Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Quit thinking about running while I'm running!!

Real good run this morning. 4 easy miles on the schedule. Oh, that brings me to something I've been meaning to post. I switched over to Hal Higdon't novice full marathon training program. There are a couple of reasons why I switched. The primary reason is that it provides a little more flexibility on the weekend long run. Because weekday runs are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, I can do my long run on either Saturday or Sunday and it doesn't screw up my week. Also, all the miles in this program are at easy pace. I plan to sprinkle in some quality runs once a week or once every two weeks. Plus I have the HARRA warmup series and Strider warmup series races so I have some variety built in there. Higdon's novice program has a mid-week mini-long run on Wednesdays. Anyway, you can follow the link if you want to see. I do plan on doing some long runs with the Katy Fit group when I can.

So, the run this morning was fun. I thought a lot less about my running while I was running this morning. I tried to just relax a little bit. I'm usually thinking about my stride or my foot/ankle or my pace or the splits... I usually run pretty tense. This morning, about 1.5 miles into the run, I just relaxed and thought about other things and ran.

Despite the pace as shown below, I really was comforatably conversational for all 4 miles. My pace was just up a bit. Can't explain that. Oh, and I strapped on the HRM for the first time in a long time just for informational purposes.

Total distance - 4.0 miles
Time - 56:33
Mile 1 - 14:38 (137 bpm)
Mile 2 - 14:29 (147 bpm)
Mile 3 - 13:55 (152 bpm)
Mile 4 - 13:29 (157 bpm)
Average pace - 14:09
Average HR - 148 (71% HRr)

I saw Lisa F. this morning but for the second time just walked on by, well, ran on by. Hope to have one more chance one day. I really miss her around here. Lisa, if you're out there, miss you!!! You rock!!!

11 comments:

TX Runner Mom said...

Wow, you were really going this morning! I used Hal Higdon's schedule for my 1st 1/2 marathon and it seemed to work well for me.

Anonymous said...

His methods are tried and true; sounds like you've hit on the training that is going to really work well for you.

That's good to have the flexibility in your weekend runs; I'm tied to Saturday mornings unless it's something really unusual.

Anonymous said...

Hi Vic! I just jumped onto Hal's training program this week and I also just did a 4 mile run today (I'm on week 4). Which week are you on?

Lol, it looks like we're about the same pace too :-P.

Keep up the great progress! I've been reading your blog for a while and you're going awesome!

Jenny said...

Lol! I do the whole 'thinking about running all the time whilst running thing' too! Things do seem to go better when you just forget about it and think about other stuff.

L*I*S*A said...

Hal has been good to me for the past 16 weeks, so if there is another marathon for me, I'll most likely come to him for guidance. I may blend his plan with another, but I know he won't steer me wrong. :)

Jenny said...

Vic - what training plan did you start out on when you first started running? And what did you then move onto? I'm still trying to figure out where to go next with my training - I like the 5k idea.

Unknown said...

Jenny, I'm trying to remember what I did. I started by just walking for a couple of weeks. Then, the couch-to-5K program on coolrunning.com. That's a 9 week walk/run program. It took me 12 weeks, I think because I repeated some weeks. By the end of that, I could run continuously for 30 minutes. I just maintained the 30 minute continuous run, 3 times per week for a couple of weeks and then started a 27-week, beginners marathon training program. Probably not recommended. But the program I did start is time based, except for the long run on the weekend. I think that's good for new runners because you don't have to worry about pace, etc. Just run for 30 minutes. That's it.

Here's a novice 5K training program that you could move into. Here's another one from runnersworld.com that is 7 weeks and you could ease into that.

Or, you may just want to build your base up running 3 days during the week for 20-30 minutes and then do a longer run on the weekend. You could start with 2 miles for the long run. Then add .5-1 miles each week for 5 or so weeks. Then maybe start adding some time during the week and just kind of building your own program. Just don't add too much too soon. And after increasing for 3-4 weeks, back off for 1 week to give yourself a break, then pick back up the next week where you left off.

Basically, there are a lot of 5K training plans out on the web and they are all ok. Just try to find one for new runners or first timers. Avoid speedwork (e.g. intervals) and hill work. It's a recipe for injury.

You have any running clubs in your area?

E-mail me.

El Oso Furioso said...

Hal Higdon is Great!! His program was the first training program I attempted to stick to. I didn't stick to it... but I tried to. We're going to have to get together and (gasp) run since you're in the 'hood and all.

SRR said...

Hal has never done me wrong. I **heart heart** him!

David said...

I like most everything I read from Hal Higdon. The "not think about running" seems like good advice...I like to do that from time to time- good job.

Jenny said...

Thanks for this Vic - sorry for hijacking your comments I didn't realise I could email you... I still haven't worked out how to actually!

Great advice - I think I'm going to go with a Hal Higdon schedule although I also like the idea of building my own. I'm too intimidated/broke to go to a running club at the moment! There's one at my gym so I might call in there one night if I'm feeling brave.