One hop this time

OK, so maybe switching from my first 30 minute run to a full week of 30 minute runs wasn't the best idea...

Last Friday I went down to Blacksburg, VA to go camping with a group of my undergrad friends, a few new friendly faces, and my younger brother. It was set to go from Saturday night through Sunday, so I made my run in the morning through the loop around my former local house. It was a bit colder and much more hilly than my usual path at home, but I was able to finish pretty easily with no problems. So far so good...

We took our camping excursion to Wind Rock on the Appalachian Trail. I'd been once before, but only to enjoy the sunset before heading back home. This time we packed all of our camping gear, some food and drinks, and a couple of extra layers in hopes that we could take on the supposed 32 degree weather through the night.



As it turns out, we were closer to wrong than we wanted to be. It dropped to the low 20s and snowed overnight as we rested(barely due to semi moist and cold toes and hands). Instead of shuffling around and getting even colder in the tent, I snuck out at about 6:30 in the morning and caught both the sight of a faint sunrise through the snow clouds, and a few embers from our doused night fire kept alive by the winds breaking off the mountain.



Thankfully I was able to revive the fire back to something substantial, and it became enough for everyone to warm back up and get to their cars and homes comfortably. There was never any danger of hypothermia or frostbite, but the intensity of the cold was definitely more than we were prepared for.



All that considered, The sunset was just as pretty as I had remembered, and I'm really glad the trip was organized because it still was a great time with good people. The snow-capped mountain turned out to be a really beautiful surprise as well.

...anyway, back to the running progress.

Everything was groovy through Wednesday, but then I hit a fatigue wall. My guess is it was probably building up from the lack of sleep on the camping trip on top of two of my longest runs to date. I was absolutely exhausted, and chose not to run Wednesday afternoon. I was so tired that I went to bed probably earlier than I was forced to as a 7 or 8 year old...crashed at 8. Probably a very good decision, in my opinion.

Thursday I picked it back up again at a less pressing pace, and Friday followed just as easily as Tuesday had. My next concern was how well I would be able to run after another set of consecutive runs; prior to this weekend I had signed up for the annual 5KD, again in Blacksburg. The goal going in was to start to acclimate myself to running around other people so I can be ready and not thrown off pace when the real deal comes this fall.

DEFINITELY a good decision. I was suckered in to the psychological mindset early on that "oh, these people are running pretty fast; I better keep up". But I also realized after about a mile or so that I was definitely going faster than I had been when training, or should have been to ready myself for the marathon. When the side groups at the first mile marker rallied off "8:14!"...I knew I should have slowed down, but also subconsciously told myself "it's only 3.1 miles, DO IT!". Eventually I thought better when the pack separated to a point when I could run comfortably in my own bubble without worrying about weaving or not letting the next guy/girl behind me pass by.

By a mile and a half, I wised up to what my real goal was -- find a good long distance pace, and finish in 30:00 (10 min/mile) or less. So I slowed up a bit, and got past the end line in the 25 minutes and some change range. It was a good run, but it was faster than I was used to and I felt it.

Lesson learned -- keep signing up for more of these...it does a body (and mind) good. More practice in groups will make the takeoff phenomenon not so herd-like and more me-like.

For now, I think this coming week's goal is 33:00 per daily run. The frequency is subject to change depending on how I feel. Eventually I need to start varying my distances, but I still think I'm in a safe zone where I'm not running too far every day that would put me at a high risk of injury.

P&L,
Be Easy

Thats why I'm easy; I'm easy like Sunday morning

Today's run was a breeze. The weather was a bit chilly from the wind, but otherwise hovered at about 52 degrees and made for perfect running weather. It felt good, and it was a great close to to the 27 min run week :)

On to milestone 1 Saturday - 1st Half hour run!

In the meantime, its time to watch some March Madness and see if Michael Beasley is the real deal against USC...

LMNOP (Love, Mazeltov N' Out, PEACE!)
Be Easy

Let's GO!

If you want it you can get it let me know.

or...

HOKIES!

Either applies.

There are now less than 32 weeks to my date with destiny, and all is well so far. I decided after a few of the first runs (including the 3.5 mile run last post) that I don't really know what it is I'm doing as far as training goes while I headed out on the same path everyday. To both educate myself and find new motivation with purpose, I invested in a book that details a full training guide for your first marathon or your 50th.

It details a strict 18 week program that has been tested and proven to work for hundreds of athletes, young and old, and from beginners to the racing elite (with varying degrees of intensity, naturally). The only catch is that the author recommends you to have the ability to run 3 miles or a 5k without having to breathe too heavy when you start the 18 weeks.

So, because the race is quite a ways away, and that 18 week window also being some time from now, I've been taking things extra slow to ensure that 1)I don't hurt myself in the process and 2)I am without any question fit enough to take on the training.

In the near three and a half weeks since last post, I've significantly turned the intensity of the runs down. Instead of trying hard to reach the end of the 3rd mile (as was the process previously), I'll run for time instead. Beginning on the 25th, I started running for about 18 minutes at a time every other day. It seemed a cinch after the 3.5 miler the previous time, but I learned quickly that keeping at that pace or mindset would bring me either injury or frustration if not both as the runs got longer.

By the 1st, I was on a cruise in the Caribbean with a bunch of my friends from Tech, and it was a really good time that I wish could have been longer. Despite being at sea for a week, however, I still managed to both run AND build up from the previous week. 21 minutes every other day this time around on the ship's treadmills.

Here's a bunch of the group in the hot tub and another of my favorite photos from the trip:




The next week (Mar. 9th) was hard to get back to work, but not hard at all to get running. I upped the time to 24 minutes, and got pretty close to 3 miles if I didn't actually get it.

This week (Sun 16th) I started running for 27 minutes. Today's run was a bit more difficult than most in the past because I was overdressed, dehydrated, and got a nasty cramp in the first mile or so that thankfully subsided as I trudged on. Sleep had probably also been a factor as well, as I had been awakened by my dog to go to the bathroom at 2 in the morning the night before, and took a long time to get back to sleep, right before I got up at 5 for the work day. It was easily a solid 3 miles, but not the type I wanted to feel by doing "the right thing". Hopefully I won't have too many nights like that when I start the real training, but I think it's to be expected sometimes.

This Saturday is a big day for me too. It marks the first half hour run I'll attempt, and the last of the every other day runs. Sunday I will rest, but try to run every day next week and see how that works out.

P&L till next time,
Be Easy