Catching Up

Latest Workouts

Yep - that stupid belt continues to be
a giant pain in my butt.
This is at 11.7 on Sunday morning.

Sunday: 11.8 mi/ 2:02
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 4 mi/ 38:00 - on dreadmill
Wednesday: 4 mi/ 37:01

I started this week behind. I did my long run on Sunday, which threw the rest of my typical running schedule off. I had all intentions to run on Monday, but I got up feeling like garbage so I decided to make it a rest day instead. Thanks to Tropical Storm Isaac, I got pushed inside on Tuesday morning. Even with an old episode of Teen Mom on the television, it was painfully boring. This morning my run was way more productive outside. Tomorrow, speedwork.

I did officially register for the Labor Day 10K on Monday. No turning back now. I'm sure I will whine and bitch about the heat, but I've got my fingers crossed for cloudy weather that morning. I want to get a chip timed 10K to use for corral placement at Disney and any other crazy race I decide to run this fall/winter. I've been running pretty well despite the humidity - much better than I was in June - so fingers crossed I'll perform well on race day.

I haven't really set a goal yet. I thought about it today on my run. Under an hour seems to be a reasonable goal, especially since "the plan" has said I should run it in 53 minutes, but I'm not going to let that piece of paper decide what my goal will be. I've never run a 10K before, but I'm hoping that running with others will help energize me, not to mention I'll be running a course that I used to drive daily when we lived in Macon, Ga. I think it will be fun to look at it from a different perspective.

Tune in tomorrow for Dessert of the Week.

Plan the Work, Work the Plan

Today's Run:
2.2 mi/19:15

No, I wasn't swimming.
It just looks like I was.

Who runs just two miles? I mean, I know my mileage last week was less than impressive, but 2.2 miles? I should be embarrassed. It wasn't because I didn't want to run farther. I did. The weather was semi-bearable. My legs felt good. I was ready to run. And then in less than 20 minutes, it was all over.

I've come to the realization that I need a plan. I need something or someone telling me what to run and when. I started running using the Ease Into 5K app and I loved it. I finished the Bridge to 10K app as well, although I never ran an official 10K race. Like every newbies, I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to actually training for a specific distance, but there's an app for that.

All summer I've been kinda waving in the wind with my mileage with no real plan on what and when to run. I've been more concerned with not passing out halfway through a 5 miler in the 82 degree sauna I wake up to each morning. Now that cooler weather is supposed to be right around the corner, I need to figure out what to run and for how long and how fast and how often.

Because I cannot afford to hire some hot trainer to motivate me daily or to at least plan my runs, I decided to try out the Smart Coach on Runner's World Magazine to help me get ready for the Labor Day 10K, that is if I grow a pair and sign up. It's only five weeks away, but the mileage on the plan didn't scare me and seems manageable. I thought it would be a good way to see if I liked their training recommendations before committing to a half-training plan, which I will need to decide on soon enough.

So, I did what I tell my clients - "plan the work and work the plan." The paper said two miles, so who am I to argue. They know a heck of a lot more than I do.