Traveled trails: week one of 25k training

I had a reasonably successful week one of 25k training. I say “reasonably” because, while I didn’t skip anything, the runs were neither as hilly nor as trail-y as would have been ideal. Let’s recap.

Monday: 2.5 easy miles, treadmill. So if you’ve followed me on instagram for any length of time, you’ve seen pictures of runs in all sorts of weather…but the one weather condition I’m a wimp about is wind. Ok, I’m also wimpy about humidity, but Monday was windy. I went to the gym intending to change clothes and go out for my run, but somehow ended up on the treadmill. I also managed to choose a rickety treadmill that felt like it was wobbling side to side the whole time; should’ve gone with the wind.

Tuesday: 3.5 hill miles, 172 ft elevation gain; lower body strength workout. I chose a spot where there are both long and short trails up the same hill and did 1 mile warmup; 3x hard up the long hill (about 2-2:15 minutes), recover down the short hill, sprint up the short hill (about 30 seconds); 1x long hill; 0.5 mile cool down. I cut this workout a little short – I had planned to do 4-5 of the long-short repeats – because I hadn’t eaten anything beforehand and was starting to feel pretty lightheaded. Apparently I forgot how much energy hills require! Lesson learned for next week.

Wednesday: 1 hour yoga class, 1.5 mile hike. This hike was just around the dog park, but I count it as a hike instead of a walk because it’s very hilly. Sound logic, right?

Thursday: upper body strength workout.

Friday: 6 mile easy/long run, 343 feet elevation gain. I originally planned to get out to a trail for this run and be done before a 9 am meeting, but I hadn’t been sleeping well most of the week and decided the extra sleep was more important. Consequently, I had to run from campus and just planned the hilliest route I could find from there.

Saturday-Sunday: Yard and garden work. No energy left for hiking.

Totals: 12 miles running with 515 feet elevation gain, 1.5 miles hiking. This week went well overall, but I will be adding more elevation change in the coming weeks, since what I had this week was about what I expect in the first mile of the race! I also plan to get in more hiking in the future, although finishing up the garden will be a higher priority this week. That’s a wrap for week one of 25k training – check back next Tuesday for week 2.

What weather condition are you a wimp about?

How did your training go this week?