’t get the 2nd, 4-mile segment completed today, I’ll be diligent about remaining on track next week. What I’m looking forward to is threshold pace running which will be slower than interval pace but more sustained to really build endurance. I’ll review the plan to see if any tweaks need to be made due to coming up 4-miles short this week. Truthfully, my body has felt a little beat up this past week so maybe things worked out the way they were supposed to.

Thanks for following along this week! If you have any questions or want to talk about creating an individualized running and injury prevention plan for you, click the ‘Healthy Running Program’ tab above and fill out the form.

Onward to week 10!