The first week of Marathon training is done!

Only 11 weeks to go :O)

I did my "long" run yesterday.  It was beautiful out!  I did my first mile in great time, but got a side stitch and ending up walking alot of the 2nd mile.  I ended up almost 2 minutes over what I want my time to be this weekend at the Super Bowl Run.  No doubt I can do it, if I run the whole thing.  It say in the info that it is an out and back course.  I'm hoping that means flat too.  A year later and I STILL hate inclines!

T~R~A~I~N~I~N~G~

Tomorrow start 1/2 marathon training!  I'm doing a 12 week program.  It's slightly more intense than the TNT training schedule.  It has strength days and cross training days.  It should be good times!  The 1/2 is on May 2nd.  My goal is to finish under 3 hours. Which is totally do-able :O)

My next race is Feb. 6th. It's a 4 miler.  I've got most of my races are picked out through June.  I'm going to run the Abilene 5k again this year.  Since it's the exact same course I want to see how much time I can shave off since my first 5k.  I'm hoping for about 7 minutes!!

Frosty 5k

I did my first race of 2011 yesterday and it was great!  Cold, but Great!  I was able to meet my goal and make a new PR for myself.  I'm so excited for this running season.  I wish it would warm up so I could run outside more.  Although I do know that the TM was a big helper is shaving a minute off my race time!  Back to pavement pounding to get off this last bit of weight and to get healthier!

4 mile run

Today I did a 4 mile run.  I haven't done one n forever!  I had to push myself and at one point I thought I might puke, but I didn't. I ran 3.4 miles non-stop, then walked for .10 of a mile, then ran the last .50 miles.  If I hadn't walked that little bit I'd have a pace under 13 minutes!  WoW!  I'm bringing the pace down and I love it.

I have to admit the treadmill is helping with that.  I can't do more than a mile at a time on the TM.  It's just such a beat down!  However, the last few weeks I've been running 1 mile(at just over a 12 min mile pace!) then doing intervals the last 2 miles.  Normally I run 6.0 or a 10 min mile for .15 of a mile then do a 4.0 or 15 min mile walk for .10. That gives me a 12:30 average pace.  Not too shabby.  Sometimes at the end when I really want to push myself I'll bump it up to 6.5 or 9:13 min mile for .05, it's not far, but it's a strong "fast" run for me!!

My trainer "retired", she actually went to her real job full time and stopped training.  She put together a couple of workouts for me that I've been alternating and doing on non run days.  I know alot know more about weights and the machines now, but I still feel better knowing it's a trainer certified workout.  Next week is my Frosty 5k and my goal is to run it in less than 40 minutes.  I'd like to do in in around 37:30, but I have to compensate for the cold.  I have no idea what the weather will be like next Saturday.

2011 Running Goals

I've had 2 of my 3 running goals for awhile now,  I like odd numbers so I've been trying to decide on a 3rd one and I think I may have finally figured it out!

1.  Run 12 races in 2011.  I would like for this to mean one race per month, however due to my schedule and race schedules, this my not be entirely possible. So I'll settle for a total of 12 in case unforeseen circumstances arrive.  I've already signed up for the Frosty 5k in Jan.  My goal is to finish in under 40 minutes, which would be a new PR!!

2. I want to run every kind of race the Wichita area provides.  Up to now I've only done 5k's and the 1/2 marathon.  I want to do them all!  1 mile, 2 miles, 5k, 10k, 15k, 10 miles and yup, another 1/2 marathon!  I went back thru last years race calender and got a pretty good grasp of what's out there and I'm taking to tackle them all!

3. By the end of 2011(but before is good too!) I want to be able to consistently run 6 miles in 1 hour.  I want that to be my twice a week short run with a long run thrown in there too!

RE-TRAIN

I've decided to do a little re-training.  Due to the 6 weeks I took off from running and the freezing air outside, my running endurance has been cut down.  Such is life, however now it's time to get it back!  I'm going to spend the month of December re-doing the last few weeks of the Couch to 5k program, on the treadmill.  This will do a a few things for me.  1.  Allow me to control my speed, which means I can set the treadmill to a faster pace and decrease my average mile time. 2. Re-build my endurance.  That's where I started and it worked once, I'm sure it will work again. 3. Make me overcome my hate for the TM.  I enjoy running outside so much more, however in the winter, you gotta do, what you gotta do!!

I have 2 goals already set for 2011, and I'm trying to find/decide on another.  We'll see how that goes~

Almost time to start running again!

I'v been taking some time off, but it's about time to get back into the game. I've got some big goals for 2011!!