A Running Experiment

First of all, I’d like to tell everybody that’s reading this, Coach Mark has a few custom coaching service giveaways left! If you’re interested in testing out a coach for a month! I decided that since Mark has been so generous to provide his services to me and whomever else decides to take advantage of the offer for a month, I’m going to share how it goes for me! 

For most people, they don’t know that I have already shelled over 300 dollars at one point for a personal trainer/dietician only to find that I did not feel like she was worth the money. She did not give me enough feedback on my eating habits, did not require enough from me, and gave me too much leeway in the gym. I felt like I was spending a lot of money for hot air. This is the main reason why I was reluctant to even think about asking anybody to draft up a running plan for me. This opportunity is great for me to see if Mark is a good fit for me and what I think of his services. 

With that said, I want to first of all comment on one thing so far. Mark has been very quick to reply and a great motivator with his words. He has set up my first week based on my history of running. He had sent me a questionnaire with a few more questions later to determine what my level of fitness is. While that is generally not enough, he has also set up my first week to be a bit of an experiment and a bit of a repeat of what I am already doing.

I’m sure since my running history is not really set, he needs some more data which is to be collected through my first week of running.

This is what it looks like:

2-14 Thursday – 25 minutes easy.  You should be breathing easy to moderate.  If you need to take breaks in there that is fine for now but the time spent running/jogging should be 20 minutes.

2-15 Friday – 20 minutes easy or Cross-train or off day

2-16 Saturday – 5 miles.  Let’s just shoot for distance and not worry about pace.  

2-17 Sunday – Same as Friday ( 20 minutes easy or Cross-train or off day)

He said:

I’d like to hold off on these days and use them as a test of what your body can handle now.  We are going to eventually add some things in to work on your speed and strength.

So far, I’m really impressed with his punctuality in responding to me! Now, tomorrow I start fresh. Thank you again Mark for all you’re doing and I look forward to a productive month!! 

 

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Run That By Me Again Please

Reading up on marathon training, I’ve come across quite a few training schedules but then I realized that I have two marathons I am trying to decide between. When I realized that, I wanted to figure out how much time I should give myself to train for the second one and that means to recover from the first primarily. I could run a half instead of a full marathon at the Tyler Rose Marathon in October so I can run the Tucson Marathon in December or vice versa. 

Anyways, as somebody that has only done a long run of 4.3 miles, I consider a 10K a long run. So when reading about the recovery plan suggested by one writer, my eyes started to bulge at the suggestion of a easy 8 mile run as a recovery run! This was of course on week two or three after the marathon but a 3 mile run is “easy” and a 8 mile run is nowhere near easy. I suppose after a marathon a 8 mile run would seem like a piece of cake! 

Shows how much running I have to do before I can really kick the word novice out of my vocabulary. 

Breaking Personal Records

Running as fast as you can and striving to break PR’s is a great way to push yourself in your exercise routines. The problem with that is, some people push themselves too much and end up hurting. Take it from me, hurting in your groin area is no fun especially when you have to get in and out of your car. The most important thing about this is to learn how to pace yourself. 

As a newbie runner, it’s so normal for us to feel intimidated by other people because they’re faster, better, more in shape than we are. In the past, my desire for running has been killed by the lack of motivation to run. It’s not that I didn’t want to run, it’s that I didn’t want to embarras myself. Embarrassing yourself is no fun but that’s not what will happen when you do your first 5K or 10K. There is no reason why you shouldn’t walk! 

Part of breaking personal records, you need to set them in order to break them! During my first 5K, my sister had jumped in and asked me to stop to take a picture. While that probably hurt my time, it was my first one and I didn’t want to run too fast and have a hard time breaking my record. I already think I’m going to have a hard time breaking this one but that’s part of the fun! Training hard to beat your previous PR. 

The most important thing about races though is to remember this – focus on finishing. Don’t worry if you have a bad day or bad week before or during your race. Finishing a race is a great accomplishment. You can either share your results or not. In the end, breaking a personal record is something you work towards. Don’t expect to break every single personal record right away and repetitively. It’s okay to be slower than your personal best sometimes. 

PR’s are the best way to measure your success because while qualifying for the Boston Marathon would be awesome, it’s really about running for yourself and improving your time. You always have time to worry about making it to the big races later.