Tuesday, July 26, 2011

You're training in the summer?!

I've been following a training plan for this upcoming race in Cali. It's a combo of Hal Higdon's training plan with a bit of my own twist. I used his Novice Plan for the Rock N Roll last January (it was my first race) and I really liked the idea of having someone tell me what to do. I felt like I HAD to go out and do that run, and crossing it off on the little paper of my fridge gave me a sense of accomplishment. I didn't like that my longest run was only 10 miles prior to running the actual race. It left me feeling a little anxious on race day and I think I would have had a better finish time if I would have had a better grasp of how I would feel come mile 12. With that being said, I'm proud of how far I've come since I first starting running on a consistent basis a little less than a year ago.

Rock N Roll Phoenix - January 2011 (Me and Hubs)

I have 3 long runs left before we head over to San Diego, an 11 miler and two 12's. I feel good and ready, and the numbers don't scare me like they did the first go round. Since my first half, I have done a couple 5k's and a 15k so "practice" my racing skills and because quite frankly, I love it. I've mixed in some hills (running in AZ is gonna be different than San Diego I'm guessing!) some sprints, some tempo runs and I've upped my strength and cross training and try to mix in yoga when I can get to class.

Everyone says I'm crazy for training for a half in the summer in Arizona. Some mornings I agree with them. At first I thought I would be spending more time on the treadmill in my gym, which I absolutely HATE doing, but I think I've only run about 4-5 times in the past few months inside. I just wake up early, sweat my ass off and then jump in my pool! I've got 25 scheduled miles for the week...and I might do a couple easy ones on Sunday for recovery after my long run. My whole point of training for a race in August was to prove it to MYSELF that I could do it. To do something challenging, and hard. I have the support of Wade (husband) and my good friend and neighbor, K who is running with me as well. I like to think we've all bonded over it and I look forward to our long runs on the weekend followed by iced coffees at the local shop down the road. My best bud inspired me to try this whole running thing out after she did her first half last year, and if it weren't for her, I would have NEVER tried. So ya, she's pretty rad for that.

Bandido's 15K - March 2011 (Me and K-Dawg)

Welp...that's where I'm at today. My next effort is going to be to take more photos, cuz ya know, everyone likes photos. 

2 comments:

  1. woo hoo first follower! Thanks for the droid tips! I didn't think of that. Love your training pics :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. HAHA! Thanks, I feel special...I've been reading your blog for a while now, so I'm honored! Maybe I better start actually blogging more! ;)

    ReplyDelete