To cap the year: some words from Lance

Run 8 of 67: 30 minutes

I hit the local Sport Mart a few days ago and dropped some cash on new workout clothes, to replace the ones I've had for the past, um, three years: 3 Adidas workout bras, 2 Nike running tanks, 1 Adidas running shirt, 2 pairs of shorts and 1 pair of running capris. I'm a little ashamed to admit that having cute new clothes is a motivator, but there it is: I'm shallow. :P The shirt and tanks are a little more form-fitting than I was expecting, so I'll be saving those for next month, when I'm feeling a little more confident.

Got a stitch about partway through and had to walk for a minute, but other than that, 30 minutes at an easy 5 mph nets me a total of 2.5 miles. I watched The Sound of Music while I ran on the treadmill, but was listening to my Shuffle workout mix. Julie Andrews lip-synching to Christina Aguilera's Dirrrty. Hee.

Run 7 of 67: 25 minutes

Interval run, with some decent one-minute intervals. Things are starting to feel runner-y again.

5 - 3 mph warmup walk
2 - 5 mph easy
1 - 6 mph hard
2 - 5 mph easy
1 - 6.5 mph hard
2 - 5 mph easy
1 - 6.5 mph hard
2 - 5 mph easy
1 - 7 mph hard
2 - 5 mph easy
1 - 7 mph hard
2 - 5 mph easy
1 - 7.5 mph hard
3 - 3 mph cooldown walk

Run 6 of 67: 25 minutes

I'm finally starting to feel the holiday rest kick in. It's been a tough year!

5 - 3mph warmup walk
22 - 5 mph run
3 - 5.3 mph run
3 - 3 mph cooldown walk

At about 20 minutes, I felt like I was fully warmed up and ready to hit a groove. I should probably have bumped the speed a little sooner, but this was a "long" run so I'm not too fussed about it.

I don't have anything interesting to say about the running at this point, really. I've done this ramp-up so many times and I'm frustrated that I keep letting my fitness slip back to this beginner level.

Run 5 of 67: 20 minutes

Slept in until 11, ate bacon and eggs for brunch and snacked on chips all day. It doesn't make for a pretty run, let me tell you. I had to walk in between the last two intervals:

5 - 3 mph warmup walk
2 - 5 mph easy
1 - 6 mph hard
2 - 5 mph easy
1 - 6 mph hard
2 - 5 mph easy
1 - 6.5 mph hard
2 - 5 mph easy
1 - 7 mph hard
2 - 5 mph easy
1 - 7 mph hard
2 - 5 mph easy
1 - 7.5 mph hard
2 - 5 mph easy
2 - 3 mph cooldown walk

I did have a good dinner of rice and roasted asparagus and zucchini afterwards, but now I'm drinking a mini-can of Coke. One step forward...

Run 4 of 67: 20 minutes

The first run of the week is an easy run, but 20 minutes of straight easy running is pretty boring. It's more bearable to do hard/easy intervals, but apparently my body knows what's good for it--it refused to go any faster after three intervals, and I just settled in for the rest of the jog. Stick to the program!

5 - 3 mph warmup walk
2 - 5 mph easy
1 - 6 mph hard
2 - 5 mph easy
1 - 6 mph hard
2 - 5 mph easy
1 - 6.5 mph hard
10 - 5 mph easy
5 - 3 mph cooldown walk

Run 3 of 67: 20 minutes

The schedule skews a bit this week because of holiday-related activities. The Tuesday and Thursday runs will instead be on Wednesday and Friday.

Today was the weekend "long" run, an easy 20 minutes at 5 mph on the treadmill at the downtown Y. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and quickly looked away. Ugh. My form has gone all to hell.

Run 2 of 67: 15 minutes

Hit the treadmill at the local Y after work. 15 minutes of running goes by fast when you have a sweet little Shuffle pounding out Pussycat Dolls and the Dixie Chicks in rotation.

5 - 3 mph warmup walk
2 - 5 mph easy
1 - 6 mph hard
2 - 5 mph easy
1 - 6 mph hard
8 - 5 mph easy
1 - 6 mph hard
2 - 3 mph cooldown walk

It was unpleasant, but mercifully over before I really had time to brood about it.

Run 1 of 67: 15 minutes!

Instead of talking myself into a funk about how it sucks to have to start at 15 minutes again, I decided to do intervals. I LOVE intervals, because the time goes by quickly, and I don't give myself enough brain space to think about how crappy my running is. Today's super fast treadmill run went like this:

5 - 3 mph warmup walk
2 - 5 mph easy
1 - 6 mph hard
2 - 5 mph easy
1 - 6 mph hard
2 - 5 mph easy
1 - 6 mph hard
2 - 5 mph easy
1 - 6.5 mph hard
2 - 5 mph easy
1 - 7 mph hard
2 - 3 mph cooldown walk

See how I kicked it up to 7 mph at the end? Yeah, baby.

The plan!

The plan has been developed with a projected half-marathon finish time of 2:30, and my stretch goal is 2:20. From today to May 4, I have 67 runs to complete.

I'm giving myself to the end of December to get back up to a comfortable 5K, and official half-marathon training begins the second week of January. These are the main points:

1. With the exception of one 4-mile run, Tuesdays are all easy 2-mile runs.

2. Thursdays are a mix of easy, tempo and speed runs, the longest of which is 8 miles, but most are around the 4-5 mile range.

3. In March and April, there are 5 Friday runs, all 2-mile easy jobs, likely meant as active recovery for the Thursday runs and to keep my legs fresh for the Sunday runs.

4. The long run is scheduled for Sunday.

This week, I have three runs scheduled, by time only: 15 minutes each on Tuesday and Thursday, and 20 minutes on Sunday.

Argh, okay, restart

Work = nuts =/ November half-marathon

But! As of this morning, I am registrant #5625 for the BMO Vancouver Half Marathon, which the website conveniently notes is 153 days from today.

!!!

I have an exam this week, so I won't be committing to a training schedule until the second week of December. Next weekend I'll be working out a training plan and posting it here.