Week 9
Total miles: 17.3 miles
Long run: 10.1 miles
Week 10
Total miles: 16.6 miles
Long run: 7.84 miles
We're nearing the end of half marathon training. I never went back and set up an official training plan, so I've been following the very scientific strategy of "run a lot." Week 10 seemed like an appropriate week to do a step-down week, where I decrease the length of my long run slightly. Again, very scientifically chosen.
The step-down week is the glorious week during training where you decrease your mileage slightly instead of increasing it. This is primarily done by decreasing your long run. The lower workload gives your body time to recover and prepare for pushing forward to the next challenge. A typical marathon or half-marathon training plan includes one or two step-down weeks.
Run the Year Update
Once again, it is clear that I won't make it all 2,022 miles in 2022. I created a spreadsheet with my stats for the year and based on my average mileage, I'll land somewhere around 1,660 total miles for the year. Although an impressive total, it's less than I was targeting, and too far from 2,022 to be able to make it up.
I was sure that the marathon training would set me up perfectly to achieve 2,022 miles. What went wrong?
Winter
In order to hit 2,022 miles, I needed an average of 38.9 miles per week. I ran 368.4 miles during the 18 weeks of my marathon training. That's impressive! However, it was winter and I struggled to get in my walking miles.
I only got an average of 34 miles per week during marathon training, mainly due to the cold weather outside. It was just too unpleasant to make up the miles. In hindsight, it was just a half mile a day extra I would have had to walk, and that feels like a poor excuse. In reality, it was Wisconsin winter.
Summer
As I predicted based on my historic trends, summer was a wash. I ran a laughable average of just 6 miles a week and just couldn't make up the distance walking. I averaged just 29 total miles per week between the end of my marathon training and start of my half marathon training.
Working from Home
I started working from the office a few days a week when we started renovating the house, and confirmed a suspicion I'd had since starting to wear the Fitbit: working in an office increases my daily step count. I always park in the back of the parking lot, so I automatically get two small walks in each day. There's also the flights of stairs and the longer trips to the kitchen and restroom. We're remote-first, so not much walking around to different meeting rooms, but I do occasionally take a lap around the office or visit someone at their physical desk. We have a nice walking path at the office too.
At home, it's barely ten steps to the kitchen or bathroom. Sometimes the Fitbit doesn't even register the activity. Although it's easier to go for a long walk or even a run during lunch, that doesn't make up for the missed activity throughout the day.
Lack of Dedicated Walks
In 2021, I went on a dedicated walk or run nearly every day and hit over 1,000 miles. I was extra motivated to do that activity because it was the only way I could log miles (no Fitbit). In 2022, I counted everything, which meant that even if I did nothing I could still log something. I thought I had the mental fortitude and power of habit behind my daily walks, but clearly I slipped.
RTY - What Went Right?
Despite missing my goal (again), what did I do better this year?
Marathon
I ran a freaking marathon! I trained for over 18 weeks. More accurately, I started preparing myself in October 2021 by upping my mileage and starting a cross training program. For several months, I ran farther than I ever thought I could. I broke my distance record every week until I ran the full 26.2 miles.
During the 18 weeks I trained, I logged a total of 368.4 running miles and 614.1 total miles.
Half Marathon
I wasn't planning to do a half marathon at the beginning of this year, but after I realized that I was having trouble getting motivated to run regularly after the full marathon, I knew that I needed an incentive. I signed up for a half marathon in October, with a 12 week training plan. Once the training started, I regularly started hitting 35-40 total miles per week. There were weeks that I missed that total, but so far the average is 31.2 total miles per week.
The main victory here was getting back on track. I noticed that I was not able to self-motivate so gave myself some structure and a more pressing reason to run. Once I saw my weekly mileage edging close to 40 miles per week, I found myself more motivated to walk or run just a bit extra to hit it.
Cross Training
One challenge I didn't mention above is cross training! My classes are in the evenings, which sometimes makes it hard to fit in both a run and a cross training class. I've found so much benefit in yoga and HIIT that I've usually prioritized those classes over running. Although it results in a lower mileage total for the week, I believe these classes will set me up to be a healthy athlete throughout my whole life. I need to do a post soon about the benefits of cross training, but the short version is, I've had fewer aches and pains due to running this year than I ever have before.
Hamster Update
The hamster is named King Tut.
