Feeling Undertrained

So, here's the thing...

I still have no motivation to follow a strict training schedule. I'm signed up for a 15K on February 13th. I haven't *really* trained for it. I did an 8.5 mile long run a few weeks ago and 8 this past weekend... so I definitely think i'll be able to finish it, i'm just not expecting a stellar performance. Now is about the time I should start training for the Cleveland 1/2 marathon too. I filled in the plan I used last year into my calendar... this should be week 2. The first few weeks of the plan consist of a few 4 mile and a few 6 mile runs each week, which is pretty much what i've been doing, so for now (and maybe for the whole time) i'm going to loosely follow the training plan and try to get as many of the prescribed long runs in as possible.

Weekly Recap 1/24/11-1/30/11

Sunday - 8.0 Miles. It was a good long run. I managed to keep my pace up despite snow packed roads.

Saturday - 4.0 miles. Icky weather...it was not a fun run.

Friday - rest

Thursday - I had planned 5 miles with some hills and speedwork, but forgot my ipod and could only manage 3 on the dreadmill before I gave up.

Wednesday - Tried a new Cardio/Weights class at the gym. It gets a thumbs up. I'm going to try to make it to that again!

Tuesday - 4.0 miles

Monday - Body Pump

Weekly Milage Total: 19 Miles

Running, even on a treadmill, is NOT "a waste of time"!

I don't know what the deal is, but it seems like this statement is everywhere these days... trainers at the gym, other health and fitness blogs, tv, internet all saying "stop wasting your time on the treadmill". Now, I kind of get what they are saying... in terms of weight loss (which, hey, it's January, so what other possible goal could anyone in a gym possibly have?) jogging along at a moderate pace at a 0% incline is not probably going to make you loose massive amounts of weight. Of course strength training and interval training are helpful to weightloss and overall fitness, but this hardly means that treadmill use is a waste of time. I, as a runner, refuse to believe that running (even on the treadmill) is a waste of time! And I really really wish people would stop saying that it is! Even treadmill running can be quite challenging, if done correctly.

I myself did a very challenging hill workout (which i'm hoping will help to prepare me for my upcoming trail race) on the treadmill last week. I stole the idea for the workout from: http://instephsshoes.blogspot.com. Personally, I did not feel it was a waste of time AT ALL. In fact, IT KICKED MY ASS! I should really do hill workouts (outdoors and on the treadmill) more often.

Here's the recap:

Sunday - 7 very chilly miles (8 degrees outside, 2 pairs of pants and 3 shirts.... I'll still take it over hot and humid!)

Saturday - 5.5 Chilly miles (below 10 degrees - but the sun was out!)

Friday - 4 miles easy (on the treadmill BTW)

Thursday - rest

Wednesday - Cardio intervals (on random cardio equipment at the gym) interspersed with mainly upper body weights.

Tuesday - 5.1 miles total with Treadmill Hill repeats as follows: 1%, 2%, 1%, 4%, 1%, 6%, 1%, 8%, 1%, 10% for one minute each. Repeat twice.

Monday - Full Body Weights

Weekly Milage Total: 21.6 Miles

A good running week.

This past week was a good running week. I managed to meet my 20 mile/week "off season" goal and work in two strength training sessions. I'm getting better at picking outdoor snow routes that allow me to run in the street (since no one shovels the sidewalk here). Today's run was great! It was 17 degrees, "feels like" 6 degrees temperature wise, so it was chilly, but the sun was out, which made it feel much nicer. At one point a guy ran past me and turned to me and said, "you know, most people think we are crazy for being out here doing this today, but I like it". It is so true, runners are a little nuts, but in a good way :-)

Here's the Weekly recap:

1/10/11-1/16/11

Sunday - 7.03 Miles

Saturday - 4.20 Miles

Friday - off

Thursday - 4.1 Mile tempo run on the treadmill

Wednesday - Weights with a focus on upper body.

Tuesday - My favorite speed workout: 1600 (400 recovery), 2X800 (400 recovery), 2X400 (200 recovery), 4X200 (200 recovery). With warmup and cooldown 5.11 Miles total.

Monday - Full Body weights

Weekly Milage Total: 20.44 Miles

New Years Resolutions?

I don't like New Years resolutions. I don't really know why... I guess it always seems so forced and like everyone makes the exact same resolution, like to loose weight. Maybe that's why I've been procrastinating my first 2011 post. What are my 2011 resolutions? I don't want to make any, so there (stomping feet). I like the sound of "goals" more than I like "resolutions", so how about some 2011 goals. (1) Mainly I would like to run more races in 2011 than I did in 2010. With all the moving craziness that happened last year I only did 3 races! It shouldn't be too hard to run more races in 2011. If I run the races i'm already registered for i'll be at 3 already. (2) I also want to have more fun running this year. I really did not enjoy the marathon training, so this year I want to get more enjoyment out of running. P.S. I wont be running another marathon this year. (3) As far as a milage goal, i'd love to hit 1000 miles again, but without marathon training, i'm not sure that's realistic, so i'm going to set a goal of 800 miles for this year. (4) I'd also like to really re-incorporate weight training into my routine, which i've started to do again, but i'd like to be more consistent about it.

Since i've been totally slacking on my weekly milage posts, here's the last 2 weeks:

1/3/11 - 1/9/11

Sunday - 5.85 miles

Saturday - 8.5 miles

Friday - 3 miles

Thursday- 3.06 miles

Wednesday - body pump

Tuesday - 4 miles

Monday - off

Weekly Total: 24.41 Miles

12/27/10 - 1/2/11

Sunday- 6.10 miles

Saturday- 5.26 miles

Friday - off

Thursday- 3.22

Wednesday- 2 miles + weights

Tuesday- 4.34 Miles

Monday - Weights

Weekly Total: 20.92 Miles

2010 Stats

So that I can start putting up some 2011 stats, here's what happened in 2010:

mONTHLY MILEAGE

January - 81.5 Miles

February - 69.2 Miles

March - 92.1 Miles

April - 106.49 Miles

May - 63.63 Miles

June - 84.18 Miles

July - 96.78 Miles

August - 125.99 Miles

September - 142.27 Miles

October - 84.47 Miles

November - 60.68 Miles

December - 66.12 Miles

2010 Yearly Milage Total: 1073.41 Miles

Races:

2010 RACE LIST

May 16th - Colfax Half Marathon, Denver Colorado

1:59:07

Twilight Trail 8K - Cleveland, OH

47:56

October 10th - Towpath Marathon, Peninsula Ohio

4:32:54