I should have written about Weeks 6-7 while everything was still fresh. But personal events and the holiday season just screwed stuff up for me. It’s hard to focus when the kids are off and you have an odd work schedule. So here’s what’s been going on as I get ready for The Krispy Kreme Challenge in Febraury.

A look at the Zombies, Run! App intermediate 10k training plan and the changes I made to it.

Week 6

Again, Zombies, Run! wanted me to do a 8.1 mile training run. While running longer distances helps your speed improve some, so does running faster. So I added an hour of interval training to the program and nixed the long run.A recent podcast suggested doing intervals and cool downs at either the same distance or same time. For example, run hard for 2 laps or two minutes, rest for two laps or two minutes. I forgot which, so the Week 6 workout was by distance. It was great, but my body was so recovered between each hard run that I wasn’t sure I did my intervals right.

The interval workout was a combination of plyometrics and laps around my house. I have been working on strengthening my upper body and glutes and hips in an effort to make hill climbing easier since I live in a place with little to no hills. It has paid off, but more on that later.

Week 7

During the last two weeks of this Zombies, Run! Training, I wanted to do my best to replicate the feeling of running hard, eating a dozen doughnuts and having to run back to the finish. So, I have been incorporating some back-to-back hard runs. Each has been about 40 minutes, or the length of a Zombies, Run! Episode.

While I know that running longer than the race distance helps boost confidence and stamina, I again decided to forgo that long run. This time I did a workout from #Wedohardstuff, a Facebook group that exercises and raises money for charity. I’ve been doing their workouts and a deadhang and 25 Days of Fitmas challenge throughout the month to supplement my running. The challenges are from OCRBeast and Move More Fitness.

I believe this photo shows the workout I used.

At this point, I feel more prepared for the race than I have with other races.

Week 8

This is the week of my Zombies, Run! training plan. After this, I’m going with another plan of my own creation.

Due to the holiday, I was able to visit the Krispy Kreme Challenge course. I did an almost 8 mile speed walk through the area around the course, which starts at N.C. State University and head to the downtown Krispy Kreme and back.

Compared to where I live now, there are a lot of hills. But as a former resident of Appalachia, they’re nothing like what I’ve dealt with before.

Since I was with my husband, we worked on strategy for the race. He thinks I should run as fast as I can to the doughnuts, eat and then do my best to get back before the hour is up. I like the strategy but am worried about spending all my energy on the first half or the race.

I know if you compress the doughnuts to get the air out, it makes them easier to eat. So that is definitely one strategy I’ll use on race day.

Take aways

  • My mile time during training is currently about a minute faster than I was when I started. It’s still not at the 10-minute mark I want, but I’m happy with the progress.
  • The holiday diet has keep my weight about the same as it was when I started. I am drinking more water though and eating less meat. I also have more muscle definition in my legs and arms. My stomach is also flatter. I may be adding muscle and redistributing weight, which is good.
  • I notice that if I don’t workout, such as taking a rest day or have to travel, I am grumpier than on days when I work out.
  • I pretty such stuck to a training plan for the first time, which is a huge accomplishment for me.
  • I find it easier to follow a food plan if I plan stuff out. Meal prep isn’t my strong suite. If I buy things that are easy to prepare on the fly, like frozen veggies, I’m more apt to eat healthy.

How is your training going? I hope your holiday season is going well. I’ll see you soon as I lay out my goals and plans for 2018.