And then I thought... I'm not trying to be a fitness expert. I'm not trying to show people that I'm this amazing runner. I am a normal person who decided to get off her ass and exercise. My blog isn't about mechanics or what research is out there that proves this exercise is better than that exercise. Nobody should expect me to run like the wind or bench press twice my weight. And if they do, then they don't know me and don't know what my purpose is. Which, fortunately for me, is not actually my problem.
So, I'm just going to lay it out there. I ran 4.00 miles in 51 minutes. That's pretty slow. My pace was 12.86/mile. I could prattle off a million excuses as to why I am so slow, but the fact of the matter is, I'm still getting used to running, especially sustaining my speed, and progress is slow but steady. I did backslide a little the last couple of weeks because I was super lazy and had a cold, so I didn't exercise for like 10 days straight. That's my own fault - I should have been exercising while sick, but I just felt frustrated.
Tim made me a schedule, which starts next week... but I wanted to give myself a little bonus time, so I ran yesterday to test out my heel and then I ran again today for a "long" run.
Here is next week's schedule:
Tim and I are huge excel dorks, so we have a nice google document that I created (and had to format in an aesthetically pleasing way) so he can see what I'm doing based on the schedule he created. Every Sunday night, I'll post the next week's schedule along with the completed table of what I did the week before.
Next Monday I'm going to go to the gym and cross train on a bicycle, then do some abs/arms. Next Thursday, I'm going to go to the Bryant Part free Yoga class. I'm not going to add the non-running to the spread sheet just because it adds a lot more clutter to it.
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Running 3 times a week is an awesome goal. And if you're up to 5 miles already, you're doing really well.
ReplyDeleteAs an extremely amateur runner myself, I'd recommend a few things that have helped me a lot.
First, I wouldn't worry about timing your runs until you get to a point where speed is a legit concern. If I understand what you're doing correctly, it sounds like you're trying to push your distance. And if that's the case, who cares how fast you go? Often I don't want to see my times until a month or so before any race. Keeping time is great for your records and seeing your progress but sometimes it can be counter-productive. I'm kinda competitive and when I keep time, I try too hard to go quickly, which isn't usually the point of my run. I'd really recommend losing the watch at least for a few weeks until you build your distance.
Also, you should try to find a running partner. I don't understand how some people can be so disciplined in running on their own. I have a really hard time pushing myself - distance or speed-wise- without someone else running with me. Maybe you can try to find someone in a running group with similar goals and meet up with them maybe once a week or something?
Lastly, this might sound stupid but if you're trying to be serious about running, your form really matters. Unless you were born with perfect gait (cough Tim cough) there's probably something you can work on to improve your form and take some undue stress off of one of your bones/joints. Maybe have Cameron take a video of you while running sometime soon. The first and most important thing to watch for is whether or not your step strikes with your heel first or your mid-foot first. I find these videos to be really instructive (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkUqkdPQHis). From experience, having good form can help you avoid injuries and at least for me has been really useful. And as a bonus, it gives you something else to think about while you're running in case you sometimes get bored on long runs.
Good luck with your running. And keep up the blogging!
Thanks for the comment!
DeleteI like to use the watch because it makes me accountable... on tough days I'm still learning not to make an excuse to get out of a full run. So the watch serves as a nice reminder that I need to keep going.
Also, I think its a good practice in self-restraint. I am aware that I'm going slowly, but I need to keep myself at that pace in order not to burn out before the end of the run. Does that make sense?
Thanks for the you tube video! I want to work on my form a lot, so I'll check it out.