We had a pretty good week in our training. First we were able to get all four of our runs in this week. I think this may be a first, or at least a first in a long time. We've certainly tried for four per week but often life gets in the way and we've only gotten in two or three. But this week we got in four good runs, each one a little better than the one before.
Monday was a little rough. I just wasn't "feelin it" if you know what I mean. I had missed a couple runs the week before and was just sort of generally out of sorts that day. I was really huffing and puffing and just generally didn't enjoy myself. Anyway we ran a little over 2 miles (2.08) at a 12'08" per mile pace. Every run since then was significantly better. Saturday we ran 2.29 miles at an 11'07" per mile pace. We are pretty excited to see a one minute per mile improvement over just four runs.
Next week we have to increase our workout times so it will be fun to see how that goes. I feel like I am starting to get into better shape. I'm not seeing the weight loss yet that I want but that will come. It feels good to be getting good exercise on a regular basis and I know it is paying off in improved health and overall well being.
There's been a slight change of plans as far the runs we planned on doing this year. We are signed up for the Love em or Leave em Valentines Day Dash, coming up in a few weeks. I am signed up for the Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon in June. But when I went on-line to register Lisa and Nate I found out that in this particular marathon they don't allow anyone under 18 to run the full marathon. Every other race I looked at allows 16 and up to run the full but not this one. So anyway I signed them up for the half marathon and I will change my registration to the half. Now we are looking for a fall time frame full marathon to run to finish our the year with. I don't know if I've put this out there yet but the plan is to do a 5K (Feb) a 10K(April) a half marathon, 13.1 miles (June) and a full marathon (Sept. or Oct.).
Right now we are just working on staying consistent and showing improvement.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
1 month till our first official race...
Well we are into week 8 or 9, can't remember right now which but we have stuck with it this long. We are at the point in the training plan that now we are running for 20 minutes without any walk breaks. We are doing that for two weeks and then next week we move up to 25 minutes. Each week for the next few we'll be adding 5 minutes. Starting in week 12 it just becomes mileage, meaning we aren't so much going for a set time period but an actual distance each day.
We signed up for our first official race. On February 12th we will be running in the Love em or Leave em Valentines Day Dash around Green Lake. Our plan is to start with this 5K, then in another month or so tackle a 10k. Sometime in the spring we are going to go for a 1/2 marathon all in preparation for the June 25th Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon.
It is hard to imagine on some of the days when my legs just aren't feeling it that I am going to go out and run, RUN, for 26 miles... I am excited about it but to be completely honest there are times when I have trouble getting my head around it. I think the idea of building up to it with the shorter runs will help but it's still an intimidating distance, at least to me....
Lisa and I have been joking that the phrase "at my age..." has been popping up a lot more in our converstations, especially as we talk to people about what we are doing. Some of our friends think we're crazy, most are supportive. I was talking to one friend that mentioned he had to be careful. When Lisa first told him about our plan to run a marathon his reaction was a little less than enthusiastic and he felt bad that it was "not very flattering..." We realize it's a big undertaking but we feel confident that we can do it, even at our age...
We signed up for our first official race. On February 12th we will be running in the Love em or Leave em Valentines Day Dash around Green Lake. Our plan is to start with this 5K, then in another month or so tackle a 10k. Sometime in the spring we are going to go for a 1/2 marathon all in preparation for the June 25th Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon.
It is hard to imagine on some of the days when my legs just aren't feeling it that I am going to go out and run, RUN, for 26 miles... I am excited about it but to be completely honest there are times when I have trouble getting my head around it. I think the idea of building up to it with the shorter runs will help but it's still an intimidating distance, at least to me....
Lisa and I have been joking that the phrase "at my age..." has been popping up a lot more in our converstations, especially as we talk to people about what we are doing. Some of our friends think we're crazy, most are supportive. I was talking to one friend that mentioned he had to be careful. When Lisa first told him about our plan to run a marathon his reaction was a little less than enthusiastic and he felt bad that it was "not very flattering..." We realize it's a big undertaking but we feel confident that we can do it, even at our age...
Thursday, January 6, 2011
First post of the new year
Happy New Year!
I was looking at our training schedule the other day and realized that weeks 1 thru 5 are done and we are well into week 6 of the training plan. The holidays were a little sketchy as far as hitting all 4 runs during the week but we didn't miss too many. All in all we have managed to stay on track.
Week 6 started with some snow to deal with. All the place we like to go seemed to be covered in snow so we did one run on treadmills at the Y. It wasn't too bad, although I am not a huge fan of treadmill running, it was certainly warmer than being outside when the temperature was hovering in the mid to low 20's. Running outside when it's that cold isn't my idea of a great time. Nate didn't seem to mind. As Lisa and I were on the treadmills in the nice cozy workout room Nate went up to the roof track and did his run up there in the elements. He's always been a fan of cold though. He sleeps with his windows open all winter too...
Lisa has been dealing with some foot pain so right now we are doing our runs on the track at Everett Stadium. There is a nice rubberized track there that is open to the public and provides enough cushioning to reduce her foot pain a little. We both want to get back out to the centenial trail but until her foot is 100% we are fine using the track.
We recieved some excellent running gifts for Christmas, nice running jackets and gloves, some gift certificates to Super Jock and Jill, books, etc. Lisa has needed to upgrade her shoes, we thought this might be part of her foot pain as she has been running in some cross trainers that are at least 5 or 6 years old. So we grabbed her gift certificate and headed to the store in Green Lake. They are great there. They spend the time to watch how a person runs, provide several options for what might work and go the extra mile to make sure you leave happy. They had Lisa try on several different types and brands of shoes. She had to go out and run in them to see if they were comfortable and make sure they didn't hurt or anything. The surprising thing was at the end of the process the woman helping us said that if the shoes didn't work the store would take them back even if Lisa had been wearing them for up to a month and get her into something else that worked better. I have to say I am impressed and can't wait for my current shoes to wear out so I can go use my gift certificate.
I was looking at our training schedule the other day and realized that weeks 1 thru 5 are done and we are well into week 6 of the training plan. The holidays were a little sketchy as far as hitting all 4 runs during the week but we didn't miss too many. All in all we have managed to stay on track.
Week 6 started with some snow to deal with. All the place we like to go seemed to be covered in snow so we did one run on treadmills at the Y. It wasn't too bad, although I am not a huge fan of treadmill running, it was certainly warmer than being outside when the temperature was hovering in the mid to low 20's. Running outside when it's that cold isn't my idea of a great time. Nate didn't seem to mind. As Lisa and I were on the treadmills in the nice cozy workout room Nate went up to the roof track and did his run up there in the elements. He's always been a fan of cold though. He sleeps with his windows open all winter too...
Lisa has been dealing with some foot pain so right now we are doing our runs on the track at Everett Stadium. There is a nice rubberized track there that is open to the public and provides enough cushioning to reduce her foot pain a little. We both want to get back out to the centenial trail but until her foot is 100% we are fine using the track.
We recieved some excellent running gifts for Christmas, nice running jackets and gloves, some gift certificates to Super Jock and Jill, books, etc. Lisa has needed to upgrade her shoes, we thought this might be part of her foot pain as she has been running in some cross trainers that are at least 5 or 6 years old. So we grabbed her gift certificate and headed to the store in Green Lake. They are great there. They spend the time to watch how a person runs, provide several options for what might work and go the extra mile to make sure you leave happy. They had Lisa try on several different types and brands of shoes. She had to go out and run in them to see if they were comfortable and make sure they didn't hurt or anything. The surprising thing was at the end of the process the woman helping us said that if the shoes didn't work the store would take them back even if Lisa had been wearing them for up to a month and get her into something else that worked better. I have to say I am impressed and can't wait for my current shoes to wear out so I can go use my gift certificate.
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