I'm finally settling back into a regular running routine. I'd been running intermittently, mostly on YMCA treadmills, since just before Christmas, when I realized that I'd squandered away half my year and now only had six months to get back in shape before I turn thirty. I'd also been doing a bit of on-and-off dieting, and some more general workouts, but it was kind of whatever I felt like doing that day. This, I know from experience, is not a recipe for success.
When it comes to exercising, I need a structure, and I need a goal. The most successful I've been at running in my life was when I trained for my first mini-marathon (13.1 miles) with my friend Tim in 2001, back when we both worked at Lexmark. I'd count the second mini I ran with Lori in that list too, but for the fact that I injured the hell out of my hip a month before the race. But the difference between those times and my more recent efforts to get back on track*? Structure.
For those mini-marathons, I used Hal Higdon's Half-Marathon training plan, and that really made all the difference in the world. Having what amounts to a road map of how to prepare, along with a concrete goal, made it so much easier to focus on actually running instead of deciding what kind of exercise to do on a given day.
So, to that end, I started looking up 5K races in the Lexington area. It turns out one of the larger ones is in 10 weeks, which gives me time to really get back into a decent semblance of shape before race day. Two weeks from this past Monday, I'll start into Hal Higdon's 5K intermediate training plan. In the meantime, I've just started doing basic running workouts to start building up speed and endurance, including tempo and interval runs. I've done these on the treadmills because it's been so damned cold, but I'm hoping to do them outside once I get into the 8-week program.
I've also started a little slower than I normally do, to give myself some lead-in time, and to avoid hurting myself at the get-go. I pretty much consider a ten-minute mile (6 mph) my baseline pace, so I've started a bit slower than that, particularly for the tempo runs, in which I increase the treadmill speed one tenth of a mile per hour every quarter-mile. That said, I noticed a solid pace increase from my first long run here to the first run of week 2, so it seems I'm doing it right.
In addition to a plan and a structure, I also find that accountability helps me stay on track, so in addition to twittering my daily run information (and yes, I'm going to keep hammering you with twitter invites and links until everyone signs up), I'll be posting weekly summaries here. So, here's week one:
Sunday, January 27
Long run, Masterson Station
4.35 M/45:00
Route
Monday, January 28
Treadmill intervals (YMCA)
2.84 M/30:00
4.5 MPH for 5:00
8 MPH/4 MPH for 1:30 each for 24:30
5 MPH for 5:30
Tuesday, January 29
Treadmill tempo (home)
2.9 M/30:00
5.3-6.4 MPH, increasing 0.1 MPH every .25 M
Wednesday, January 30
Rest day
Thursday, Janury 31
No run (Veronica sick)
Friday, February 1
Treadmill run (home)
3 M/30:00
Saturday, February 2
Treadmill tempo (home)
3 M/30:54
5.3-6.4 MPH
Total distance: 16.09 Miles
* - I must point out the awesomeness of this pun