11 posts tagged “training schedule”
As this blog was really started as a running blog, I figure it's time for an update.
Running has been sporadic this month. Going to D.C. really threw me off track. But I'm working on getting back on track. Really, once classes end and I'm into studying, it will be much easier to stay on a schedule. I'm planning to keep running as much as possible while studying for the bar, both as stress relief and to keep from gaining a million pounds.
Stats:
March 2007: 64.8 miles
April 2007: 17.2 miles to date
This week:
Sun: 5.15 mile long run
Tues: 1.75 mile easy run
Planned: Wednesday & Friday - 30 minute runs, Saturday - 5+ miles.
Due to some terrible weather and a class, I had to push Saturday's run to Sunday, which meant skipping Monday's run. I'll still do this week's long run on Saturday, so my weekly stats are going to look AMAZING.
In terms of races, I think I may run the Marine Corps 10K in October. I won't be ready for the marathon by then, mostly because I think training for a marathon and studying for the bar exam sounds a little too stressful for me. But the Disney marathon is still in the back of my mind (must wait to see how the job thing unfolds) and then there's always the DC Marathon in the spring.
I ended up running nearly 50 miles in September. My goal was 60, but being sick really didn't allow for that. I'm ok with it though. I'll just try to run 60 miles this month.
I'm running a 5K in 2 weeks. The law school's Ambulance Chase. I'm not sure if I've mentioned that here or not, but it's a race held by our law school every year where we actually start the race by running after an ambulance. Yep. Law students running after an ambulance. It should be a lot of fun. I'm not sure if I'm going to push myself to get another personal best or if I'm just going to run it with my friends. I think the latter might be the better plan.
I went for a 3.5 mile run this morning. I'm really fatigued this afternoon. Normally, I'd run again tomorrow, but I think I'm going to go to the gym and bike instead and then run on Tuesday. I'm off schedule as it is, being out of town Friday-Sunday afternoon.
So a tentative schedule for the next two weeks:
Today - 3.5
Mon - bike
Tues - 4.5 miles?
Wed - 2 miles?
Thurs - Turbo Jam
Fri-Sun - Out of town
Mon - 3.5
Tues - 2 (3.5 if I'm up to it)
Wed - Turbo Jam
Thurs - 2
Fri - Rest
Sat - RACE!
Because of the race, I'll have two short weeks this month, so it'll be a push to get in all my mileage. I'll sure try though!
Just a quick link for all you runners. Someone just pointed me to RunningAHEAD, which I think is one of the best free online running logs I've seen. It incorporates maps, so you can plot out a course on a map, then link it to your run. And you can also be lazy like me and have an "other" map, which is just a blank map, which I use for runs that I don't think I'll run again or treadmill runs. It's got lots of charts and graphs, and I love charts and graphs. You can see my log here. Please no mocking the pitifully slow runs.
3.5 miles again this morning. I went out on a new path, ran to the park and back. It was weird to be on a different route, but I liked it, and I think I'm going to run it more often. My normal route is a lot of weaving back and forth on streets. This new route is just out and back. It timed at about 43 minutes, which isn 't bad, especially considering that I had to stop at a street light twice.
I run at 6am, and it's dark when I start. The sun's just starting to come up about halfway through my run. So I bought a little red flashing light that I can clip to myself for safety. I felt like such an idiot wearing it this morning, but I think it's probably a good idea.
I think part of the reason it bothers me is this Slate article (if you're a slow runner, be prepared to be offended). Basically, this guy talks about how the slow runner has ruined the marathon, that there's no accomplishment in just crossing the finish line. Personally, I think he's an idiot, but one of the things he says is that he finds it ridiculous to see all these wannabe runners out wearing all sorts of technical gear with every gadget known to man. When I run, I'm wearing my heart rate monitor, a thing on my shoe to hold my house key, a RoadID on my wrist, my iPod on my arm, either a hat or a headband, and now, a flashy light. Am I going overboard? The RoadID and light are for safety. The shoe pocket is so I can get back into my house. The rest is probably unnecessary. Oh, and I carry a water bottle. I probably don't need water on a short run, but I usually take a few sips at each mile and then drink it while I do my cooldown run. Should I feel ridiculous? I don't know. It's probably more than I need. Should I care? Most people who are out running at 6am aren't judging each other. And no one knows how far I'm running. Maybe I'm doing 3.5 miles. Maybe I'm doing 10 miles. I think I just shouldn't worry about it. I like running and I'm happy. What else matters?
This weekend, I finally re-painted and redecorated my bedroom. After only two and a half years of hating my pink walls. I had no curtains and the room just looked pretty bare. A few months ago, I found bedding I really like, and I ordered it. And it was promptly backordered. Finally came in a few weeks ago, so I got some paint and this weekend, my mom and I painted half a day on Friday and Saturday. I love it. I put a pale blue/grey on three walls and a darker blue on one wall, and also had to re-paint the ceiling. It's so nice to finally feel like I have an entirely completed room, curtains and all. It makes me want to do another room, but the odds are good I'll be moving sometime this summer, so I don't want to do too much. I don't want to have to leave a place I love. It's probably better if I dislike a few things.
I went running today. 3.5 miles. I shaved three minutes off my time! I noticed that my calorie burn had been lower lately, so I decided that I could push myself - I was probably getting into better shape and needed to up the pace. Of course, I was also running at noon rather than 6am, so I was more awake and my brain was more warmed up and ready to go. It felt good to get out there though. Running's definitely an addiction. I'm re-thinking my desire to half-marathon this spring. I think I'll re-evaluate around Chirstmas, see where I am then. I do know I'm going to run the St. Patrick's Day Run in St. Louis on St. Pat's Day. It looks like a great run, lots of people, lots of fun. And it's only 5 miles. 5 miles is not too far for me to run.
Yesterday, I didn't do much of a workout. I was lazy and tired, and so I just did 10 minutes of Ab Jam (and man, my back muscles are sore today) and the 20 minute Turbo Jam workout. It was a non-running day, but I still wanted to do something.
But even with the low calorie burn yesterday, I was a snacking machine all day. It was ridiculous! I just wanted to eat and eat and eat. I suppose it could have had to do with all the exercise I had done in the previous days, but I think it was just the changing of the seasons and my body trying to store winter fat for hibernation. In the past few days, I broke down and bought three new pairs of pants in smaller sizes because my regular size just isn't cutting it anymore. So I have to be careful to not sabotage that. I don't have money to spend on clothes that I quickly grow out of.
Went for a run this morning. 3.5 miles, as usual. Still dark at 6am, but I've discovered that my favorite part of the day is when the sun just starts to come up. It's beautiful. However, it was also 40 degrees at 6am. Once I was about a mile into my run, I was quite comfortable, but walking out the door and doing my warmup walk was painful. I was wearing a pair of capri-style pants (but I'm short, so they're only about an inch or two above my socks - if I get some taller socks, I think they'll be fine for winter) and a t-shirt, with a very light jacket over top. I planned to take the jacket off once I got going, but I just couldn't convince myself to go out without it.
Not really increasing the pace much, but I did end up with a huge side stitch again this morning, which I haven't had on a morning run in weeks. Not sure what was up with that. I'd like to have that 3.5 miles down to under 40 minutes in the next couple of weeks. I'm at about 44 minutes now, which isn't terrible, given all the hills on the route, and considering that I do my first mile a bit slower, because even though I do a warmup walk, I'm not really fully warmed up.
I'm thinking that maybe I need to do something to get my heartrate up before the warmup walk. I joke that I should do laps around my dining room table, but really, that's not the best plan. I'm thinking that as soon as I get out the door, I'll do a whole bunch of jumping jacks, then do the warmup walk. And maybe that will make me less cold. It's only September. If it's 40 degrees in the morning now, what's it going to be like in a few months? I need to figure out what kinds of cold weather gear I have and then start saving my pennies for some better cold weather gear.
On one of the running message boards I frequent, they were holding a virtual 5K this weekend. Run your 5K (or a shorter distance if you choose) and report your time. And cheer everyone on. I was going to use Saturday's race for my time, but then I pulled out of it, so I figured I just would skip this month's virtual race.
Yesterday, I was doing my homework, and it had rained all afternoon. The rain stopped, and it looked so appealing outside. And I was getting antsy from sitting at my desk all day. So I decided to go run 5K. At my own pace. I wore my heartrate monitor, but set it so I couldn't see the time of my run. And it was rough, and I had some side stitches (thanks to the big lunch I ate, not anticipating that I'd be running later that day), but I still finished in 40 minutes. Not super fast, but not bad for a solo "race" after I had been sick.
Of course, I'm not usually a Sunday runner, but today I just went back to my normal schedule. 3.5 mile run. And it went well. It was cool out when I went out, about 60 degrees, and it was dark. Very dark. So when I started, it was cold and dark and I was not so happy. But I warmed up, and the sun slowly started to rise. I'm wondering if I should get one of those flashing lights I can strap to my arm when I run. There are a lot of streetlights, but maybe a flashing light would be better. I'll have to look into that.
I figured today's run would be tough, what with having run 3+ miles the previous two days, and having taken a week off. But it wasn't too slow. Calorie burn was low though. I'm wondering if the heat has something to do with it. The body does have to expend effort to stay cool, so I guess it would make sense that cool weather would lead to less calorie burn.
Either way though, I ate when I got home around 7, but by 9:30, I was STARVING. I'm sure it has to do with all the calories I burned this morning. I'm going to have to figure out something better to eat after a run. I should go back to my oatmeal and pumpkin concoction. It's not high cal, but it's pretty filling, and maybe it will keep me satisfied for more than 2.5 hours. My english muffin and peanut butter just didn't do it for me today. Or maybe I should just start having protein shakes along with my breakfast again.
Today, I was supposed to run a 5K. But as I mentioned, I opted out of it a few days ago. I thought about getting up early and going out and cheering people on, but as I didn't know anyone in the race, and Saturdays are my only days to sleep in, I decided to do just that.
I ended up going out and doing a planned 3.5 mile run. My goal was to just try to get through the 3.5 miles, regardless of whether I walked or ran it. I did end up walking at least half a mile, but I still got through it. I think my current plan is to continue with my old running schedule, do 3.5 mile runs Monday/Wednesday/Friday with a shorter run on Saturday. I'm hoping by Friday, I'm back to my old form and can go back to a 4.5 mile run next Monday.
It's really frustrating to have taken time off and actually see a loss in my training. I'm hoping it's just temporary. I also managed to not gain weight while taking a week off, which delights me, but I'm hoping that it's not a loss of muscle. I guess I will see about both in the next week or so.
I'm feeling better, though not completely recovered, I don't think. Still dealing with a bit of congestion that I'm not used to. But I don't feel bad. And that's what's important.
I think I'm about 95% sure I'm pulling out of the 5K I'm supposed to run on Saturday morning. I'm really disappointed by this.
While I feel a whole lot better than I did last week, I'm pretty sure I'm not recovered from my illness. I'm still on antibiotics, of course, and am taking them faithfully. I tried to put in 3.5 miles yesterday and got in 2. This morning, I tried another two, and I was really struggling through the first mile. I decided to stop after that. I just couldn't get my legs to move. I had absolutely no energy.
I don't know what it is. I have read that after an illness, you shouldn't race for 2 weeks. Maybe I should take that to heart and not run, rather than risk injuring myself. Maybe it's just a side effect of the antibiotics. Maybe it's my diet. Since I've not been running, I'm not as hungry, so I've been eating a bit less. Not an unsafe amount less, but probably around 1400 calories/day versus 1600 calories/day. Maybe that's having an effect.
The last thing I want to do is hurt myself or end up hating running. But it is just so disheartening to not even be able to run a mile. I'm scared I've lost all the ability that I've built up. I realize that's really unlikely, but I'm still just really upset about this.
Well, I had a running plan all worked out. But I definitely didn't achieve my goals. I'm not horribly disappointed, to be honest. I was sick, and I just didn't have the strength.
Friday, I went out and did mile loops around my house. I felt ok, but I didn't want to overtax myself. I did two miles in 24 minutes. I figured that was a good recovery run. After all, I had a lot to do that day. Crashed around 1:30 or so, felt pretty horrible. But our law school softball league was starting up and my team was scheduled to play two games. I decided to go to the game and dress in case I felt better, but the plan was to not play. Well, we didn't have enough players, so I played. I definitely was a bit off, but I had a great time, and felt much better once I got out into the weather.
Then I went over to Light the Night, a 2 mile charity walk to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. It was a nice event, a leisurely walk through the park. I can't wait until my distances are up enough that I can run the paths in the park. It's a 5.65 mile path around the whole thing and it's just a beautiful place. But I'm not quite there yet. Ideally, I'd be to a place where I'm running to the park, running the path, and running back. But that'd be somewhere between 10 and 12 miles (I'm not sure of the exact distance from my house to the park). That'll be a while.
I got up this morning and decided to try a mid-afternoon run. My legs were super fatigued, but I thought maybe once I got going, I'd feel better. Nope. One mile and I was done. It just wasn't there. So my mileage for the week is low - only 7.5 miles. Considering the goal was 13.75, that's a bit low. I'm scheduled to run a 5K race next Saturday. I figure I should be up to it, but if I don't improve my time from my last race, I won't be too disappointed. They say it can take up to 2 weeks for your running to recover after you've been sick.
On another note, I got on the scale this morning and apparently lost over 2 pounds this week. I'm not complaining - I got into running to lose weight in the first place. But I figure it's just a side effect of the decongestants and being sick. I expect to see the weight back next week. Hopefully not all of it though.
I've been sick the past few days. Sinus infection. I'm totally a whiny baby when I get sick. But I have to say, I love student health services here. Because I'm a grad student, they try to get me in and out as fast as they can, which I think is strange, but at the same time, awesome for me. I had an appointment at 2:30 yesterday and by 3:00, I was in class across campus, drugs in hand. All at no added cost to me (aside from the cost of student health insurance, of course).
So until this morning, I hadn't run since Monday's amazing run. I feel like a slacker, and I'm a little concerned about how these days off will affect my 5K next weekend.
I ran two miles this morning. I felt ok when I woke up so I decided to try a 2 mile run, but I did mile loops around my house so I could stop at mile one, and if I wanted to stop at any point, I was never more than half a mile from my house. I felt pretty good after 2 miles and probably could have done another, but I didn't want to push myself too hard. I'm still coming back from the illness.
I'll probably try to run tomorrow. If I feel good, I'll do my normal 3.5 mile run, and if all goes well, add another mile loop on to repeat Monday's 4.5 miles. I'm still low on mileage for the week, but what can you do? Of course, if I'm not feeling well, I'll run less. I don't need to get any sicker.
katherine recommended this book to me and I'm glad she did. I just got it yesterday, but it seems to be a wonderful reference guide for anyone who's running. Don't worry about the term "competitive." It's more used to describe people who run races, regardless of if they're out to win or just out to finish. But I think it'd be a useful book for anyone who runs. It's got sections on training programs, racing, cross training, illness, injuries, clothing, etc. Great book. I think I'm going to use it to try to create a training schedule for myself sometime this weekend. I don't know why, but I really love having a training schedule to work from. It keeps me on track and prevents me from running too much. The last thing I want to do is injure myself or burn out.
