Yesterday I met with my trainer, Lauren, to begin general endurance and upper body training as a counter-balance to my running. Lauren asked the usual questions about my height, weight, any known medical conditions, and my daily/weekly nutrition. After the information session, we practiced some general endurance exercises to see where I am currently at and to see what I need to work on over time.
In particular, I realized that I am not amazing when it comes to push-ups (I could only do 10!); My plank format needs to be tighter and I need to learn to hold it for more than 50 seconds; I cannot do good squats, but I will need to learn quickly; my running pace is great and my heart rate is on balance when running. The only thing I need to work on when running is using interval routines to learn how to improve my pace and endurance for longer races. To this end, I am using Runner's World and one of there four week training guides for my half marathon, although I am obviously breaking it over six to seven weeks.
After my light training session, I ran a 5k in about 31:06. Having run 5 miles broken over the two days before (with one day of rest prior to this run), I felt prepared to run this 5k. Although, I must admit that running this 5k was a little rough because I haven't run a full 5k since this summer. Plus, running on the treadmill isn't as fun as running outdoors. Despite these minor issues, I felt quite good during my run. The first two kilometers felt natural and I didn't feel tired or listless. As I reached the third kilometer, though, I took a one-minute walk to catch my self from over exerting my lungs and legs. While I was breathing well, I could feel the strain somewhat beginning to set in. Rather than push myself, which is usually my natural tendency, I slowed my pace, drank water, and slowly eased back into the remaining two kilometers. Bringing my pace up from a 12 minute to 10:15 within a kilometer, I then ran the last kilometer at a 10 minute pace, increasing to a 9:30 pace within the last four hundred meters.
Overall, I felt satisfied with my first 5k of 2010 and I felt well prepared for it. The rest of this weeks runs will be relatively light, however. I am only running two light miles this evening and doing some light arm work. On Wednesday I will train with Lauren, primarily doing resistance exercises to improve my endurance. From there, I plan to run a moderate 2.5 miles on Thursday, a lightly paced 5k on Friday, and a lightly paced 3.5 miles on Saturday. Therefore, Sunday will be a much needed and joyous resting day!
In the meantime, I'm making sure I stay hydrated throughout the day and avoiding sweets (like Krispy Kreme), which tend to be my weakness. Also, much to the chagrin of my fellow graduate students, I am not drinking/socializing as much to help keep my body in shape. It is amazing how much better I feel already! I can't wait for this to continue, despite the inevitable challenges that I will face with training and running.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
And So It Begins
As part of the motivational drive to keep running, I've decided to create a separate blog to document my runs, moods, mileage, successes and failures. In particular, I decided to begin blogging because I am preparing to run my first half marathon and I am both extremely scared and excited to do it. As a somewhat experienced runner who has fallen off the track, as it were, I want to document my progress as a reminder of how far I have come and how far I will go.
My race schedule for this quarter of the year consists of three races:
Since I have run 5ks and 10ks before, I feel like I can take on the two big races that I have planned for this quarter; however, I also recognize that they will both challenge me beyond my previous limits. In preparation for these two challenges, I am asking anyone who reads this and runs to give me advice and help me along the way. In the meantime, I've got muscles to stretch and trails to run.
My race schedule for this quarter of the year consists of three races:
- The Tar Heel Trot (5k) held on February 6th
- The Roanoke Rapids Half Marathon on March 13th
- The Tar Heel 10 Miler held on April 10th
Since I have run 5ks and 10ks before, I feel like I can take on the two big races that I have planned for this quarter; however, I also recognize that they will both challenge me beyond my previous limits. In preparation for these two challenges, I am asking anyone who reads this and runs to give me advice and help me along the way. In the meantime, I've got muscles to stretch and trails to run.
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