4/3/14
OK, it's time for a bit of confession/success reporting. On most of my training runs I've been running 3 miles. (Here's the confession part) However, I've been cheating a little because I usually start with a three-minute warmup walk and end with a three-minute cool down walk - all of which I would include as part of the 3 miles. OH THE SHAME!!!
(Here's the success part) Last night I decided to stop living the lie. Since I'm staring down the barrel of bumping virtually all of my training runs to at least 4 miles next week, I had to see if I could actually run a full three miles. And...I did! And broke the 10:00-mile mental barrier while doing so! And I didn't feel like dying either!
Additionally I've realized my mental game is far weaker than my physical game. I'm reading Scott Jurek's book Eat and Run right now and I think it's helping in that regard. While you should "never say never," I can say with confidence that I will not be following Jurek into a world of veganism or multiple Western States victories. However the phrases he often repeats, "just keep moving" and "sometimes you just do things" have resonated a bit and will hopefully help me continue to sharpen my mental edge.
Finally, yesterday I printed off the leg-by-leg course description of the race I'm running and to see it broken into seven manageable chunks ranging from 2.5 to 5.2 miles has taken a bit of the fear out of it. Still, I'm antsy to get outside to see just how much more difficult trail running will (or will not!) be, but at least I only live three blocks from an Anytime Fitness. Things could be much worse!
3/31/14
All right, I need to report a few successes that occurred over the weekend.
First, this past week my wife heard of this magical land called St. Paul that reportedly had sunshine, warmer temperatures, a zoo, paved running trails and very little snow. It sounded so good that we invited Jeff and his family to join us. Lo and behold it was true!
While the moms took the kids into the Como Zoo, Jeff and I were able to sneak in a 3.75-mile run (Jeff won't let me call it a 4-mile run) around Lake Como twice (it's a small lake). During that run, I discovered that running outside with someone to talk to is way more fun than running on a treadmill alone. I also discovered that it helped distract me. Because of that, I ran the whole time without stopping to walk once. (Granted it was at about a 10:30 pace, but it was a long, slow, distance day.) Roughly 38 minutes straight - and I didn't even feel like dying when it was over!
Also, during the run I eclipsed another 26.2 benchmark. I have now run over 26.2 miles total during my training. So I completed a marathon - in two weeks. Baby steps. However, it was sort of cool that I was running with Jeff when it happened as this whole training process is mostly his (and Steve's) fault.
Second, I read an article by David Horton (http://www.extremeultrarunning.com/1stultra.htm) about running your first ultra (Google him if you've never heard of him). While I'm not running an ultra just yet, I did notice he said that good shoes are essential for trail running and put in a plug for Nike Air Pegasus's as the best, cheapest trail shoe. (He had me at the word cheap!)
Well, on our way home from St. Paul to the frozen North, we stopped at a Nike outlet store. And there they were - on the clearance rack! A brand new pair of size 13 Nike Air Pegasus +29 trail shoes - for $36.00!!! Aren't they purty?
Now I can't wait to try them out. Tonight they will debut - on a treadmill unfortunately. I'm itching to get on an actual dirt trail so bad that I've started to figure out how I can road trip to Nebraska on a weekend during April or May despite having golf meets scheduled almost every weekend (For those who don't know, I'm the girls golf coach at Duluth East High School in Duluth, MN.)
So that's where I'm at. Two weeks down and 15 to go. Here's what's in store for this week:
Week #3 – March 31 –April 6
Mon. A.M. – K-Basic, Week 3 & 4 P.M. – 3 miles
Tues. A.M. – K-Basic, Week 3 & 4 P.M. – 3 miles Cruise Intervals
Wed. A.M. – Rest P.M.– 3 miles
Thurs. A.M. – K-Basic, Week 3 & 4 P.M. – 8 Hill repeats
Fri. A.M.– K-Basic, Week 3 & 4 P.M.– 3 miles
Sat. A.M.– Rest P.M.– 3 miles Progression
Sun. A.M and P.M. – Rest TOTAL MILES = 15
After this week, I start to move out of my comfort zone. I have experience with the 5K distance. I ran 5 miles once before in my life and almost 4 miles (3.75) two days ago. Starting next week, virtually all of my runs will be 4 miles or longer including an 8-miler on April 12. That's when I'll get a little dose of reality.
OK, it's time for a bit of confession/success reporting. On most of my training runs I've been running 3 miles. (Here's the confession part) However, I've been cheating a little because I usually start with a three-minute warmup walk and end with a three-minute cool down walk - all of which I would include as part of the 3 miles. OH THE SHAME!!!
(Here's the success part) Last night I decided to stop living the lie. Since I'm staring down the barrel of bumping virtually all of my training runs to at least 4 miles next week, I had to see if I could actually run a full three miles. And...I did! And broke the 10:00-mile mental barrier while doing so! And I didn't feel like dying either!
Additionally I've realized my mental game is far weaker than my physical game. I'm reading Scott Jurek's book Eat and Run right now and I think it's helping in that regard. While you should "never say never," I can say with confidence that I will not be following Jurek into a world of veganism or multiple Western States victories. However the phrases he often repeats, "just keep moving" and "sometimes you just do things" have resonated a bit and will hopefully help me continue to sharpen my mental edge.
Finally, yesterday I printed off the leg-by-leg course description of the race I'm running and to see it broken into seven manageable chunks ranging from 2.5 to 5.2 miles has taken a bit of the fear out of it. Still, I'm antsy to get outside to see just how much more difficult trail running will (or will not!) be, but at least I only live three blocks from an Anytime Fitness. Things could be much worse!
3/31/14
All right, I need to report a few successes that occurred over the weekend.
First, this past week my wife heard of this magical land called St. Paul that reportedly had sunshine, warmer temperatures, a zoo, paved running trails and very little snow. It sounded so good that we invited Jeff and his family to join us. Lo and behold it was true!
While the moms took the kids into the Como Zoo, Jeff and I were able to sneak in a 3.75-mile run (Jeff won't let me call it a 4-mile run) around Lake Como twice (it's a small lake). During that run, I discovered that running outside with someone to talk to is way more fun than running on a treadmill alone. I also discovered that it helped distract me. Because of that, I ran the whole time without stopping to walk once. (Granted it was at about a 10:30 pace, but it was a long, slow, distance day.) Roughly 38 minutes straight - and I didn't even feel like dying when it was over!
Also, during the run I eclipsed another 26.2 benchmark. I have now run over 26.2 miles total during my training. So I completed a marathon - in two weeks. Baby steps. However, it was sort of cool that I was running with Jeff when it happened as this whole training process is mostly his (and Steve's) fault.
Second, I read an article by David Horton (http://www.extremeultrarunning.com/1stultra.htm) about running your first ultra (Google him if you've never heard of him). While I'm not running an ultra just yet, I did notice he said that good shoes are essential for trail running and put in a plug for Nike Air Pegasus's as the best, cheapest trail shoe. (He had me at the word cheap!)
Well, on our way home from St. Paul to the frozen North, we stopped at a Nike outlet store. And there they were - on the clearance rack! A brand new pair of size 13 Nike Air Pegasus +29 trail shoes - for $36.00!!! Aren't they purty?
Now I can't wait to try them out. Tonight they will debut - on a treadmill unfortunately. I'm itching to get on an actual dirt trail so bad that I've started to figure out how I can road trip to Nebraska on a weekend during April or May despite having golf meets scheduled almost every weekend (For those who don't know, I'm the girls golf coach at Duluth East High School in Duluth, MN.)
So that's where I'm at. Two weeks down and 15 to go. Here's what's in store for this week:
Week #3 – March 31 –April 6
Mon. A.M. – K-Basic, Week 3 & 4 P.M. – 3 miles
Tues. A.M. – K-Basic, Week 3 & 4 P.M. – 3 miles Cruise Intervals
Wed. A.M. – Rest P.M.– 3 miles
Thurs. A.M. – K-Basic, Week 3 & 4 P.M. – 8 Hill repeats
Fri. A.M.– K-Basic, Week 3 & 4 P.M.– 3 miles
Sat. A.M.– Rest P.M.– 3 miles Progression
Sun. A.M and P.M. – Rest TOTAL MILES = 15
After this week, I start to move out of my comfort zone. I have experience with the 5K distance. I ran 5 miles once before in my life and almost 4 miles (3.75) two days ago. Starting next week, virtually all of my runs will be 4 miles or longer including an 8-miler on April 12. That's when I'll get a little dose of reality.