I love being on a training plan. LOVE it. The motivation is right there in front of me. I’m not asking myself the question: “Should I get up and run this morning or should I let my second alarm do it’s job?” I don’t have to think about what kind of work out I want to do. Of course, there is some freedom, like any of my foundation runs could be subbed out for an equal amount of XTing. And I add stretching, foam rolling, and yoga to rest days.

I’m on week 6 of the level 2 half marathon plan of 80/20 Running and I’m hooked. I am consistently hitting 20+ miles per week and not feeling like I’m dying and everything hurts at the end of the week. This week especially I feel like I’m cruising. Tuesday I did a Fast Finish run and I didn’t quite make it into Z3 for the last ten minutes like I was supposed to. Yesterday I did a 40min cycle substituted for a recovery run and struggled to get my HR all the way into Z1. And then today I ran a 40min Foundation Run and could barely keep my heartrate in Z2. I think it’s time to bump up the paces for my zones.

Does anyone else have this happen? It’s like my cardio all of a sudden catches up. My RHR continues to drop. It was hanging out around 48bmp for several weeks, but in the last week it’s worked it’s way down to 45bmp and after the last two 50 days come off, I bet it’ll drop another point or two.

Whatever is going on, I will take it! My eating has been VERY good the last couple of days. If I map out my breakfast, lunch, and snacks, and leave myself enough calories for dinner, avoiding any extra snacks or treats, then I do REALLY well. Let’s just hope I can keep it up through the weekend. That’s when I really struggle.

I went to the chiro again today. He said there’s still one tight spot in my hip. It’s definitely doing better every week. The cortisone shot has surely worn off by now and I am definitely not experiencing the level of pain I was before it. I just need to stay diligent and do my stretches and foam roll and omniball all the sore spots. In a way, this hip thing has taught me that I need to be proactive in stretching and foam rolling. Running is so much more enjoyable when it feels good during AND after.

Stay NEON!