Super Serious Athlete

Yesterday was one of those days where I just didn't want to run.  I knew I needed to.  I knew it was time after 2 rest days.  But I just plain didn't feel like it.  Then I came home to this:

What a great mail day!!  So glad I pre-ordered Dean's new book!  (Cause we're on a first name basis...)  I haven't cracked it open yet but can't wait!  Holy exclamation points Batman!

It was just the motivation I needed.  It was a totally gorgeous day, 52* and sunny.  I put on some shorts (first outdoor run in shorts this year I believe) and a t-shirt and headed outside for a quick 2 miler.  I ran in our neighborhood which has some massively steep hills.  And you know what?  Once I was out there it felt amazing!  I was so glad I went out for a run.  I soaked up the sunshine and all my steps felt light and great.  It was one of those runs where everything just came together perfectly.

2 miles in 21:30, 10:45 pace.  Although it was a decently slow and definitely short run, I definitely worked up a sweat:

Here is my Super Serious Athlete pose:

Look out Kara Goucher, here I come.



Feels Like the First Time

Today I went for my first run in a LONG time.  The main goal this training cycle is to build up slowly so that I do not get injured.  I decided to start over completely and build up slowly, like a brand new runner.  I'm using the training plan in The Runner's World Complete Book of Women's Running.  Today was day one.

In six weeks the authors take you from sedentary, to running for 30 minutes straight.  Each workout is 30 minutes.  As prescribed in the book, I started with a 10 minute walk.  For the middle 10 minutes I alternated 30 seconds of running with walking until rested.  Then I walked the remaining 10 minutes.  I went 1.73 miles in 30 minutes, and only actually ran about 2 minutes of the 30.  It was humbling, because I actually felt like a newbie during my 30 second run intervals.  I don't know if I could have run more than that at one time!

The goal by the end of this training week (from the book) is to work up to an interval of 2 minutes of straight running.  In the interest of taking it slow and not getting injured, I have decided to listen to my body.  If I'm not ready at the end of week 1 to move up to the week 2 workouts, then I'll stay at week 1 for a while longer.  If it takes me longer than 6 weeks to get up to running 30 minutes at a time, that's okay.  I'll get there eventually, and hopefully pain free.