I don’t usually say this, but I felt blessed this week. Blessed to have begun training for my goal of running a sub-1:45 half marathon. Blessed to feel like my foot is finally starting to heel. Blessed to have had some extremely beautiful weather this past weekend after the horrible winter we’ve been having. And most importantly, blessed to have a boyfriend who’s willing to go to yoga class with me (I swear, it was his idea!). Seriously though, week one went better than I could have expected. My foot is heeling up (knock on wood) and I was able to get in at least one of my workouts. This week I hope to run all five running days and be able to finish my workouts without any foot pain.
Monday, February 17 – IronStrength for 40 minutes
– 3×15 jump squats and 3×10 rotary planks (on each arm)
– 3 sets rows from plank (x10), pushups (x10), situps with weights (x10)
– 3 sets plyometric lunges (x10), alternating sides of hamstring reach (x5 front, side, and rear) in between
– 3 sets mountain climbers (x10), legs down (x10)
– 4 sets of deadlift high pulls (x5), biceps curls on single leg (x5), overhead press on other leg (x5)
– planks (60 secs; side, down, side) x2
– Ring of Fire squats/lunges (10, 8, 6, 4, 2)
Tuesday, February 18- 5.2 miles with 3 miles up-tempo
This was my first official run of training for the St. Luke’s Half Marathon in April. I’m trying to break 1:45 so my race pace will be roughly 8:00/mile. Since I’ve been having some foot issues, I decided to (mostly) forgo my first workout of training which was a HMP run. Instead I opted for 5 miles with 3 up-tempo miles, so not race pace, not tempo, just a little quicker than easy. Foot felt pretty good for most of the run.
Plan: 5 miles with 3 miles at half marathon pace (8:00/mile)
Actual: 5 miles with 3 miles up-tempo (8:32/mile)
– 1-mile warmup @ 9:13/mile
– 3 miles @ 8:32/mile
– 1 mile cool down @ 9:13/mile
Conditions: Indoors on the treadmill at the Energy Center; warm
Shoes: Saucony Mirage 3 (second run in them)
Wednesday, February 19- 10-mile easy spin
Today my training plan had me on tap to run 5 miles, easy, but since my foot is still not 100 percent, I figured I’d opt out of the run and do some riding instead. Foot felt great and I got my heart rate up, which is really the point of easy mileage (and recovery!).
Plan: 5 miles, easy
Actual: 10-mile easy spin
Conditions: Indoors at the EC
Thursday, February 20- Yoga, 60 minutes
Went to my first yoga class at my new gym with my boyfriend (it was his first class ever!). The class was really gentle but it felt good to dedicate some time to stretching out.
Friday, February 21- 5 miles with 3 miles at HMP (8:00/mile)
This was my first workout of the half training and it felt pretty good but still hard (which it should). I ran it on the treadmill because I wanted to make sure I maintained the right pace for the HMP miles.
Plan: 5 miles with 3 miles at half marathon pace (8:00/mile)
Actual: 5.08 miles in 43:40 with 3 miles at 8:00/mile
– Warm-up for 1-mile at 9:13/mile
– 3 miles at 8:00/mile
– Cool down at 9:00/mile
Shoes: Saucony Mirage 3
Conditions: indoors, hot
Saturday, February 22- 5 miles, easy
Went on an easy run with the local running store. Foot was feeling a little achy this morning but I was able to get the run done.
Plan: 5 miles, easy
Actual: 5.3 miles (Garmin didn’t acquire in time but was running around 8:30s)
Shoes: Saucony Mirage 3
Conditions: BEAUTIFUL! Sunny, mid-30s but felt even warmer
Sunday, February 23- 8 miles, long slow distance
First long run of this training cycle, and my first long run in a very long time (like a month), went really well! At first I didn’t feel so good and my foot was bothering me a bit but once I got into my groove I felt great.
Plan: 8 miles, easy (9:18/mile)
Actual: 8.01 miles in 1:10:45 (8:52/mile)
Splits: (1) 9:27 (2) 8:59 (3) 8:56 (4) 8:52 (5) 9:00 (6) 8:50 (7) 8:42 (8) 8:22
Shoes: Asics Gel Flux
Conditions: around 35 degrees with some wind
Week one mileage total: 34 miles
See all weekly training recaps here.
Fit Girl. Happy Girl. 
Sub 1:45 is an awesome goal! Good luck with your training!
Thanks so much!!
Looks like a great first week! Fingers crossed your foot stays healthy. You definitely did the smart thing by backing off the harder runs and swapping in some cross training
Thanks! I figure, it’s better to take it a little easier now when the training is not super hard then risk hurting myself more.
Girl! I’m shooting for a sub 1:45 too. In April too! I’ve ran 2 halfs this year with my best being at 1:48. I can taste it. It’s right there! I have another one in March, but my goal race is that April one! Good Luck!
Ah! You’re so close, closer than me! Good luck with your training!
Hi! I saw your twitter name on NYC running mama’s twitter feed. I’m a 39 year old mother, runner and 3rd grade teacher. I’m currently dealing with a stubborn case of plantar fasciitis in my right foot arch. I have been doing 2x a week PT with ultrasound, ESTIM and core/strength training. I’ve also been doing 1x a week massage. I currently wear Brooks Adrenaline GTS with “purple Superfeet inserts) Any suggestions? I took 5 weeks off from running and focused on elliptical, yoga and other core work. I’m back to running a total of 12 to 15 miles a week, but there is still a nagging ache in arch. I’m a sub 2 hour 1/2 marathon runner. Would love to hear how you healed? Thank you:)
Hi Kara! I’m not a doctor or a certified running coach but I totally feel your pain! My foot was never diagnosed plantar, we actually weren’t exactly sure what it was, but what worked for me was:
1. Taking time off from running (especially hard running) which it seems you’ve done.
2. I used a small ball and would roll out my arch. I was able to pinpoint the exact spot of the pain and once I found it, I would flex and curl my foot to release the pain. It really worked for me but might not work for everyone.
3. I also iced, religiously, three times a day for 15 minutes at a time.
I hope you heal up and can get back to running soon!