Let The Training Begin

Today marked the official start of my training for the Disneyland Half Marathon, which is scheduled for August 31. For the next 16 weeks (yes you read that correctly) I will adhere to a training program that has me running 6 days out of the week up until the 13.1 mile foot race. In the past for marathon and half-marathon training, I have followed Hal Higdon's running plans. The training consists of logging anywhere from 20-30 miles a week of both distance and speed work.

This morning's workout called for a 3 mile run. Piece of cake! I prefer to get my runs done first thing in the morning. Therefore, I don't have the run hanging over my head all day, plus its a great way to start a weekday. The alarm went off at 5:30 a.m. and I was up immediately. Per my routine, I get the coffee brewing and throw on my running gear. For some odd reason, I like to have a cup of coffee before I head out. I think over time I've convinced myself that the coffee wakes me up and provides a burst of energy to get things going. In addition, it gives me those few extra minutes to get into the right mindset. Some people can just lace up the shoes and go run. I on the other hand need to mentally prepare myself with what I want to accomplish during the run. On this occasion it was pretty easy, get my 3 miles done at a 10 minute pace or less. 

I grabbed my headphones and Ipod, and headed to the apartment's fitness center. Wendy had planned to join me, but she didn't have the best night of rest, so she opted to get her 3 miles completed after work (which she did). Fortunately I was the first at the fitness center, because only two treadmills are available.  Following a bit of stretching the hammys and quads, I punched in the info for the treadmill and headed off. Lately, I have learned that running on a treadmill is beneficial to my knees despite being boring . Thankfully the tunes on my Ipod distracted me from the confinement of a mill. 

Since I had not run in the past few days, I started off slow - 10:49 minute pace. Eventually five minutes into the run I sped up the pace, getting it to 10 minutes a mile. Overall I felt real good. Just concentrated on my form, making sure my arms did the swinging, thus alleviating any pressure on my legs. It's something I learned in reading Chapter 1 of the book "Chi Running." Can't wait to get to Chapter 2. Probably won't happen anytime soon, since I can remember where I put the book during my relocation to SoCal. 

With day one of training complete, comes day two. Speed work is on the horizon. Slated to do 5 x 400 meter runs at 5k pace. What that means, I have no clue, but I am sure that I will improvise. 

"If you ain't first, your last."

jt