Half Marathon Training Diaries Week 11: Peak Mileage

Thanks for stopping by my half marathon training series!

Currently, I’m training for the Salt Lake City Half Marathon on April 13th. My week 1 post has a comprehensive overview of my goals for this race, my training plan and philosophy, as well as my previous base training before starting this training cycle.

Half Marathon Training Diaries Week 11 Peak Mileage

If you’d like to read the previous weekly recaps, here they are:

1st Week: Kick-off, Goals, and Base Training

2nd Week: Feeling like less than Superwoman

3rd Week: Easy Week + Sweetheart 5k

4th Week: Making Friends with the Treadmill

5th Week: Just Keep Running

6th Week: Focus on Recovery

7th Week: Refining My Fueling Strategy

8th Week: Full Transparency

9th Week: Building Fitness

10th Week: Sore and Exhausted

Training Thoughts

This training week topped out at 27.14 miles total, which is the most I have EVER done in a training week. Funny thing is, I actually felt pretty great all week! After my speed workout Tuesday I was a little sore, but other than that I felt awesome.

My body is finally adapting to the higher training volume!

That’s a good thing…because this was my last “real” week of training before I test my fitness against my goals at the Salt Lake City Half Marathon.

“The hay is in the barn” as they say. All the hard work training is done, and now I just have 1 week to taper until race day for the Salt Lake City Half Marathon!

Monday

Scheduled: 5 miles easy

What I Did: 5.02 miles easy + 11 minutes of calisthenics

I kept my pace SUPER easy on Monday and averaged around 11:10 per mile. I probably could’ve gone faster, but I knew this week would be my highest mileage week of the training cycle, so I kept it conservative.

I listened to the Marathon Training Academy and Runners Who Wine podcasts.

After finishing my run, I did a quick 11 minutes of squats, push-ups, sit-ups, and plank work.

Tuesday

Scheduled: 10 x 400m repeats

What I Did: 4.07 miles on the treadmill including 10 x 400m repeats!

I was enjoying running outside so much that I almost forgot how hard it is to run on a treadmill!

Now, I had every intention of doing this workout on the track, but I didn’t check the weather and account for the rain when I packed my bag in the morning. I wasn’t really in the mood to get wet and really cold, so I hit the treadmill instead.

It was so easy to hit an 8:00 pace for 400 meters around the track 2 weeks ago, but it felt nearly impossible to hold this pace on the treadmill. I was REALLY struggling by the last few repeats but hey, that means I’m challenging my fitness level.  

Wednesday

Scheduled: 3 easy miles

What I Did: 3.02 miles easy + 15 mins leg strength

After work, I got a relaxing 3 miles in around the duck pond, and I even got some cute pictures of the ducks!

When I finished my run, I did a solid 15 minutes of leg and glute strength. Squats, lunges, donkey kicks, glute bridges, and calf raises of course.

Thursday

Scheduled: Rest.

What I Did: Rest

I’m glad I had Thursday off, because I had back to back meetings at work all day, and I really didn’t have the mental willpower or motivation to do a workout after I got home!

Friday

Scheduled: 3 miles at Half Marathon Goal Pace (9:55/mile)

What I Did: 3.02 miles at a 9:31 average pace + 9 minutes calisthenics

First, Friday afternoon was beautiful! It was sunny and 60 degrees. I actually worked up quite a sweat on this run.

Before my run, I did 9 minutes of push-ups, sit-ups, and squats. I scheduled my next physical fitness test and it’s one month away, so I have to make sure I’m getting enough push-ups and sit-ups in each week to make it easy on test day.

My first mile was slower as I eased into the run, and I actually struggled a bit to find a good rhythm in my breathing. At 1 mile, my split pace was 9:47 which would have been plenty fast for my goal pace.

In the second mile, I focused on just maintaining a good rhythm and getting comfortable with the pace. My split was 9:24.

On the last mile, I picked up my effort a bit and finished with a 9:15 split.

And then my run was over, must like that. It seemed so short! But it also left me feeling great and ready for my last long run on Saturday before I taper for the race.

Friday was a reminder that everything is relative. It is relative to where you are at in your training, how far you typically run, and how rested you are. 3 miles might be really long for some people, and it might seem really quick for others.

Again, all relative.

Saturday

Scheduled: 12 mile long run

What I Did: 12.01 miles

Saturday was such a beautiful morning for a long run. It had just finished raining before I headed out the door. Everything was cool, crisp, and the world smelled so fresh. This is part of what I love so much about running—getting to be outside!

After I ran out of sports drink around mile 9 last week and got SUPER thirsty by the end of my run, I knew something had to change for this run. I mixed up an extra serving of UCAN Performance Energy and put it in a plastic water bottle, then had my husband meet me at my turn-around point so I could fill up the bottles in my running belt.

Side Note: I just ordered a new can of UCAN Performance Energy on Amazon and they’re running a 25% off coupon right now!

HUGE shout-out to my husband for being awesome and supporting my training by driving 6 miles out and walking through really tall grass to get me my UCAN refill in the middle of my run! He definitely didn’t have to do all that, but I SO appreciate it.

This seemed to do the trick. I was still tired from the miles, but I was able to keep functioning like a normal person after my run, and I felt hydrated all the way through the end.

After I finished my run, I tried my UCAN Performance Energy + Protein Powder for recovery, and it was actually pretty tasty! Plus, this recovery drink kept me from making any bad food decisions in the following hours.

Sunday

Scheduled: Rest

What I Did: Hallelujah! The taper is finally here!

I’m so thankful to just rest and NOT have to do a workout on Sunday! Sunday was an awesome lazy day. We got to sleep in, cook some delicious eggs, sausage, and toast for a late morning breakfast, and then I got to spend some time on my blog.


Be sure to take advantage of the UCAN 25% off discount on Amazon right now!


How do you usually feel during peak week?

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RunningMyBestLife

Run Happy,

Alexis

About Me: I’m Alexis, Founder of RunningMyBestLife! I am an avid recreational runner, half marathoner, wife, dog mom, busy professional, downhill skier in Northern Utah. My mission is to help new enthusiasts fall in love with the sport of running. I believe that running is a catalyst to taking control of your life and living your best life by design. Learn More –>