Whew!

Today was long run day. I am happy to report that I did not have any repeat of last week. In fact, nothing of the sort. I had a really good run, very conscientiously cooled down afterward and was able to happily go on with the rest of my day. Yea!

I've been thinking a lot lately about how ubiquitous running really is. It seems like most people who I talk to who find out I'm a runner tell me how they too were a runner at one time or another in their lives. I think that running can really be boiled down to some pretty primary elements and that's part of its universal appeal.

For starters, it seems most of us move with our feet to one degree or another every day (unless you are physically unable to and then often feet are replaced with wheels). Running (or even walking) propels you forward. It is like the physical manifestation of achieving some goal whether that be to run a distance, walk to the store, or even walk around while shopping inside the store to seek out those things we need. We all have goals in our lives (no matter how small) each day and in order to achieve these goals we walk or run.

We have it innate within ourselves to walk or run. We have had the need to traverse distances since the beginning of the human race. Whether we are seeking shelter or food or going to see our neighbors or even just engaging in recreation, doing activity that involves forward progression with our feet is inherent. Even if you go everywhere in your car (God, forbid), you have to actually get to the car first... on your feet.

Then there is the ease with which most of us walk or run. Aside from a good pair of shoes, running (at least for short distances) really doesn't require any special equipment. You throw on your shoes and head out the door... and whammy, you're getting aerobic activity, burning calories, and building muscle. There are no complicated rules and it doesn't even really require that you find anyone else to go with you. Granted, it can be a lot more fun with a running (or walking) partner, but it's not required.

Finally, there is an appeal in covering a distance as some kind of an achievement. Think about it... if you're a runner what is the first thing that ANYONE asks you when you tell them about your running. It is invariably "how far do you run?" Running (or walking) is very easily quantifiable. You can know almost immediately these days, through the aid of GPS or MapMyRun, exactly how far you've gone. You can tell people that distance and they can immediately understand what you're talking about. Think about it... when your talk about something like basketball, I would venture to guess that many (most?) of us don't know what a "Pick & Roll" is, why it's important in the game or even how to recognize one if we saw it. That is never the case with running.

Is there really a point to all my ramblings here? Well, probably not, except to say that running (or walking) due to its universal nature is really something we can all partake in. For many people getting out and pounding miles and miles of pavement every single day might not be their idea of fun, but that doesn't mean that they can't do it... at least in some form. To this end I would encourage everyone to get out there and move their feet. It doesn't have to be far and it doesn't have to be pretty, but I promise when you're done and you've achieved some quantifiable result that you hadn't achieved before (whether you express it in terms of minutes or miles), you have some result that you can share with others who will understand exactly what you are talking about... and they will be proud of you... and, more importantly, YOU will be proud of you.

Today's run
12.45 Miles
2:30:00
5.0 mph
12:02 pace

Training Plan 2011

With the start of the new year, I have a new training plan that I intend to follow... okay, maybe not to the exact minute, but I need to start thinking about reaching a goal I have set for myself. Along with my sister-in-law, I have signed up to run the Hippie Chick Half Marathon in May. I have never run this distance before in my life. In fact, the longest I have ever run is a 10K, or 6.2 miles. So, the thought of running 13.1 miles is more than a little overwhelming to me.

To keep me on track, I have set up a plan for myself which will loosely follow a plan laid out by Jeff Galloway. For those of you who might not be familiar with Jeff, he is a runner himself who has devised multiple week training schedules that will allow almost anyone to go from a sedentary lifestyle to being able to run. Jeff advocates a run/walk ratio that gradually increases the amount of running over a period of weeks. He has developed a slightly slower (16 weeks as compared to 9) version of  sedentary to 5K running program that starts slowly and builds gradually, using his run/walk intervals. This schedule is how I returned to running a couple of years ago after being away from it for over fifteen years.

Not ready to tackle the C25K? Well, Jeff even has a plan to prepare you to get ready to run by getting you comfortable with walking first. Developing cardio-vascular strength as well as some muscle strength are important first steps if you've been away from any kind of exercise for a while... believe me, I know!

In the past I haven't ever really felt the need to have a specific "plan" for my running. I've always just gone out and run, figuring that once I was to a certain point of endurance, then I could enter a 5K or even a 10K. But earlier this fall, I began to realize the shortcomings of this mind-set. Yes, I was running about 5 miles every other day, but it didn't seem like I was really seeing too much improvement in my speed... at least not like I thought I would. I figured that if I continued to add time to my workout that the speed would follow. And while this is true to a point, I still felt like I needed a little more of a kick in the butt. Anyway, I have started following Jeff's run/walk program, which he advocates even for more seasoned runners and have been surprised to find that my speed is actually picking up.

Ironically, now that I have started working on my speed, I need to start focusing on my time and endurance again in order to prep for this upcoming half. Okay, yeah, ideally I would continue to work to improve my time as I improved my speed, but that might be asking my oxygen-deprived brain (not to mention body) to do too many things at once. It might be like rubbing your head and patting your belly... sounds pretty basic but we all know it is much more difficult in practice. For now, I think I'll just content myself with just getting through the distance... at least with a plan in place I feel like I might be able to get my arms around that much... at least I hope so!