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5K Training Plan

Under normal circumstances with a race coming up in mid-April, I would be in the midst of a training cycle carefully analyzing each run, how I felt, and whether or not I felt on track for my race. This past year has been anything but normal, and having not run a race in 17 months, my race strategy is simply to enter the race injury-free and to have fun.

With each run leading up to the race, paying attention to my body and not pushing too hard is the key. The few times this winter that I’ve felt ugly twinges in my right calf have happened after I pushed my pace. I’ll continue to keep my runs short and to twice a week while depending on cycling to fill in the void for cardio conditioning. Race day, depending on how I feel, I allow for pushing the pace and hope for a fun and great race.

 

Overview of the Week

Before discussing each day’s workouts, here’s an overview of my workouts from this past week. Scroll down for daily details…

 

Sunday

Bill and I drove to Brunswick, MD for a mellow ride on the C&O Canal with our Dawn Patrol friends. It was great to see them after a couple of cold months and no rides together. It was around 50° and sunny with a light breeze at 10:30 AM as we carried our bikes across loose rocks lining multiple train tracks just next to where workers were resurfacing the railroad crossing. Once  across the tracks, I set my heavier gravel bike down, happy I hadn’t twisted an ankle in the process.

 

We rode at a comfortable pace along the Potomac River to Shepherdstown, WV where we enjoyed a chilly outdoor lunch (BLT for me) before turning around to ride home. We made an impromptu decision to tour the Antietam Battlefields on our way home and even though it only added four miles to our trip, it certainly gave us some nice hills to climb.

 

The longer we rode, the harder the wind blew and while riding back along the C&O Canal, I heard a loud crack just as I passed two walkers. Small tree branches hit the trail all around me, but none hit me. I knew that the sound had come from a much larger branch cracking so I stopped and turned back to make sure the walkers were okay. They were fine and I continued on my way.

 

Monday

Up early and fully aware that we’d switched to DST the day before 😂 , I fit in an hour of strength training between my first two clients. After more cardio workouts than usual (both running and cycling) last week, I decided to take the day off from doing any sort of cardio exercise.

After work I started my spring lawn cleanup. My lawn service will do the heavy lifting (edging and mulching), but I prefer to do the pruning and trimming of our foundation bushes and flowering perennials.

 

Tuesday

I slept in until about 7:20 AM because snow was in our overnight forecast and I didn’t feel like running until it was over. I awoke to nothing, not even rain, but waited until it had warmed up to 41° (feels like 35°) before heading out at 11 AM. I enjoyed running through our neighborhood trails while listening to the birds happily singing their songs of spring. Once home I spent 10 minutes foam rolling with my Rumble roller (affiliate link) and anther 10 minutes stretching, and then headed outside for another couple of hours of yard work.

 

Wednesday

Still suffering from a DST hangover, I’d perked up by the time I started my 6 AM strength training workout. Once I’d finished with the last of my morning clients, I took a quick 5K walk (14:17 pace) around our neighborhood. I dressed for 55° because that’s what I thought I saw on my weather app, but froze the whole time I was out because it was actually 46° (feels like 44°).

 

Thursday

Because of rain in the forecast for the entire day, I had planned to run on my treadmill (affiliate link), but lucked out when the rain stopped mid-day. I headed out along the parkway and a couple of side circles on one of my old routes, but cut it short to my new go-to distance of a 5K. At 49° with a couple of very short drizzles, it was great running weather and I finished with an average pace of 9:23.

Once home I foam rolled and stretched for 10 minutes each.

 

Friday

I got up extra early to lift for an hour prior to seeing my clients, but when my second appointment canceled I ended up with a spare hour. Later, as with most Fridays, I got in 15 minutes of total body stretching during the stretching segment of the balance and stretching class I teach. I’d also planned our balance portion to include various yoga poses so I finally got some yoga

 

Saturday

Several of our Dawn Patrol cycling friends got gravel bikes over the past six months and have been antsy to give them a dusty spin… With a gravel race on the horizon on June 13th, Bill and I have been more than happy to oblige them as we train – Bill has become the unofficial organizer of our meet-ups. When we met at 11 AM at the parking lot at the Civil War era Goose Creek Bridge, it was 42° (feels like 40°) and we warmed up quickly after rolling out of the parking lot. With a little bit of paved and a lot of gravel our ride was mostly on less traveled roads save for just under two miles on Route 50 at the very end.

 

Twenty miles into our 30-mile ride, we stopped for a quick lunch at Market Salamander in Middleburg (spicy Southwest chicken salad for me). Once back on our bikes, even though the temperature had climbed into the low 50’s, we froze as the wind whipped across our cooled-down bodies as we rode on one of the faster sections of the route. We finished our ride with an average speed of 12.0 MPH and deemed it one of our most fun recent adventures.

 

I’m hoping to post a full recap sometime between Tuesday and Thursday so stay tuned for more fun pictures of the pre-spring beauty of western Loudoun County.

 

Here’s What You Might Have Missed

In case you skipped checking in on my blog this past week, here’s what you missed…

 

Questions:
  • • Are you preparing for races any differently this year than usual?
  • • How is spring shaping up where you live?
  • • Did you run in a race this weekend? If so, was it live or virtual?

 

And that’s my rundown… Have a great week!

 

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I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Be sure to check out not only the hosts’ posts, but those of the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!

 

Disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on the blue product link and then make a purchase, I will receive a small commission for referring you. You will pay no more or less for the product; however, Amazon will show their gratitude for my referral by paying me.