I'm training for the Seattle half-marathon June 26th. I use the word "training" loosely because I am not following a schedule of any kind, I am not making myself do anything I don't feel like doing (what's the point of that? takes all the fun out of it) - I am just working out from day to day, doing what I want to, alternating distance runs with strength runs and cross-training, and then taking as many rest days as I need (like I said, I don't run when I don't feel like doing it).
I have read Jeff Galloway's book and do like his "less is more" approach. So I use the general idea of once-weekly long runs, with short runs and cross-training throughout the week. Also I use his technique of run/walking in order to go longer, which I have found successful. I will probably be doing some walking througout my races so that I can run quicker (so, same overall pace but allows recovery).
So I started "conditioning" (pre-training) in March, which consisted of almost daily walks, jogging when I felt like it. I achieved my goal of 50 miles in March. These 50 miles were about 25% run miles, and 75% walking-the-kids-to-the-playground miles :)
March 27th I did my first 5K and surprised myself in being able to run most of the way. The following weekend, I was going to run 4.5 miles but again found myself feeling great, so I continued on to 6. After this I was tired for a few days so the following week was really low-key. I only ran once (3.4 miles) during the week, and then took another couple days off so I would be fresh for my anticipated long run.
April 10, I didn't know what to expect. I didn't plan a course. I just headed out with kitchen timer in hand, planning to run however long I felt good. I had zero discomfort until around the 8-mile point. The timer said 90-something minutes and I thought it would be cool to max out the timer, so I kept going. At that point, I thought it would be awesome to do 10 miles just to say I did it, so I kept going some more. My family was waiting for me back home (I estimated I would be gone only 1 hour) so I had to stop. I thought I had gone at least 10 miles but when I got home and mapped my course, I found out it was only 9.2. Shucks.
Again, nothing was sore (did I not run fast enough? I guess that's what happens when I workout at my comfort level). But I was very nauseated/hungry the rest of the day and ate non-stop (which is a bit annoying and pleasurable at the same time) and felt very sleepy for the next 36 hours. Seems to be a pattern with me.
So at this point I am able to evaluate my fitness level, strengths and weaknesses. Endurance obviously is not a concern. My lungs are in good shape. But my muscles are an entirely different story. This doesn't surprise me of course, I don't have much to show for an exercise history. Four years ago I lost 65 lbs through diet alone, minimal exercise (really difficult stuff like nature walks and pilates). And did I mention I am a lazy housewife whose husband does the housework? Yeah. So basically I am a skinny girl with no curves and no muscles.
So I think I am going to level off the distance runs and start some strength training. For a runner this can be as easy as running hills, increasing my speed, and finishing my runs with some strength exercises. So I will probably start to focus more on difficult shorter runs rather than slow, long runs.
April 24th I have my first real race, a 10K. My goal is to do it in one hour. I have no idea how realistic this is because I don't time my pace well (and I don't know how much I can realistically expect to improve in 2 weeks) but it seems to be around 10:30 currently.
