Today it remains cool, but without the rain. So pretty much perfect! I ran at 3:00PM. If you can imagine. The last time I came even close to running this late was during a 'cold front' in Florida back in November. And it was still challenging. Today's run, on the other hand, was just plain pleasant.
The calves are still tight. I've read a lot of blogs today that tell me basically if you start running a lot, your calves will be tight. I don't think it's anything more serious. Shins are not really bugging me (so it's not shin splints) and it's really only when I'm running that I have a problem. No cramping up or anything. So we will stay with the schedule for now and hope that this goes away. I did have something similar happen when I took a break during the winter of 2007, then started running again, so I don't think it's anything to be too concerned with at this point.
It's nice that a 3M run doesn't seem like such a big deal anymore after two weeks of being back in a normal routine. This is great, since there are plenty of longer runs ahead. But it is also great because as long as 3M doesn't seem like a big deal, I'll get through this training plan for the half-marathon, I hope!
Showing posts with label Pre-half-marathon training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pre-half-marathon training. Show all posts
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Two runs in one weekend
The first thing that needs to be said is that I did it! I ran all five planned runs this week. It's the first time I've stuck to the schedule probably since December and my marathon training. I wouldn't classify this as a miracle, because I actually am pretty good about staying on schedule most the time -- the past few months were more of an exception than the rule. But it certainly felt nice to be back in a routine.
No real pain to report, which is great. A bit of stress on my shins, but nothing unmanageable. Next week it's a very similar schedule, except that instead of two 4-mile runs, I do one 4-mile and one 5. Very doable. Yay!
SATURDAY'S RUN
Let me just say that I destroyed Saturday's 3-mile run. If runs had the will to live, I robbed mine of it (if that makes any sense). I actually ran, for real. Hard. Fast (okay, not really fast, although at points, I got fast). This one wound up being along the Graveyard Path again, sort of by accident -- but at least this time I did not get lost. It was a bit hotter than I would have liked and a bit sunnier than I would have liked (I went at 5:30PM), but there is no doubt in my mind that this was the best bit of running that I have done in a very long time. Felt good. It helped that I needed to be finished within a specific time frame, so that was my motivation. But it is good to know that somewhere there is still the ability to run.
SUNDAY'S RUN
Not nearly as triumphant as Saturday's run, but the key thing was to do it, and I did succeed in that goal. Also a 3-mile run and I finally figured out the path that I tried to run on Thursday (it's trickier than I thought). So that is also progress. And hopefully next time I will not get completely lost. Today was back to the slower speed, but I think that this was a good idea. Too much fast will lead to injuries.
Mostly I am just happy to have actually finished all of my planned runs this week. Only 14 weeks more! Okay, that's not quite such an encouraging thought.
No real pain to report, which is great. A bit of stress on my shins, but nothing unmanageable. Next week it's a very similar schedule, except that instead of two 4-mile runs, I do one 4-mile and one 5. Very doable. Yay!
SATURDAY'S RUN
Let me just say that I destroyed Saturday's 3-mile run. If runs had the will to live, I robbed mine of it (if that makes any sense). I actually ran, for real. Hard. Fast (okay, not really fast, although at points, I got fast). This one wound up being along the Graveyard Path again, sort of by accident -- but at least this time I did not get lost. It was a bit hotter than I would have liked and a bit sunnier than I would have liked (I went at 5:30PM), but there is no doubt in my mind that this was the best bit of running that I have done in a very long time. Felt good. It helped that I needed to be finished within a specific time frame, so that was my motivation. But it is good to know that somewhere there is still the ability to run.
SUNDAY'S RUN
Not nearly as triumphant as Saturday's run, but the key thing was to do it, and I did succeed in that goal. Also a 3-mile run and I finally figured out the path that I tried to run on Thursday (it's trickier than I thought). So that is also progress. And hopefully next time I will not get completely lost. Today was back to the slower speed, but I think that this was a good idea. Too much fast will lead to injuries.
Mostly I am just happy to have actually finished all of my planned runs this week. Only 14 weeks more! Okay, that's not quite such an encouraging thought.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Preparing for the new plan
This is my last week of FTL, which is sad because it is such a nice acronym. That being said, I'm not quite following that plan this week either. Next week, the training shall be as follows:
Monday: 4
Tuesday: 3
Wednesday: Rest (fly to Germany)
Thursday: Rest (jet lag)
Friday: 3
Saturday: 4
Sunday: 3
This is the warm-up for the actual half-marathon plan that I will be starting in June. You do a month of reasonable weekly mileage to get prepared. However, I haven't been up to running these distances, so yesterday I decided that the time had come to bump up training with a 4-mile run.
It was a 4-mile run of agony!
First, I think I got going too quickly considering that it is hot. Not quite summer conditions, but it was still 90F when I got started (at this was at 7pm). That is hot. So next time, I need to slow down. Evidently, I forgot just how slowly I had to run last summer when I was adapting to the heat.
Second, I need to run more.
What I am hoping now is that the next time I try 4 miles, it will not be as agonizing. We will see that as progress. It's the little victories at this point.
Monday: 4
Tuesday: 3
Wednesday: Rest (fly to Germany)
Thursday: Rest (jet lag)
Friday: 3
Saturday: 4
Sunday: 3
This is the warm-up for the actual half-marathon plan that I will be starting in June. You do a month of reasonable weekly mileage to get prepared. However, I haven't been up to running these distances, so yesterday I decided that the time had come to bump up training with a 4-mile run.
It was a 4-mile run of agony!
First, I think I got going too quickly considering that it is hot. Not quite summer conditions, but it was still 90F when I got started (at this was at 7pm). That is hot. So next time, I need to slow down. Evidently, I forgot just how slowly I had to run last summer when I was adapting to the heat.
Second, I need to run more.
What I am hoping now is that the next time I try 4 miles, it will not be as agonizing. We will see that as progress. It's the little victories at this point.
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