This week has really made something clear to me in a way that it wasn’t before: I am absolutely starting back from zero, or near zero, when it comes to long-distance running. The last time I trained for a half marathon was fall 2011, and in all of 2012 (the year of hip injury and PT) I barely did any running at all until very late in the year, when I was finally able. I knew I’d lost plenty of speed and endurance, but I suppose I still didn’t really understand how that would translate into a training cycle. Now that I’m running almost 10 miles on my long runs, I’m remembering how tiring it is, how leaden my legs feel, and how it actually takes time to recover. None of that really was the case last go-round, but it is now.

I’m not complaining, really. I suppose that it’s just different. When I was doing this for the first time, everything was brand new. New miles, new accomplishments. Now, it’s all something I’ve done before, multiple times, yet it’s difficult again for a new and annoying reason.

Another thing I’m realizing is that I really, really should not set any time goals for the race. I’m not saying I won’t set any time goals. I may not be able to help myself. I just really shouldn’t. You know?

Monday: Rest. This was a travel day coming home from our spring break weekend away. I just pushed my normal run schedule back a day to accommodate it.

Tuesday: 5 miles, hilly route. My hip balked a bit at last week’s run schedule (all the week’s runs done in 3.5 days!), so in addition to a weekend of rest, I gave myself permission to skip my normal hill repeats. Instead of repeats, I just ran a hilly 5-mile loop, which seemed a lttle easier, at least psychologically. I didn’t try to push the pace, and I generally felt a little slow and flabby and buffeted by the wind. Not a great run, but it’s in the books.

Wednesday: PT. The usual favorites.

Thursday: 4.5 miles. This was a little better than Monday’s run in terms of how I felt. I started out fairly slow, but was able to speed up a bit after the first mile. It was a gorgeous day out, so I tried to just enjoy myself.

Friday: 30DS Level 1 + PT. This didn’t feel so hard when I was doing it, but it left me with major stiffness and DOMS in my legs the next day, which did not help my long run at all. I like doing a little Jillian business every now and then, but next time I’ll do it earlier in the week.

Saturday: 9 miles. I remembered to bring Gu this time, and I think it helped a bit. I tried the Peanut Butter flavor, for anyone interested in these matters, and it reminded me of those cheap peanut butter candies from my childhood Halloweens. Do you remember the chewy ones, shaped like discs, wrapped in orange waxed paper decorated like a Jack-o-lantern? If you liked those, you will like the peanut butter Gu. I didn’t love it. My run felt really slow, legs heavy and sore from the previous day’s workout, and hip a little testy. I made it through, though, and am feeling better as I type this the next day. After the run, I was hungry and thirsty like you wouldn’t believe. I felt like I’d run 15 miles rather than a modest nine. I recovered with a Bloody Mary (my boyfriend makes a mean one!) and some chips. As you can see, I am the model of good nutrition for athletes. Later in the day, it was Irish stew and Irish beer. Felt I’d earned it.

Sunday: Scheduled PT. Maybe I’ll update this after I complete it.

Total Miles: 18.5