…I also have some BAD news, but let’s go with the GOOD first, shall we?
GOOD NEWS
I have finally hit my stride and am please with training over the past two weeks. It’s nothing earth shattering, but it’s progress and that’s my main goal right now. More important than actually training for the 10K, I want to build some healthy habits and workout consistency. I can work on speed, endurance, and distance later. Now it’s all about just moving.
I also found a great tool on my phone that helped with training. I have an Android phone and the application is called ‘A HIIT Interval’. It allows you to build your interval workout and the phone will then do all the work of reminding you when to walk or jog. It seems like such a small victory, but it takes so much pressure off when you don’t have to calculate out your next interval and keep an eye on the clock. When I was using the HIIT Interval timer, the time went much faster and the workout felt more productive, probably because I wasn’t staring at the clock the entire time. Best of all, it was a FREE app.
BAD NEWS
The Half Marathon I was planning to run in December has been cancelled. I hadn’t officially announced it yet, but I was planning to participate in the inaugural Rock & Roll New Years Eve Half Marathon in Indian Wells. I had my hotel booked and had created the training plan, but I heard last week that the race was cancelled. I was disappointed for a few reasons; it sounded like a fun NYE experience, the hotel reservation would satisfy a few deals with my Marriott membership, and I had created my training plan for a Half Marathon with the 10K training run scheduled. I had pushed my plan a little harder than I should because I wanted it complete in time for the Half Marathon, meaning if I’m not doing the Half, I should really only be running a 5K in November. I understand why they cancelled, and I was able to cancel my hotel with no penalties so the race cancellation cost me nothing. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s a wicked bummer.
With that out of the way…
From my last update, 2 weeks ago, things have changed for the better.
Week 3 Mileage: 7.40 (Goal:9 miles)
Week 4 Mileage: 7.01 Goal: 10 miles)
Tuesday 9/20:
2.11 Miles
40 Minutes
Thoughts: This was in no way a run, jog…or even a wog. I walked this at a moderately slow pace. I was suppose to run 2 miles today, but moved that to Wednesday since it was already 11pm when I jumped on the treadmill. I had also just eaten (I’m SO not good at this sometimes). Instead of forcing myself to run, I walked and it was a good idea. Point was that I was moving, even when I didn’t want to.
Wednesday 9/21:
2.28 Miles
40 Minutes
Thoughts: Today was a much better day. I hit my stride and had longer peaks of running with shorter recovery. Now, the motivation could have been the fact that I was watching Alex O’Laughlin on the Hawaii Five-0 premiere while on the treadmill. What’s gonna get your blood pumping more than him?
I ran intervals of about 1:30 min jog to every 2 minute walk and included a 5 minute walk warm up and a 5 minute walk cool down.
I feel pretty inspired after today’s run.
Whew, is it hot in here??
Friday 9/23:
3.01 Miles
51 Minutes
Thoughts: Today was a great day. I had a fun little local adventure to an Apple Orchard on Saturday so I was headed to my Mom’s house for the night. They live much closer to the apple orchard than I do. I knew I couldn’t do my run in the evening like usual, so I scheduled the jog for my lunch hour. I did a 5 minute warm up and a 5 minute cool down. For the main distance it alternated 2 minutes walking with 1 minute 30 second jogging. I’ve increased the speed that I’m jogging and am pleased with the progress so far.
Sunday 9/25:
None
Thoughts: Oddly exhausted and ended up sleeping most of the day. I think it may have been the stress from work catching up with me and the dread that was setting in that I had to do it all again on Monday.
Week 4 Mileage: 7.01(Goal: 10 miles)
Tuesday 9/27:
2.01 Miles
33 Minutes
Thoughts: I did not want to workout today. I have been incredibly worried about my dog who is limping around the house and it’s been nearly 100 degrees (still with no AC). But I decided that it was just 2 miles and I could do 2 miles. So I jumped on the treadmill at 11:30pm and had the best workout so far. I included a warm up and cool down, but kept with the 2 minute walk and 1:30 jog.
Thursday 9/29:
3 Miles
Time not documented
Thoughts: I’m sad to say that I honestly can’t remember how long the 3 miles took me this week. I was going slower because my throat was bothering me and I was worried that I was getting sick. [excuses, excuses]. If I had to guess it probably took me about an hour, which is a problem since I only have 90 minutes to run double this amount in about a month.
Monday 10/03:
2 Miles
33 Minutes
Thoughts: I had 5 miles on the schedule for today, but my timing was off and I had to move it to tomorrow. I’m still feeling a little down from fighting off a bit of a cold, which means I finished the 2 miles a little more exhausted than usual, but still pleased with the time. Hopefully tomorrow I can fit in my 5 mile jog and get an idea of whether I’m on track to finish the 10K within the time limits. I walking a fine line between adding speed too fast and trying not to get injured, but so far so good.
