Well, I've pretty much decided that the National Marathon will have to wait for another year. And when I say I've decided, what I mean is that I am halfheartedly accepting the fact that I am neither wholeheartedly into nor wholeheartedly over the idea of this marathon. I guess the fact that I am not wholeheartedly into it is probably the feeling I should be paying attention to, because it is going to be damn hard later on down the line to run 18 and 20 miles when I'm not into it. So I'm saying adios, National Marathon, as much as my heart is aching as I type those words. Seriously.
Having made this decision (and an entire week of not running), I'm realizing that things need some reevaluating. For one thing, I haven't really done much running recently without a marathon in mind. For the last year and a half or so, my daily run has been determined by what's on the training schedule. Which means this: what the hell do I do without a training schedule? I feel like I was dependent on someone for a long time, and now that person is gone and I'm realizing the autonomy I once had (before that person came into my life) is gone, too.
I'd like for my running to keep me in good enough shape to run a half marathon if I feel like signing up for one (I had, actually, signed up for one that took place this morning. Needless to say, I did not run it). I'd also like to start doing yoga again, and continue weight training. I found this article this morning and was thinking about trying to base a routine around it. It would be kind of cool to get to a point where I'm training pretty normally at 35-40 miles per week. Then again, maybe it would be better to not structure things too much, and just run to enjoy it. I'm not really sure. See? I've forgotten how to do this.
So--! Here's my question to you, dear reader: what do you do when you aren't training for a race? Do you just do whatever you feel like doing for that day, or do you try to stick to a plan you have made for yourself?
Showing posts with label general training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label general training. Show all posts
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
2009: A year for abdominals
I mentioned earlier that I got these two cool books on weight training for Christmas. The first one, The New Rules of Lifting for Women, is more of a reference resource, while the other, 101 Workouts for Women, is sort of an illustrated guide with a huge amount of sample workouts. I love this, since one of the biggest obstacles between me and consistent weight training (and a lot of other things, for that matter) is structure. I like to have a plan. Unfortunately, I'm not great at coming up with them for myself. The book is divided up into sections for different body parts (abs, arms, shoulders, back, legs, glutes, etc.) with a variety of exercises and workouts for each, and also has individual sections on upper-body workouts, lower-body workouts, full-body workouts, and beginners' workouts. Guess where I'll be starting!
The section on abs consists of 13 individual workouts, one of which is a partner workout. Since I rarely, if ever, workout with a partner, I thought that since there are 12 workouts that I can reasonably do, maybe I would devote one month of the year to each one of them. This way, I am challenging my muscles in a different way pretty consistently, avoiding boredom, and working my way toward a strong core.
My plan is to start with the first workout, which is very straightforward--crunches, reverse crunches, and some oblique work--and do this 2-3 times a week (the book recommends 3 times weekly) for January. By February, I will be stronger and ready for a new set of exercises! I'm excited to see how this pans out. I will keep you all posted about my progress. I know you are all waiting with bated breath to see how this all goes!
The section on abs consists of 13 individual workouts, one of which is a partner workout. Since I rarely, if ever, workout with a partner, I thought that since there are 12 workouts that I can reasonably do, maybe I would devote one month of the year to each one of them. This way, I am challenging my muscles in a different way pretty consistently, avoiding boredom, and working my way toward a strong core.
My plan is to start with the first workout, which is very straightforward--crunches, reverse crunches, and some oblique work--and do this 2-3 times a week (the book recommends 3 times weekly) for January. By February, I will be stronger and ready for a new set of exercises! I'm excited to see how this pans out. I will keep you all posted about my progress. I know you are all waiting with bated breath to see how this all goes!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Oh, thank Heaven
First run with the running skirt and I am in love! I mean it, I love this thing :) I feel covered and comfortable. You do get some odd looks, though. Some of them are clearly, "Is she really running in a skirt?" kind of looks, which I really don't care about because the people who are giving me those looks don't look like they have run a day in their life and thus probably don't know the obnoxiousness that is running in a pair of shorts that just don't feel right no matter what you do. The others, though, are a bit more bothersome and are more along the lines of, "Ooooh, she's running in a skirt...I wonder if I'll be able to see her underwear if I look hard enough?" I mean, honestly. Grow up, men. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's just that the warmer weather makes people a little more friendly and thus more likely to give you unexplained smiles (or are they leers?)...but I kind of doubt that that's the case. Regardless, I enjoyed the experience, a full two thumbs up, and a hearty wish that I had more pairs so that I could run like a girl more often!
The run itself was good but the conditions were pretty rough, with killer wind on the way back, which is, of course, the exact time when you want to be fighting a head wind. I guess this is what I get for running by the Hudson, although it really felt at times like I was just running in place. It was that bad.
I also conveniently forgot to put Body Glide on my upper arm and I once again have a welt from that stupid nike+ armband (I HATE THAT THING). And oddly, my feet are killing me. This is a problem I haven't really had before. All of a sudden, my shoes feel like they are tighter than usual, or something. I am getting chafing along the arch of my foot as well as on both of my pinkie toes. I am not tying my shoes tighter than I usually do, and I haven't laced them differently either. They are also not new shoes, nor are they old. I have been running in this model for a while and ran the half-marathon in my current pair (in addition to multiple training runs) without a problem. This also happened on Tuesday but since my run was shorter, it bothered me less, and at the time it really only affected my left foot. After this run, though, both of my feet hurt in the same places. Has anyone else had a problem like this come up out of nowhere? I'm wondering if it has something to do with the warmer weather causing my feet to swell or something...that's the only explanation I can think of, really. The pain really had an effect on my run. Around my fifth or sixth mile, it really started to set in (especially in my toes, which feel like they blistered or something--it is definitely a chafing issue and not something cramp-ish or anything like that) and I ended up taking a page out of Irish's book and dissociating as much as I could just to get through my seven miles without having to stop. I managed, but I wish my feet felt a little better (obvs).
Anyhoo, I got in a 7.11 mile run (see, that's where the post title comes from! Ha ha, I made an advertising-related joke!) which ain't too shabby.
Total mileage this week: 11.31
The run itself was good but the conditions were pretty rough, with killer wind on the way back, which is, of course, the exact time when you want to be fighting a head wind. I guess this is what I get for running by the Hudson, although it really felt at times like I was just running in place. It was that bad.
I also conveniently forgot to put Body Glide on my upper arm and I once again have a welt from that stupid nike+ armband (I HATE THAT THING). And oddly, my feet are killing me. This is a problem I haven't really had before. All of a sudden, my shoes feel like they are tighter than usual, or something. I am getting chafing along the arch of my foot as well as on both of my pinkie toes. I am not tying my shoes tighter than I usually do, and I haven't laced them differently either. They are also not new shoes, nor are they old. I have been running in this model for a while and ran the half-marathon in my current pair (in addition to multiple training runs) without a problem. This also happened on Tuesday but since my run was shorter, it bothered me less, and at the time it really only affected my left foot. After this run, though, both of my feet hurt in the same places. Has anyone else had a problem like this come up out of nowhere? I'm wondering if it has something to do with the warmer weather causing my feet to swell or something...that's the only explanation I can think of, really. The pain really had an effect on my run. Around my fifth or sixth mile, it really started to set in (especially in my toes, which feel like they blistered or something--it is definitely a chafing issue and not something cramp-ish or anything like that) and I ended up taking a page out of Irish's book and dissociating as much as I could just to get through my seven miles without having to stop. I managed, but I wish my feet felt a little better (obvs).
Anyhoo, I got in a 7.11 mile run (see, that's where the post title comes from! Ha ha, I made an advertising-related joke!) which ain't too shabby.
Total mileage this week: 11.31
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The Hills are Alive
Okay, I admit that yesterday for my hill training I ran on a treadmill. Guilty as charged. And I started off at level four and ended up moving down to level one (but only after 25 out of 40 minutes). So maybe these weren't the most daunting hills ever. But the thing is I'm slightly out of shape, and this is the longest run I've logged since the half marathon, so I was pretty happy with the way things turned out. Unfortunately, as I sit here typing this, I am struggling to cope with an inexplicably upset stomach, so we'll see whether today's mid-distance run actually happens or not. If it doesn't, I can always just scoot things back by a day and make this a day off. No big deal, right?
I really appreciated everyone's comments on my training schedule--I thought you all made really good points that I hadn't taken into consideration, and based on your input I am thinking of making some modifications. Here's what I have in mind:
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Hills
Wednesday: Mid-distance easy run, weight training
Thursday: Speed/Tempo
Friday: Off, weight training
Saturday: Long run
Sunday: Easy short run, weight training
In terms of mileage, right now I think 30 miles might be a slightly lofty goal for me (given the shape I am in--that original training plan was pretty ambitious of me!) but shouldn't be unattainable once I get back into running more consistently. I think for now I will aim for 20-25, ideally even slightly over 25. We'll see how it goes!
Total mileage this week: 4.2 miles
I really appreciated everyone's comments on my training schedule--I thought you all made really good points that I hadn't taken into consideration, and based on your input I am thinking of making some modifications. Here's what I have in mind:
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Hills
Wednesday: Mid-distance easy run, weight training
Thursday: Speed/Tempo
Friday: Off, weight training
Saturday: Long run
Sunday: Easy short run, weight training
In terms of mileage, right now I think 30 miles might be a slightly lofty goal for me (given the shape I am in--that original training plan was pretty ambitious of me!) but shouldn't be unattainable once I get back into running more consistently. I think for now I will aim for 20-25, ideally even slightly over 25. We'll see how it goes!
Total mileage this week: 4.2 miles
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Driftwood
At the moment, my life has no structure whatsoever. It's scary. I'm now formerly a graduate student, having chosen to leave school; I have finished all the grading for the class I taught this past semester; and I have no job. I am moving out of Manhattan in about two weeks, and I have no idea what to do with myself between now and then.
"Oh!" you say, "You're so lucky! You have all the time in the world to do so many things! You could run all day if you wanted!" Technically, those things are true but unfortunately those things are also not that easy. Since finishing the half-marathon, I have felt sort of lost running-wise. This isn't unusual and it is, in fact, the reason why I started training for what would have been my second marathon immediately after finishing my first. This time around, instead of diving right into a new event, I've sort of just sat around doing very little. Except a lot of eating (and mostly for emotional reasons. The stress of not having a job and, essentially, no direction in life is incredibly weighty and entirely new to me). At the same time, though, I don't want to repeat the same mistake I made last time and start training for something else.
The structure has to come from somewhere, and it looks like I am the only one who can give me the kick in the butt that I need to move on from this driftwood state and start using my free time to accomplish things. So I have been thinking about what my non-training running schedule should look like. Here is what I have been thinking so far:
Principle goals: 1) run 5-6 times a week; 2) run about 30 miles/week.
Weekly breakdown (subject to change or modification):
"Oh!" you say, "You're so lucky! You have all the time in the world to do so many things! You could run all day if you wanted!" Technically, those things are true but unfortunately those things are also not that easy. Since finishing the half-marathon, I have felt sort of lost running-wise. This isn't unusual and it is, in fact, the reason why I started training for what would have been my second marathon immediately after finishing my first. This time around, instead of diving right into a new event, I've sort of just sat around doing very little. Except a lot of eating (and mostly for emotional reasons. The stress of not having a job and, essentially, no direction in life is incredibly weighty and entirely new to me). At the same time, though, I don't want to repeat the same mistake I made last time and start training for something else.
The structure has to come from somewhere, and it looks like I am the only one who can give me the kick in the butt that I need to move on from this driftwood state and start using my free time to accomplish things. So I have been thinking about what my non-training running schedule should look like. Here is what I have been thinking so far:
Principle goals: 1) run 5-6 times a week; 2) run about 30 miles/week.
Weekly breakdown (subject to change or modification):
- Monday: off, weight training.
- Tuesday: Hills (4-6 miles)
- Wednesday: mid-week middle-distance (6-9 miles), light weight training.
- Thursday: tempo/speed work (fartlek, intervals, whatever you want to call them) (4-6 miles)
- Friday: off, weight training.
- Saturday: long run (10-15 miles)
- Sunday: easy 5-8 miles.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
New feature from Nike+
Generally, I love Nike+ or whatever you want to call it. Now, there is one exception--I hate the Nike+ armband for reasons I have already stated and that I won't bother to go into again. Although, jeez, I really hate that thing. I mean, what a let down. But I digress.
Today, as I was logging my run (or sort of having my run logged for me automatically because that is what awesomeness does), I noticed that Nike+ has a new feature--training plans! You can choose from a walking-to-running plan, a 5k training plan, a 10k training plan, a half-marathon training plan, a marathon training plan, and a customized plan for an event of your choice. Each distance has different levels of intensity, from beginner to advanced, and each level of intensity comes with a pretty detailed description of the sort of person who would benefit from the plan, why you may or may not want to choose it, and what sort of goal you might accomplish if you choose it. Needless to say, I will definitely be trying one of these out for my next marathon. Or half-marathon. Or even 10k, if I decide I want to run it in a specific time or something. I am sort of inordinately excited about this whole thing.
AND I did 7 full push-ups this evening. So that adds to the excitement!
Today, as I was logging my run (or sort of having my run logged for me automatically because that is what awesomeness does), I noticed that Nike+ has a new feature--training plans! You can choose from a walking-to-running plan, a 5k training plan, a 10k training plan, a half-marathon training plan, a marathon training plan, and a customized plan for an event of your choice. Each distance has different levels of intensity, from beginner to advanced, and each level of intensity comes with a pretty detailed description of the sort of person who would benefit from the plan, why you may or may not want to choose it, and what sort of goal you might accomplish if you choose it. Needless to say, I will definitely be trying one of these out for my next marathon. Or half-marathon. Or even 10k, if I decide I want to run it in a specific time or something. I am sort of inordinately excited about this whole thing.
AND I did 7 full push-ups this evening. So that adds to the excitement!
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