Saturday, July 24, 2010

It's supposed to be fun, right?

I decided to change things up today. I did a mile and a half on the treadmill, with one lap each of warm-up and cool-down. So, one half mile of that altogether. For the remaining mile I alternated running 30 seconds at 5 m.p.h. (a pretty good clip for me) and walking one minute at 3 m.p.h.

Holy fun run, Batman! That was an absolute blast! Each running interval ended with me feeling like I could do more (hello, I was in labor with my daughter for 80 mostly unmedicated hours -- I can do anything for 30 seconds). So I was really watching the clock during my one-minute walking intervals, eager to get back to running again. Loved this workout!

This has me kind of re-thinking my training plan. Maybe I should alternate days of doing this with days of running for longer distances at my usual (slower) speed of 4.2 m.p.h.? I'll have to play around with it over the next few days and see if I can work something out. Anything that gets me to my goal of running a mile without stopping or getting injured is fair game right now!

Speaking of goals, I just found out there is going to be a "real" 5K in my area one week after the 5K Fun Run for which I've been training. The second 5K is on a USATF-certified course and has an entry fee and everything, whereas the fun run is free and a lot more casual. Now I'm wondering if I should do the second one instead, just to feel like I'm putting a little more weight behind my goal and taking it a little more seriously. Or is it unrealistic to think I might be able to do both? The timing of both races is auspicious; my 44th birthday happens right between them. They're a week apart, so if I don't kill myself on the fun run I should be able to do another 5K a week later, right?

Right now I'm leaning toward registering for the "real" 5K, doing that one for sure, and seeing how I feel when the fun run comes up. If I'm up to running 3 miles a few days a week by then, maybe I will do both!

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