Training

Diacore Half Training, Weeks 1 – 2

Shathiso @thegaboronerunner.com

I am training for the Diacore Half Marathon on the 12th May 2019. I am really excited as this is where I did my first Half Marathon. I’m looking forward to setting a new PB, having fun and taking home a medal for Half #4 🙂

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Diacore Half Marathon – 2018

After the Gabs 1/2 Marathon, I took a week off. I toyed between having an active recovery week and relaxing to my heart’s content. I went for the latter option 🙂 It was fun but by the end of the week I was really looking forward to training again. This is a huge improvement. Previously I would have taken at least 2 weeks off before starting again.

Week 1: A Strong Start

Monday, 18th March: Easy Run, 5 km, 35.17. What a beautiful return to running at the Gaborone Golf Club 5 km Park Run. Elisa and I drove there from work and with no time to stretch we set off as soon as the whistle sounded at 17:30. It was such a hot day but we kept a really good pace and engaged in conversation the whole way. Our overall pace was 07:07 min/km but we really stepped it up in the last km with 06:49! A really good start to the week – my legs felt strong, happy and ready for another cycle of training.

Tuesday, 19th March: Rest Day. 

Wednesday, 20th March: Interval Training, 5.15 km, 36:35 | Upper Body Work, 20 min. This run really got my heart pumping! I started with an easy warm up run, and then proceeded to do 400 m x 7 intervals with 1:30 min rest in between. Although really tough, it was so much fun. My first interval at 06:03 pace was the fastest one, and the slowest was 06:36 towards the end. I also made sure my rest periods were proper rests, more of a shuffle than an actual jog. After the run I did some upper body work for 20 minutes.

Thursday, 21st March: Easy Run, 5.24 km, 39:57 | Pilates Class, 1 hr. It was really hot so I started this run on the treadmill but with about 400 m to go, the treadmill just stopped! It was so frustrating as this is the third time it’s happened. I didn’t have time to sort it out so I just ran the remaining distance outside – thankfully, it had cooled down. After my run, I headed for pilates class where we had a great workout using the resistance band.

Friday, 22nd March: Rest Day.

Saturday, 23rd March: Long Run, 12.67 km, 1:34:55. I had actually scheduled a 10 km Race on this day, but a couple of days before the race, it was cancelled. Although greatly disappointed, I stuck to my original game plan which was to do a 12 km Long Run. We started at the APJ Lights and headed to the Airport and back. Elisa had a longer run scheduled, so she continued on once I was done but it was great to have company!

Later that day, I travelled to Namibia for work. As you can see from my packing, I had every intention to run while I was there but that was not to be. The work schedule was extremely tight and it being a new area for me, I needed to put in quite a bit of reading.

Sunday, 24th March: Rest Day (Namibia Work Trip). 

Week 2: Setting Some Personal Records

Monday, 25th March: Rest Day (Namibia Work Trip).

Tuesday, 26th March: Rest Day (Namibia Work Trip).

Wednesday, 27th March: Pilates Class, 1 hr | Tempo Run, 5 km, 34:20. I arrived from Namibia in the morning and later that day my husband convinced me to go to pilates class. I was not very well-hydrated after my early start and 2 hour flight so my calf ended up cramping during class! I tried to keep a straight face but it was unbelievably sore. The class itself felt tougher than usual but I am so glad my husband convinced me to go.

I prefer running before and not after pilates but as we still had some good light out, we headed to Sebele Agricultural Grounds for what was supposed to be an Easy Run. But after the first km I felt really good and kept challenging myself to go faster and faster. By the time I got to the last km, I realised how close I was to getting a 5k-PB, so I belted it. My last km took 06:08 minutes and I managed a 2-second new PB! It felt so good!

Thursday, 28th March: Rest Day. 

Friday, 29th March: Easy Run, 5.27 km, 39:03. This was a nice and easy run after work. It was quite hot but I had many days of running to make up so I went for it. It turned out to be quite pleasant and I decided to go off the main road and weave through the neighbourhood for a bit of a change.

Saturday, 30th March: Proud Mummy Cheerleader | Interval Training, 4.52 km, 30:45. The day started off at a Mountain Bike Race for my kids! Their first ever. My girl Kaia turns 7 in a couple of weeks and my boy Thiwa is still officially 4 with his birthday towards the end of May. Both kids bravely navigated the undulating terrain with numerous sand patches. My husband accompanied Thiwa for most of the route and was so proud of his bike handling skills. And Kaia ended up being the FIRST girl to come through at the end earning herself a podium finish!

Later on that day, I did some speed work – I ran for 10 min at tempo pace, rested for 2:30 min and then did another fast 10 minutes. Ditiro joined me to keep me on pace – I wanted to be around 06:10/ 06:15 for each 10 min interval and I managed 06:08 for the first 10 minutes and 06:12 for the second!

It was really tough but I impressed myself (and my husband!) and I have almost, almost reached his Super Easy Pace, LOL! In the whole process, I also did my fastest mile ever! You may remember I did a couple of Mile Time Trials last year at the National Stadium. The fastest mile time trial was in October, with 10:04 min. On Saturday, I managed to shave 14 seconds off that with a beautiful 09:50! Progress!

Sunday, 31st March: Long Run, 14 km, 01:56:46. I honestly did not want to do this run but I knew I would regret it if I didn’t! Luckily I had already agreed with my friend Polelo that we would run on Sunday morning. So at 6 a.m. I was at our meeting spot! I did the first 7 km with her and then continued on for another 7 km. I am so glad I did this run and treated myself to a smoothie at the end (as well as some leftover pizza). There really is nothing better than a guilt free treat after almost 2 hours of running!

Summary: What a great start to this Diacore Half Training Cycle! I’m feeling strong, happy and committed. I am also really looking forward to some cooler temperatures as winter approaches! It still feels hot but the weather forecast for the next 10 days suggests we will finally be in the +/- 30°C zone!

[Fortnightly Mileage: 56.85 km |Diacore Half Training Cycle: 56.85 km | 2019 Mileage: 325.53 km | Gym Classes: 2]

I’m excited to join two fabulous ladies, Kim from Running on the Fly and Deborah from Confessions from a Mother Runner for their new link up the “Weekly Run Down”.

34 thoughts on “Diacore Half Training, Weeks 1 – 2”

  6. Welcome to the Weekly Run Down!! SO glad you joined us 😉 Wow…you are really making strides (sorry, #badpun LOL) That’s great you had the PB for the 5K, and your fastest mile!! I wish I could high-5 you in person (instead of through the screen). Congrats!!!

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    1. Haha! Clever pun! 🙂 Absolutely love that you are hosting this link-up! Until I make it to Iowa or you to Botswana, I will take that screen High-5 for now! I’m really trying to be consistent and I think it’s paying off! Thanks as always for your encouraging words Kim 🙂

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  9. WOW!! super strong start to this new training cycle! getting faster and having a new PB must really give you a bit of a boost! I hope this is a good sign for the rest of the training!

    your kids are so, so cute! it’s great that they are involved in physical activities as well. and your hubby is a looker too 😉

    how far is Namibia from where you are? I guess you absolutely would have to fly there if going for a business trip?

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    1. Thank you 🙂 Finally doing some more speed work and so glad it’s starting to show! My kids absolutely love cycling and running and being active. I’m really encouraging it too because hopefully then when they are older it won’t be such a struggle like it has been for me!

      Namibia and Botswana are actually neighbours. We share a very long border. BUT in terms of distance from Gaborone where I live and Windhoek (Namibia’s capital), it is 1,100 km! So about an 11 hour drive with lots of animals on the road.

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  10. Sounds like a great couple weeks! Congratulations on that PB 🙂 I definitely find it hard to fit in working out on work trips a lot the time since they can be so tightly scheduled and draining.

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  12. Oh, that kids mountain biking looks like what we call BMX? (bicycle motorcross) My kids did that when they were in elementary school and it was so fun! Great going on your training. I hope you get your treadmill sorted out though.

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    1. They absolutely loved it and had so much fun. It’s the first event I have seen of its kind for kids, and I’m hoping there are more events like it as all the kids (ages 5 – 15) had such a fantastic experience. There were 3 distances – 5 km, 10 km and 15 km. My girl did the 5 km, but I think she may actually be ready for the 10 soon.

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  13. Strong lady! So lovely that you were raring to go for your next training period, and you’re going from strength to strength. And your kids doing so well with their sports too!

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  15. All the best with your new training cycle. So exciting and you keep getting faster and faster! Your kiddos are so adorable at their bike race. They must be SO proud!

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