Yesterday I picked up a copy of The New York Road Runners Club Complete Book of Running at the local Goodwill. It was brand new. Lucky me. :-) It has a lot of good advice on a variety of topics, and some pretty inspiration writing as well. I've only read a few chapters. I particularly liked the chapter on training techniques which include Hill, Speed Intervals, Fartlek and Tempo Runs. Fartlek sounds like the most fun (Swedish for "speed play") since it's basically intervals without the rigid timings. I won't go into detail about how each technique is done since I'm hardly the expert. I'm still learning.
Exercise
Today at the community center gym I ran intervals. I started with 10 minutes at 6.0 mph. Then I alternated 2 minutes at 7.5 mph and 2 minutes at 6.0 mph. I did this 10 times, but a few times I dropped down to a 4.0 mph walk for my slow intervals near the end. I finished up with another 10 minutes at 6.0 mph. Then a 3 minute cool down walk at diminishing speeds. It totaled somewhere around 6.5 miles in one hour's time (I really forgot to make note of the distance... I was beat).
I felt good doing this workout. I think there's something to this interval training! :-)
Nutrition
This morning I ate 1.5 scrambled eggs on whole wheat thin bread rounds with some ketchup and hot sauce. Last night was left over chicken and veggies and some mixed fruit with yogurt (courtesy of my wife Handan!). It was sufficient fuel for today's run. Eventually I'll need to start adding more carbs to my diet as my distances get longer.
Health
Feeling good today. We had a good night's sleep and my body is cooperating with my brain which came up with this ambitious idea of running the marathon.
Equipment
My new shoes (Brooks Adrenaline GTS 11) have shipped and should be here by the middle of the week. Woo hoo... I'm excited.
Other News
Handan and I will probably join the Reston Runners club this spring. They have group runs, training programs and races which all sound like fun. I think running in a group is a good way to stay motivated. And for Handan it's a good safety measure as well.
I borrowed that book from the library and enjoyed reading it.
ReplyDeleteI ran in the rain today. It was 56 degrees outside, so not too cold. I warmed up for five minutes in my house walking around, including up and down the stairs a few times. So, by the time I went outside, my body temperature was already warm.
What is Handan doing to train? Any particular plan?
We're both going to join Reston Runners. It's a running club that has group runs and training programs. Handan will join a woman's training group that starts in May.
ReplyDeleteI'm a wimp about running in bad weather. I should be more brave (like you)... but I'm not. At least not yet.