Last week’s workouts + balancing a 40+ mile week & CrossFit

My attempt to balance running and CrossFit while training for a half marathon continues! I ran 40+ miles this week and fit in a full-body CrossFit workout.

Last week I broke the 40 mile mark in my weekly running miles! I logged 45.1 miles, including a 13.5 mile run on Sunday. When I was in peak running shape, I was regularly logging 40-50 miles a week, and it just felt so great to be hitting those numbers again!

I definitely could feel the distance in my legs though. On Saturday, I was just WIPED. No energy all day. It was beautiful out, but I spent most of the day inside on the couch. On Sunday, my long run went pretty well but didn’t feel stellar. If I didn’t have my running friend Allison with me for the first half of the run, it would have been a bit miserable.

Considering this was my 3rd week of half marathon training with an increased load (miles + intensity), it’s not surprising I’m starting to feel fatigued. Luckily this week is a down week in my training plan, where the workouts are shorter in duration and lighter in intensity. Down weeks are important in training because they give your body time to recover and help avoid injury. They’re also a nice mental break from the intense grind of training, which can cause burnout if you’re not careful.

Balancing running and CrossFit is an ongoing effort for me  and I think I’m in a pretty good routine right now. I’m doing CrossFit 1-2x a week, and I’m doing it on the same day as my hard running workouts (Tuesdays and Thursdays). While that may sound idiotic, it works out well because I find it gives my body more recovery. By doing a hard run + CrossFit on the same day, it allows me a day of complete rest or very easy miles the next day. If I do a hard run one day and do Crossfit the next day, my body responds as if it’s under more stress continually. And I’ve learned I definitely cannot run hard the morning after CrossFit (which I always do at night).

Alright, here’s a recap of my workouts last week + some running gear I’m loving!

Last Week’s Workouts

M – REST

T – 11.7 miles, average 7:57 pace. The workout was a progression run, which was 60 minutes running easy and then finishing the last 20 minutes at goal half marathon pace (I aimed for 7:00-7:15 pace) + cool down.

W – REST. I tried to go to yoga but my car had been towed. UGH.

Th – 10.5 miles, average 7:26 pace. The workout was 5 x 1 mile repeats at 6:45 pace with 3 minutes recovery between each + a warm-up and cool down. I didn’t quite hit the goal pace on the first and last interval, but I was still happy with the workout overall. + CrossFit

• CrossFit workout, for time, 10 rounds:
  • 200m run
  • 9 slam balls (20# ball)
  • 6 pull-ups
  • 3 deadlifts (I did 175#, I started out with 195# and dropped weight after 2 rounds)
  • I finished in 27:58 and seriously thought about quitting halfway through. And at another point, I thought I might throw up, which has only happened to me once at CrossFit. I think I was tired from my run, but the biggest issue was that I didn’t fuel enough throughout the day or before the workout. Lesson learned.

F – 3.2 miles, 8:16 pace (with Kim). To be honest, if I hadn’t made plans, I would have taken this as a rest day, but I was so excited to run with a new friend and I didn’t want to cancel on our first outing. 🙂

S – 6 miles, 8:05 pace

Su – 13.5 miles, average 8:23 pace (first 6.5 miles with Allison)

Total Miles: 45.1

Hope you have a great week of workouts!

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