Monday, December 3, 2007

Training during the holidays... what was I thinking?

Apologies in advance, but this is going to be one of those whiny blogs. I knew training for Disney would be tough since it would include all those wonderful Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's holidays. And boy, was I right!

For the last two weeks, my only workouts were two runs each week. Thanksgiving week was my 3 miler and the Turkey Trot 5 miler. And then I came home and did I jump back into training? Nope. I even had a packed gym bag ready to go in my car for the entire week, too. So sad. And it's hard to get the runs in during the week. The sun isn't really up until 7AM and then it's pitch black by 5PM! Lunchtime runs don't work too well for me since it would be take me too long to shower and get ready again.

Anyway, enough of the whining. By the time Friday rolled around, I forced myself to get in a short morning run. I was welcomed with a fun new surprise - frigid morning weather! I could see my breath when I got out there. I think I started out too fast in an effort to warm up a bit. But I pushed myself to do my 5K run and managed to finish with a 9:50 min/mi pace. So yay for me because I am always tempted to slow down and take walk breaks whatever distance I run.

The 14 miles on Saturday was tough since I haven't fully conditioned myself back into the normal training routine. But I did it! It worked out really well, too, because I hadn't run with TNT in awhile and lucky for me, they were meeting at 8AM at Campbell Park for a short run. That was about 5 miles from my apartment so I just left my house at 7AM, ran the trail to Campbell Park, met up with them for four miles, chit chatted with everyone afterward, and then ran the 5 miles back to my apartment - 14 miles total! Perfect, huh? Although, I was jealous that they went to Stack's for a post run meal while I still had to run home. My legs felt like jello by the time I got back! I went back into old lady mode limping around later that day but I was fine by that evening.

So now it's a new week and a fresh start to get the training going! For REAL, this time! Here's my goal (and by posting it here, I'm hoping it will force me to follow through):

Tues: short run
Weds: short run
Thurs: short run
Fri: rest
Sat: 16 miles
Sun: rest

I'm not sure what kind of short runs I will do yet. I normally have two: 1) my 5K run that I try to complete in under a 10:00 min/mi pace and 2) my 4 mi run around my neighborhood with some baby hills to get the heart rate up a little. My other options are a 5 or 6 miler to get a little bit of a longer run in mid-week or some speed training on the track.

Ideally, I'd like to squeeze one strength training class in as well so we'll see.

I could really use some good motivation right now - training by myself isn't working as well as I thought it would... :P

2 comments:

Amanda said...

Motivational quotes for you!

"Your toughness is made up of equal parts persistence and experience. You don't so much outrun your opponents as outlast and outsmart them, and the toughest opponent of all is the one inside your head." - Joe Henderson


"You don’t run against a bloody stop watch, do you hear? A runner runs against himself, against the best that’s in him. Not against a dead thing of wheels and pulleys. That’s the way to be great, running against yourself. Against all the rotten mess in the world. Against God, if you’re good enough." - Bill Persons


"I always loved running...it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs." - Jesse Owens


"Running is a big question mark that’s there each and every day. It asks you, ‘Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?'" - Peter Maher

kirby said...

Totally why I am concerned about the half marathon on February 3. I can do a long run this weekend (I'm up to 9 miles), but then I have class the following weekend. Long run on the 22nd before I leave... but then I'm in the frozen tundra of surburban Illinois for two weeks... and then maybe a short run before Amanda's wedding? Augh!!!!

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