Whattaya think? Will this get me to the half?

[morningstar]

I have been seriously struggling with motivation the last week or so. This is unusual for me, I would say. Partly it is because I'm in a new, extremely challenging job with lots of overtime and partly it is because I am now walking 50km a week at minimum, when I used to only walk 35km a week to get to and from work.

Normally I love to run. This past week, what with the extra walking and the extremely high humidity even very early in the morning (at 4:30am it is at 98% humidity!), I just have not wanted to do it. AT ALL. The problem is that I am in training for a half-marathon in October.

I also find myself not wanting to lift heavy and gravitating towards more compound body movements than traditional weight lifting - also very unusual for me.

I'm still getting exercise - the walking alone is 90 minutes to 3 hours of walking 5 days a week on hills of excellent low impact, low intensity exercise, but it's not what I have come to expect of myself and it won't give me the results I am looking for (lower body fat, strength to do anything I have a mind to, cardiovascular conditioning to take me into the far reaches of senior-citizenhood, the ability to run very long distances and very fast short sprints).

So I was thinking that I would just go with how I'm feeling for a while, and created a rotation that goes like this:

Monday:

endurance/high reps/compound moves strength - walk 7.5km​

Tuesday:

circuit cardio/strength (light weights) - walk 15km​

Wednesday:

mid-length run - walk 7.5km​

Thursday:

endurance/high reps/compound moves strength - walk 15km​

Friday:

circuit cardio/strength (light weights) - walk 7.5km​

Saturday:

long run​

Sunday:

mid-length run​

I don't tend to schedule rest days because I just take them as I need them. I figure if I go with workouts I seem to want to do, rather than workouts I think I should do, I'll enjoy working out more and get more motivated than I currently am.

So this is the really surprising part (for me): I am planning on using mostly Ripped workouts for both the strength days and the circuit days, with some David Kirsch Sound Mind, Sound Body and Lalofit 2 thrown in on some of the circuit days. I am not usually a high reps or Jari fan, but this is the style of workout I seem to want right now, so I might as well go with the instructor that specializes in that.

I figure I'll do this rotation until I get bored (I change my rotations A LOT) or until the half-marathon, at which point everything changes and I can run just for fun again.

I'm not actually sure if this is enough running to get me to the half, but at this point, I care more about being motivated to live a fit and active life than to get through one damned race that I am starting to wonder why I signed up for anyway.

Thoughts? I'd love any feedback you might care to share with me.

 

[kathryn]

I'm with you on how demotivating the heat and humidity is. I've been having some pretty pathetic speed walks lately (I've ended up doing more distance at a slower pace after a mile or two of speed instead of the 3 mile or so speed walks I've wanted to do).

Is the walking you are doing just back-and-forth to work?

If not, one thing you could do is take up your walks from "low intensity" to higher intensity. Or add some running intervals into your walks.

You could also change one of your weekend runs from distance to speed (or do a fartlek run). The majority of training schedules I've seen for runners or walkers include LSD (long, slow, distance--which you are getting with your walks) work, speed work, and tempo runs/walks (going at around the speed you hope to attain in your chosen race).
They also include days off, as recovery is very important.

The schedule you posted might be overdoing. Instead of working out every day (I know you say you take a rest day when needed, but IMO, it's better to actually schedule one and make sure to take it. The excitement of prepping for a race can lead to overdoing/overtraining and not wanting to rest enough. Also, remember to taper during the week before your race. You may have already checked this out, but if you do a web search on race preparation or half-marathon preparation, you can find sample schedules).

HTH!

 

[spyrosmom]

Ugh! I feel your pain! I'm training for my 1st half, too. It's on Labor Day (4 weeks - eek) and the humidity has been UP UP UP there! It's killing me.
It's been in the upper 80 - lower 90 % and it awful. I've been running in the morning when at least the air temp is cooler.

I've been following the Runner's World plan and it's basically a short, a medium, and a long run. The mileage increases weekly. I've been running T/Th/Sa mornings. Doing PUB on Mon, a circuit on Weds, and PLB on Fri. Whatever floats my boat on Sun.

This coming week is a week off weights, and then I'm staying with the same running days and putting PS in for my weight days and adding a Hiit on Weds. The one PS disc is pretty short.

I too, am skeptical if I'll make the full 13.1 or not. If I have a nice weather good running day during my training runs I feel on top of the world and that I can. But this past 2 weeks have been nasty out and just draining me and my confidence with it. I had to take walk breaks during a 4 miler this week. 4 miles is normally not a problem, but I was soaked in sweat by the 1st mile, my skin couldn't breathe with all the humidity, lungs sucking in nothing but water. Ugh!

I think what you're currently doing will be fine til the humidity passes, and then kick it back up. You're still laying a decent foundation. October is still a month and half or 2 months away, depending on when your race is.

As I swim thru the air on my morning runs, I think that this is about as nasty as the weather gets this time of year, so if I can slog it out it thru this, race day weather issues shouldn't be a problem. At least I'm prepared for the worst

 

[RapidBreath]

MStar- Maybe you don't want to do that half? 'one damned race' is not really the kind of warm fuzzy motivation I normally hear out of you. I think you are doing too many miles in total. Thats why you are so tired. The heat is just sucking the life out of you.

 

[morningstar]

MStar- Maybe you don't want to do that half? 'one damned race' is not really the kind of warm fuzzy motivation I normally hear out of you. I think you are doing too many miles in total. Thats why you are so tired. The heat is just sucking the life out of you.

Laughing at "warm fuzzy motivation"! That's not how I see myself -I always think I am a very negative person.

You know, that half-marathon has been hanging over my head for about 10 months now. I am so torn - I want to just run for fun, but I also want to accomplish having run a half-marathon. Stopping training feels like giving up on myself. My last long run was 15.5km without a walk break; I only have another 5.5km to go before hitting the half mark. I would be so disappointed in myself if I gave up now.

 

[kathryn]

I'd say, focus your intent on competing in and finishing the 1/2 Marathon, not on necessarily finishing fast or a PR. And don't feel bad if you walk some of the way (a lot of people do). If your goal is to finish (and not to place or run the entire distance, etc.) you will have a better chance of succeeding (I find that I change my goals depending on the race--5k, walking---I enter, because there are so many different variables: the weather, if I got enough sleep the night before, if I'm feeling at the top of my game or 'not so much', etc. that I vary my goals from coming in 1st or second in the walkers, to getting a PR, to passing so many runners, to giving it my best for the day, etc.)

I've been considering doing a 1/2 marathon in September or October (never a marathon, as I willl not do a race that exceeds the tolerance of my bladder, LOL!). But if I do, I'll mostly be doing it to finish and to enjoy the experience, and not to be at the speed I usually race at.

 

[morningstar]

Thank you for your thoughts, folks. I continue to struggle with this and think about it and you've given me more to consider. I haven't run since last Monday because of the humidity and I do miss it. I have been enjoying other workouts in the meantime that completely kicked my butt (Cardio Core Circuit comes to mind!), but they don't make me feel the same way running does.

Hey Kathryn, there are portapotties along the route for most marathons!

 

[kathryn]

Hey Kathryn, there are portapotties along the route for most marathons!

I realize that, but I don't want to have to stop to use them (or use them in general when I can avoid it). I stick by limiting my races to those that fit the endurance of my bladder. (Or I could just be like some ultra-competitive marathoners a marathoning friend of mine told me about: the ones who just pee as they're running.....eew! especially for those running behind them!)