Monday, May 20, 2013

Diary of a Bad Runner:: Week 2

Week 1 went well, not great but well. I got in 3 runs and a cross train.

My first run goal was 3 miles at 11 min pace. Well, I did the 3 miles but at
11:33 pace. No biggie.

Since I started blogging this journey to the half marathon, I also looked up an official training program to get me there. If you are currently training I highly recommend the Gipis app. I put in all my info and my current running level and it created a customized program tailored to my abilities.

According to that plan I needed to slow down. It seems counter intuitive, I was so focused on getting over the 4 mile hump, and improving my pace. But this program is all about endurance and stamina. So the next two runs I was assigned to 1.82 miles at a 13:44 pace. So slow! I couldn't do it.

On Saturday I hit the Green Line and did 2 miles in 20 minutes! I was so very proud. (Thanks Melissa Wheatley, it did help to get outside!) Unfortunately, Sunday when I went back out, I was so sore, my shins were killing me and my ankles were not happy at all. Turns out I should have tried it the right way and built up slowly. I did my 1.82 on Sunday at 11:44. It was pretty hilarious because the app talks to you while you run and she kept saying "Slower!" and "Slow down" but I couldn't do it! Not because I'm so fast, but because my music had a 10-11 min paced downbeat, I can't run off beat!

So this week's goals are 3 runs at 2.5 miles around a 13 min pace. And Matt and I are doing Zoom through the Zoo on Thursday night, which is a 4 mile race. I am hoping for around 45 mins to be my finishing time.

Are you training? How are you handling the heat? 


1 comment:

Darrin said...

If you need to run slower, try keeping your stride pace up, but just take itty-bitty steps instead of big strides... it's significantly less jarring to your knees and shins this way.

It may also help to try landing on the ball of your foot rather than the heel.