Running On...My Quest for C2FM

'They' say you should run slow. 'They' say that running slow will eventually make you fast. 'They' may or may not know what they're talking about... Case #1 - my friend Brenda started out running a couple of years ago with the intention of making it stick (she is very much like me and had fallen off the running wagon a few times, always starting over and suffering frustration at losing all that she had gained). She utilized the Slow and Steady program. Log the miles at a pace that was comfortable, sustainable, doable. Within those two years, she went from a 10k time of well over an hour to a 10k time of under an hour. That's a great improvement and gives a nod to that whole Slow and Steady reasoning. Case #2 - my nephew David has been running for quite a few years. A good runner, he, too, followed 'them' and structured his workouts based on that infamous Long/Slow weekend run. BUT, he got frustrated at never getting faster. So, he changed it ...

As in strength training because 'they' say strength training helps with the run. And I did find that earlier this year when I was running and lifting weights consistently my core felt more stable, my upper body more relaxed, and (ego talking) I loved how my arms looked in my short sleeve run tops! Vanity aside, this go around will have strength training too.  And a variety of different workouts. On non-run days, I will utilize my dumb-bells once a week (today was a set of 8 reps, then 4 since I haven't been lifting for a while). These dumb-bell exercises are not extensive, they take me a total of 15 minutes. They are more functional than body-building type lifts. And they are all upper body. I plan to swim at least once a week (good arm workout there) and will supplement that with some resistance band work either before I go to the pool or after. The resistance band exercises mimic swim strokes so I can get stronger in the water (a poor to middling swimmer, I taught mys...

Yeah, math is not my strong suit! The plan was to run :30/:60 intervals for 2 miles total. Set the watch (new, so some forgiveness for my poor ciphering is necessary) for 24 intervals. Got to the 2 mile mark, still had intervals to go...so I thought, what the hell. Did my 24 intervals. I downloaded the run when I got home and most run sections were around the 9 minute/Mile pace. I'll take that. Was it hard? Yep - won't lie. a mere 30 seconds had me breathing hard and the heart rate was up there. BUT I just kept reminding myself that it was only 30 seconds. As I move forward, I'm going to have to learn better pacing (hope that doesn't involve math ;) My goal is to stay below an 11:30m/M pace. I may also have to re-learn some basic math skills! Home to do my leg routine of squats, calf raises, bridges; arm routine of pull-ups, chin-ups and push-ups; planks; and stretches. J

You gotta have a plan, right? Now, I have had plans in the past - many, many plans in the past. But, as with all things organized, I end up feeling boxed in...scheduled, bossed around (yes, by myself - but I am nothing if not a little insane). But I know a plan is all important - a plan keeps one accountable, on track, (dare I say) organized. So, I have a plan - Couch to Marathon Training Plan on digitalrunning.com http://www.digitalrunning.com/couch-to-marathon-training-plan/ As of right now, I am following as it - but, most likely, there will be tweaking. A plan? Yikes - wish me luck! J

I have been nothing if not doggedly persistent in creating a consistent running 'life'. I start well - gung ho and all - then, for a variety of reasons, I fall off the wagon. Lack of motivation, disappointment at perceived lack of progress (although looking back at my running journals, I know I've progressed...only to stop and lose all forward momentum), laziness (honesty here, Janet), and (some days) pure hatred for the sport. It's been almost 9 years of this dogged persistence. Nine years of running, stopping, running, stopping. Nine years of dreaming of making it stick - of becoming a 'runner' - of, yes, participating in that elusive full marathon. Nine freakin' years! So, here I am. Determined, yet again, to make this stick. And I'm going back to the start. Couch to Full Marathon. I am not a couch potato in the true sense of the C25K/C210K programs that litter the internet. I do run (ran 2 miles non-stop just this past week - slow as molasses and...