Saturday, April 23, 2011

Training

I've been reading a lot of articles lately about how to train for a race. A few weeks back a friend was talking about and article she read about interval training and how marathoners who include walking in their runs tend to finish with better times. This sounded interesting to me, but I wasn't completely sold. This was, until I found another article, in a magazine about a 10 weeks to 10k plan.

The plan basically suggested that you run ten minutes and walk one mintue for a certain distance, gradually working up to 10kms. This really clicked with me. Why can't I try this for my training? I've been so concerend about being able to run the full 5k... that I've been mentally blocking myself each time I run. Maybe I should start thinking about trying the 10:1 ratio in my training sessions to help me go the distance. When I first started running, my training plan was based on intervals, so I'm used to the breaks. It worked well for me then, why not now? I think I'm going to give it a shot!

3 Weeks to 5K

In three weeks I'll be running my first 5k race. I have to admit, I'm actually pretty nervous about it. I'm sure I'll do fine, maybe even amazing... but I haven't been getting in as much training as I'd like.

Since switching back to outdoor running from the treadmill, I haven't run as much as I'd like to. The weather has been so up and down, it's been really cold and rainy. Honestly, now that I'm back outside, I don't want to get back on that treadmill until next winter.

I don't mind running in the rain, I actually prefer it. I love that feeling when you are all hot and sweaty and the raindrops cool you down. It's been too cold to enjoy it though, so I keep putting off my runs, which isn't helping my training. With three weeks to go, I need to get out there often and put in the time and distance until I'm confident I can make it through.

I've heard that you should be able to run about 80% of your race before you get there and adrenaline will carry you the rest of the way. I'm really hoping this is true because at this point I feel like I'm not even going to make it to the finish line. The past couple of weeks I haven't run my greatest. I think mostly it's a mental thing, in my head I'm thinking 'I can't do this... I'm getting tired...When can I take a break'? I really need to work on pushing through all the negativity in my head because once I can get past that, I'm able to really enjoy my run.

My goal for this race? I'd like to finish, and it will be nice if they don't have to ask me to move aside because they are re-opening the road!! I'll keep you posted on my training, and how the race turns out!