I just had a moment of freaking out. It was slight. Don’t worry I’m fine. But I just realized that my triathlon is less than 4 months away. Swimming, check (even though I discovered something tricky about the course). Biking, check. Running, stop, do not pass go, do not collect $200.
I’m on track for the swimming. Here’s the tricky part. The course is listed as being 1/4 mile. I wanted to see what the exact distance was because maybe it was 0.22 miles, maybe it was 0.26 miles, but the closest measurement was 1/4 mile. I also wanted to swim this summer in the lake near my house in NH, and I wanted a route to practice. So I had to measure. I used Map My Fitness to check the swim route.
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| 0.30 miles |
NOT 1/4 MILE. It measures as 0.30 miles. That’s closer to 1/3 mile than 1/4. Why not round up? They rounded up for the bike route. That’s listed as 10 miles, but the route is really only 9.9 miles.
Glad I know. I’ll now train for 1/3 mile instead of 1/4. It may not seem like much, but lap-wise at the pool, it’s 9 laps for 1/4 mile and 12 laps for 1/3 mile. If I’m only prepared to swim “9 laps” on race day, those 3 extra “laps” aren’t gonna be fun. I want to be completely prepared. Luckily, at the lake I’d like to train in, in NH, beach to beach is 0.31 miles. Almost exactly the distance for race day. Score.
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| 0.31 miles |
Swimming, check.
The biking isn’t impressive, but it’s comfortable. I’d like to get out on the race course to get a feel for it and see how I can handle the hills it had to offer. I keep thinking, “Oh, I have time, it’s not until September”, but IT’s 4 MONTHS AWAY! I will plan a ride out there. I will. If only it would Just. Stop. Raining.
Or maybe I’ll hop on my brand new spin bike that I picked up on the way home tonight.
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| Sexy, isn't it? |
And by picked up, I mean it was on the side of the road with a “FREE” sign on it. I don’t know if it works. We’ll find out, won’t we? Yes, you’ll hear about it, I’m sure. I’ve already injured myself with it and I haven’t even gotten on it yet.
The running business is still in slow mo. But I’m doing it. I decided to start Couch 2 5K again. This is my 3rd time trying it. I’m on track so far, but these 5Ks keep getting in the way. I know it’s good to have 5Ks to do to keep myself on track for the triathlon in September, but I’m starting to wonder if the 5Ks are messing up my rhythm with the C25K plan. I’ve seen running training plans where people to long runs one day a week. Could a 5K be my “long run” for now? Or is that too ambitious for right now? Thoughts? (I’m looking at you, you runner people)
Something is happening though. I’m not too sure if I like it. Today is my rest day. And I am adamant about my rest days. Trust. But I was actually slightly upset that I ran yesterday because, get ready for it, I wanted to run today. Who am I becoming?
I’ve read many places that you shouldn’t run back to back days, especially as a beginner, but I’ve seen running schedules in other people’s blogs where they run 6 days a week with one rest day. How are they not crippled, or dead, or both?
LOL I get those days too where I want to run even though I'm supposed to rest. What is wrong with us?
ReplyDeleteI am currently training for my first half marathon and I run about 4 days a week, 4-8 miles per run (on my off days, I do weight training and/or hike). I was hiking in the Whites this weekend with a friend who is running the VT marathon on Sunday - so I decided to ask him about his training schedule. He said that rather than listening to prescribed training recommendations from coaches, etc., he listens to his body - if he feels like running - he'll run. If he feels like running faster or longer, he'll run faster or longer - but if his body feels sore, tight, uneasy etc., he will rest. With that said, he's been running for a while and he can probably read his body better than us beginners can. I don't think you will do harm running back to back days - I do so and I'm running on bad knees. If you run back to back, try switching up your running styles – on one day, run a shorter distance, faster; and on the next day, run a longer distance at a slower pace. As you train, you will figure out which running schedule best suits you. The cool thing about our bodies is that once you start training/using them, you realize how much they can really do!
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