fort desoto 15k training: week 1 workouts + bloody mary salmon
I promised myself, after running the Big Sur Marathon in April on limited, injurous, highly-flawed training, that I’d approach running more intelligently in the offseason. Hindsight says I did pretty well. I cut my weekly mileage to 15-18 miles with a 6-7 mile long run, applied non-impact crosstraining, tried to haul some weights at least once per week, and above all took pressure off my neurotic self to just get out and go sans expectation, pace goals, or worries. I’m ready now, though, to begin a more structured training cycle.
I’m not exactly following a strict or coach-curated plan, though my workouts roughly follow this one from Hal Higdon. I intend to adapt based on how my body responds, particularly my hip – biggest concern as far as runless stints go – to more speed and slightly higher mileage. My goal is one speed workout, two to three short easy runs, and one long run per week, hopefully snagging a 10-miler before race day. In these eight weeks of race preparation I intend to cross train once or twice per week (swimming, biking, elliptical, etc.) and strength train two days as well.
The most important part of this whole training mechanism, though, is fueling! I’m sharing below the workout summary my favorite recipe of the week: Bloody Mary Salmon with Green Bean Nectarine Salad and Potato Wedges. Keep reading to snag the details. Note: I did not receive compensation for any mentioned products or links.
On that prolonged introductory note, here’s the lowdown on the first week.
Monday, 8/5: 1860 yard swim
- 390 yard warmup as 60 breaststroke/60 freestyle/120 breast/120 free/30 breast
- 840 yard steady (21:23); 60 easy breast to recover
- 210 yard steady (5:12)
- 360 yard cooldown, same as w/u
I swim in my apartment complex pool, which measures 15 yards per length. Hence, why my distances are wonky for each interval.
Tuesday, 8/6: 4.47 miles, 8:59 pace – 5 x 2 min intervals
Rain slithered down during my warmup and somehow caused my left contact to bubble, so I had to stop in the middle of the sidewalk to adjust it. Wet conditions ALWAYS make me run faster, but I was still pleasantly surprised at my splits, and particularly because this was my first structured speed workout in ages. My intervals clocked in at 8:12, ??? (I ran beneath an overpass here so I’m not exactly sure what the accurate time was), 8:13, 8:12, and 8:04.
Wednesday, 8/7: 2.21 miles, 9:22 pace (AM) + 45 min strength (PM)
I am a sucker for running super early in the morning (this one was at 4:30a) so I split my workouts to perform the bulk in the afternoon once I finished work. It felt terribly humid during the run but since I kept the distance short, I managed pretty well.
The workout:
- 10 min elliptical warmup
- 3×15 single leg deadlifts 15#
- 3×12 squat with lateral leg raise 15/20/25#
- 3×20 kettlebell swings 15/20/20#
- 3×20 donkey kick to fire hydrant
- 3×15 barbell good mornings, 10# each side
- 2 sets of 1 min plank/1 min Russian Twists with medicine ball/1 min boat hold
- 50 bicycle crunches
Thursday, 8/8: 3.42 miles, 9:12 pace
Another 4:30a jaunt, progression style.
This run was also my first time trying Nuun’s Ginger Lemonade tablets with vitamins. I’m a fan of how subtle the flavor is, and am particularly favoring this variety due to ginger’s gut-calming properties. It also seemed to explode out of my water bottle less than my usual Mango Orange.
Friday, 8/9: 7.51 miles, 9:28 pace + stress relief yoga
I completed 7 miles multiple times during the offseason, but figured it still to be a good starting point for the longer runs. It was brutally humid and uncomfortable out – 80 degrees, 77 dew point at 5:30-6 am. Ridiculous. Toasted legs from my gym session Wednesday didn’t help. Hencewise, by mile 5 dehydration leadened my body and the final bridges were not my friends.
I also relaxed for 25 minutes in the afternoon with my hectic day yoga sequence.
Saturday, 8/10: 3.37 miles, 9:25 pace
Some casual miles through still, soupy early morning neighborhoods.
Sunday, 8/11: 1,170y swim + 20.15 mile bike
We attempted to hit the beach for an open-water swim early in the morning, but the surf was too tumultuous and we rendered the outing moot. I hopped in the pool when we returned home for a straight freestyle swim, with some speedier sections mixed in.
Every weekend we have available, we try to bike together. The weather cooperated midday for an over-hour ride down the Suncoast Parkway Trail. As per tradition, we indulged once home in glasses of beer to unwind, and watched some baseball while I foam rolled and stretched to restore my tired legs.
Total Mileage: 20.98 (really, couldn’t give me 21?)
For the salmon, I followed this recipe with a few modifications:
- Salmon instead of steak
- Dijon mustard instead of horseradish
- 1/2 cup regular tomato juice + 1 tsp tobasco sauce instead of spicy tomato juice
- Instead of grilling, I baked it in a Pyrex for 15 minutes at 425 degrees F.
I added a side of potato wedges, too, for good measure. And carbs. Just slice two potatoes, season with oil, salt and pepper, and toss into an oven preheated to 425 for 35 minutes, flipping potatoes once halfway through the cook time!
How were your workouts this week? Any upcoming races?
