Longest run prior to this was HM back in March. Decided this was work destroying my body for. My feet are very sore but I am proud I did this. Temp was 82°F with humidity in the 80% range. Couldn’t have asked for worse weather lol
Set a challenge to beat my previous 6:45 time. After I finished I was walking and saw what looked like a Black Widow spider on the track!I carefully coaxed her into my palm and tried to get a photo before she leapt away into the grass. Today was my lucky day!
So I tried out the Garmin Coach plan with Jeff Galloway. I chose to try and improve my 10k time and bring it more in line with my 5k times. Let me cut to the chase and say this Garmin plan is broken. Like beyond broken to the point of insanity and injury risk. The Jeff plan starts deceptively easy but by week 6 it’s already asking you to do 13 mile Long Runs (A half marathon) and it would constantly fatigue me with drills and workouts without ever showing mercy with an easy run day. This plan wants you to suffer, and never take your foot off the metaphorical gas pedal. The worst and most difficult workout were the 800m repeats that would start at 6x and then climb to insane 14x, 16x and 18x. If you’re not aware, you run repeats and near maximum speed you can hold. I learned halfway through that this plan is infamous for being broken.
Having said ALL that, it did force me to improve. I think my best 10k was ~53:00 before starting the plan and now it’s 49:17 and it could have been lower had it not been for the hot and humid and packed trail conditions I was running in.
Anyone else have a story about trying the Jeff Galloway 10k plan? Did you have a tough time keeping up with the demanding work?
Seems like a very niche reference from one of the developers to Invader Zim. There are episodes where Zim either gets hurt or talks about his own anatomy and he calls it his "Squeedilyspooch". Here's a clip of what I'm talking about.
My Garmin coach 10k plan had a long easy run scheduled yesterday. Imagine my shock when I opened the details and it wanted 13 miles. Don’t ask me how that distance is relevant to 10k training. I went out with every intention to quit early around 15k (9.3 miles) but I surprised myself by running all the way to the opposite end of the trail before turning back.
It’s mind blowing that 2 months ago, I was terrified of running 13.1 miles. My first HM ever was an official race. I got a painful black toenail, I became dehydrated and dizzy and felt like I was slowly dying around mile 11, 12 and 13. Took me a whole week to bounce back and run again.
Well it’s been 2 months of nonstop running. 4-5 days a week and I guess now I’ve progressed so much I can basically do a HM without completely destroying my body. I am very tired today though and my legs are sore, but nothing like my first time running this distance.
I think a lesson here is: Appreciate the obstacles you encounter in your running journey, because they will one day turn into “just another weekend run”.
