Friday, July 16, 2010

Starting from scratch

So... since the Goofy challenge, there hasn't been much running lately. At least not on any consistent basis.

But now I've got a half marathon coming up. In 7 weeks. And I have no running base. Oops.

Luckily for me (or unfortunately for me?), this is nothing new. I tend to be a procrastinator in life and this is definitely one of those examples.

And it's not just that I haven't been running, I haven't been doing much exercise in general lately - so my overall fitness level is definitely not in its prime. I didn't mention it here but I had an impromptu personal training session a few months ago and it was so intense that I nearly blacked out from it! (Instead, I just sat in the trainer's office while he waited for my face to return to its normal color and the clamminess to go away. Oh I may have dry heaved as well.) I will take some blame for that incident as well since I did have a Kara's Cupcake as pre-workout fuel. See? I have been out of it so long that I can't even remember proper workout nutrition!

Anyway, I digress. I finally realized that I had to stop dilly-dallying and get back out there.

And for those of you still out there still reading this, you need to hold me accountable! :P Just kidding. Well, maybe.

Did I mention I'm a picky runner? Ideal running temp for me is 55 degrees. Especially when I'm out of shape. Because if it's cold, I'll just force myself to keep running to at least stay warm.

Well, there is no 55 degrees to be found where I live. Well unless I go to SF which I definitely plan to do once I can comfortably run 6 miles. But 2 miles is definitely not worth 2 hours of driving.

So off to the gym I go! I can't stand the dreadmill but I can't stand running in sunny heat even more.

Since it's been months since I've tried running, I kept it simple - 2 miles was all I wanted. So I played with the speeds. Started at 12:00 min/miles, then 11:30, then 11:00, and finally ended with 10:30 with a little bit of 10:00 in the end.

Now back when I used to run regularly, 10-10:30 would be my easy pace. Yesterday? It felt like I was sprinting! Even my heart rate monitor reflected that - it hit around 180 during those paces.

According to my polar HRM, my aerobic cardio zone (or whatever it's called) is between 121 and 158. Obviously 180 is not a comfortable zone for me. From what I recall, 180 is where I would be during a 5K back in the day. 10-10:30 would be more like 160.

I love data - it's so fun to compare!

Anyway, the run was fine - I'll probably aim for 3 this weekend. Yep, 3 is now my long run, haha.

I'll be doing other things at the gym other than running to keep things interesting. Hopefully, I'll be able to get my little fit self out of hiding soon :D

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey there, enjoy your blog and it's on my GoogleReader!

Keep up all that running effort and yes, data is fun!

teacherwoman said...

I am still here...and will hold you accountable! I too would love to run in 55 degrees all the time... it's not possible here, this time of year, either.

Alisa said...

You'll get back into shape in no time!

What half do you have coming up? Please god tell me Nike isn't 7 weeks away :)

Aron said...

YAY you're back!! just start slow, you've done this before, you will be back in no time!

i hate this weather.

joyRuN said...

I don't blame you for driving to 55degree weather for a run. I'd totally do that than run in this never-ending sauna.

Nicole said...

YAY!!! i'm excited to read your blog now that your running again! i'm having a hard time getting back on the wagon and hope to be rocking it soon... just as you are!!! :) this weather in the midwest is INSANE too!

The Laminator said...

Back for more of Audrey's adventures in running. If you forgot, you're still my hero for doing Goofy...I wish my LSD was 3. What's that like?

RoadBunner said...

Stick with it! If I take even a month or two off I suffer trying to go 2 miles. You'll get your legs back soon!

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