Speedwork, Kinda

I was reading a guest post on Lauren's Team Giles blog yesterday by Jessica at Racing to Thirty and was really inspired by how she pushed herself to do those speed workouts and how it really paid off for her. So I thought that with the 3-miler I had on tap for Tuesday I would attempt to do the same. I warmed up for a mile and pushed for a mile and cooled down for another. It wasn't easy--I was definitely panting like a dog,  but my overall pace for the "fast" mile was 10:35. I know that's a slow, easy run for more experienced runners, but I generally run an 11/11:30 minute mile, so it felt faster for me. Plus I was running a sub-10 pace for part of that mile, but I'm not sure how far (I really don't know how to use my Garmin. I just figured out last night I needed to push "lap" when I finished a mile so I could break my time down. Seriously, if anyone can give me any tips on how to use this thing--please do!)

My other two miles were kinda slow--the warm-up was something like 11:40 and the cooldown was like 11:50 with a bit of walking thrown into both of those miles. But I think I'll do it again! I have a tempo run on tap for Thursday (which will actually be Friday because my fiance is graduating from business school tomorrow so my whole day is pretty tied up).

Oh, and in other news, I did some biking on Monday night. Five miles up and down a bridge that is basically an ascent for a mile and a descent for a mile and then you turn around and come back. I run that bridge and honestly biking it was tougher. Too bad you can't coast uphill:)

Finally, a Decent Run

I may have had a running epiphany yesterday. After last week’s mediocre runs, I wasn’t too sure how this was going to pan out. I only needed to log 3 miles and the weather was perfect. Not too hot, a light breeze, a little bit of sun. I started out slowly as usual, but then I kinda thought, “I’m just going to run this thing and let it feel natural. If I go out too fast and need to walk, that’s OK.”

Guess what? I didn’t walk and I actually felt better going faster! I honestly think I was expending energy to slow down (if that makes any sense). So I think I did 3 miles in 33 odd minutes, which is not bad considering in the first mile I walked for the first couple of blocks and then also ran that mile slowly. I have to plug in my Garmin for more pace details.

I need to make sure this isn’t a fluke. I’m going to do the same run tonight and see what happens. Am I totally crazy or is it possible that making myself run slow has been the issuing plaguing my progress?

Half Marathon Training Begins

Today marks my first official day in half-marathon training! I'm excited, nervous and exhausted just thinking about it. I'm kinda training in an odd way. I don't plan on running a half until May (the Northeast is not kind to runners in the winter), but I will finish my training around the end of March. I plan to just keep building the mileage in the middle and then taper off at the end of April. So many of the training plans I looked at have you never actually completing 13 miles until race day. I know that I want to have run 13 miles at least once before race day. It helps me mentally feel that I can complete the race knowing I've done the distance before. For example, when I trained for the 10-k in the fall, I ran more than 9 miles so I knew that 6 miles was attainable. I don't think I'll take it to that extreme for the half, but I'd like to run 14-15 miles before race day.

I still have not taken my Garmin out for a run! Lots of snow and temps below 30 have kept me on the 'mill.

Hope your winter running is going well!

New Year, New Training Plan

I hope everyone has had a relaxing holiday! Much like the rest of the world, I have running resolutions for 2011 too. I'm limiting  it to two semi-realistic goals:
1. Complete a half-marathon
2. Run a 5k in under 30 minutes

I'm using a training plan for the next 6 months courtesy of Rachael at Snarktart that involves running, cross-training and core workouts. Cross-training tends to mean "do less" or "optional" in my books, but I'm going to make a conscious effort to actually cycle or even walk (the elliptical does strange things to my knees). To that end, I'm looking at a bike after work today.

And I got a Garmin for Christmas so I cannot wait to run outside with it for the first time (it's been me and the treadmill for the past 2 weeks).

Getting Nervous

In less than two weeks I'll be completing my first 10-K (well, as long as I don't end up wimping out). Last night I just did a quick 2 miles to keep my muscles loose. Tomorrow I'm going to try to run 7 miles and according to the Runners World training plan I've been following for months I should be doing 10 miles on Sunday. I'm not sure if that's too smart considering that's 1 week before the race and the most I have done is 9.25 miles. More experienced runners, what are your thoughts? Will this 10-miler help or hinder? I was considering just doing a 10-K for prep.

I also realized that as the weather cools, I need to get some more fall/winter running gear. I'm good with a windbreaker and a jacket, but I only have 3 long-sleeved shirts and 2 pairs of tights. I loathe laundry, so I think I need to stack my Christmas list with running gear. Headlining that last is a Garmin! My Nike ipod chip is nice and all, but I want to get all teched out about my running.

What's on your running holiday wish list?