I’ve made my decision and I have even posted my intention on Facebook for all to see (and keep me accountable). I will be running in a quarter-marathon (6.55 miles) on April 2nd! :-)
Last week was my first week to train for the race and it went well (week #3 on the schedule). I will be using the Galloway method, which means taking short walk breaks on the long runs in order to recover faster. Has anyone used this method before? If so, what did you think of it?
So my training schedule is here. I will most likely be moving my off day to Friday and my long runs to Saturday. I worry that if I don’t get some of the longer runs out of the way on Saturday, I will put them off and end up not doing them. Plus the race is on a Saturday.
I’m pretty excited about the race because it is going to be at the reservoir where I was running in the fall. I know the “course” and will be able to practice on it almost every weekend. As long as it is warm enough and not raining out, I will be out there. And when I have enough daylight to run there during the week I am going to do that too.
I'm hoping that by actually TRAINING for this race, I will beat my previous 10K time of 80:08- even though the distance of this race is a little longer. That time is from 2008 when I ran/walked the Bolder Boulder (for those of you in CO, I would highly recommend this race- people line the streets and you finish in the CU stadium). I will be in better shape this time and out of the altitude, so I should run a faster race.
In other race news, I’m thinking about signing up for the Tackle the Tower stair climb. Have any of you ever done a stair climb before? It’s kind of fun. I first did one when I was living in Chicago. The Hustle up the Hancock was a stair race up the 94 floors of the John Hancock building (there is also a race up the Sears Tower). You would think that the race would be awful, but it’s a great workout- I did the race in 19 minutes! This building is shorter which means a faster (and easier) race, but I am hoping to recruit a few people from work to do it with me. If you have a stair climb in your area I would highly recommend doing it!
My only worry is that the stair climb is a week before the 10K. Do you think this will be a problem? I’m supposed to run 4 miles the weekend before the 10K so should I do the race and then try to run afterwards? Help!
4 comments:
When I trained for my first marathon, one of our coaches (a Boston marathon qualifier) said his best marathons were when he'd walk one minute for each mile run. It's pretty remarkable how taking those walking breaks does a body good. I've transformed my running style as a result. I take tons of walking breaks and think nothing of it.
I'm with Nilsa. Taking a quick break(s) during a long run helps keep me motivated and I can usually run longer when I take those breaks. I've read a lot about interval training and how it's more effective than the traditional training plans that don't allow for walking.
Good luck on your races! Sounds like you'll be pretty prepared.
I reckon you'll be fine for the 10k. Maybe rest an extra day though. I'm ALL about resting extra though, so I may not be the best one to listen to.
I have absolutely no advice for you, as I've NEVER been a fan of running!
I do, however, have a loud yell, and I'll be cheering you on for the next couple of months from here in Vancouver :D
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