HM training week 1

first week of higdon's half marathon intermediate level training plan. total mileage = 14, plus a speedwork session (this alternates between intervals and tempo runs). this was my first foray into speedwork. i'm really interested to see how/if it pays off for me over the whole program.

monday - rest (should be "stretch & strength" -- i need to come up with a plan for this)
tuesday - 3 mi (treadmill) plus core
wednesday - 5x 400m @ 5k pace
thursday - 3 mi (treadmill) plus core
friday - rest
saturday - 3 mi
sunday - 5 mi

this plan has long runs on sunday rather than saturday like the last plan i used. part of the idea is to get used to running on 'tired' legs. we shall see how this works out.

training plans

after researching different marathon training plans, i'm thinking about following one of hal higdon's plans for the NYC marathon. i got the plans from his website, and i also ordered his marathon training guide, which should arrive next week.

in order to test out the plans and figure out which level to use, i decided to use one of his half marathon plans to train for a half in april. this also has the advantage of giving me a shorter term goal to focus on, since i won't start marathon training til july. (most marathon training plans are 18 weeks long.) and training for the half will help me increase my base (fitness & mileage) so i'll be better prepared when i do start marathon training. it's a win-win-win situation.

so, beginning january 23, i start training for the more/fitness women's half marathon in central park on april 15! i'm going to try out higdon's intermediate plan, which incorporates some speedwork -- my first foray into that kind of training. wish me luck!

race pic: kleinerman 10k

if anyone had told me a couple years ago that i would not only be running 10k's for no apparent reason, but enjoying it this much, i would've laughed derisively.

race report: kleinerman 10k

i always get the feeling i'm doing something vaguely illicit when i get up and sneak out of the house before dawn to go to a race.

after convincing zoe that it really wasn't time for a walk, i headed out this morning into the cool quiet dark. routine stop at dunkin donuts, then down to the train station. saw a few other runners on the platform too. usual bathroom stop at grand central, then onto the 6. today's race start was all the way up at 102nd. tons of runners on the train and sidewalks en route to the park. i guess the nice weather brought out lots of same-day registrants.

ah, race day. port-a-johns stretching to infinity, the constant sound of slamming doors.

quick stop atop a hill to shuck my extra layers, down to bag check, then off to the start. barely made it into my corral before the national anthem. bit chilly but not bad at all. i opted for capri tights and a long sleeve shirt, which worked out perfectly.

this race was one loop of central park, counterclockwise. because we started so far up, we hit the harlem hills within the first mile or so, which was nice to get that behind us. i tried to keep a steady, easy pace, i was not going for a PR or anything like that. i haven't done a 10k since last june i think, and haven't run more than 5 miles in i-can't-remember-when.

the miles ticked by pretty smoothly. early miles were quite crowded but people spread out well by mile 3 or so. hurdled an errant cone somewhere on the west side. almost ran over a dumb lady who decided to cross the course with her dog. also saw a dumb guy on a bike try to *ride* across the course and almost hit two runners (they were ok).

i haven't figured out how to download my garmin data yet (maybe later today?) so i don't know what my splits looked like. come to think of it, i didn't mark my miles during the race so i'm not sure i'll even get splits. we'll see.

mary herself was doing commentary near mile 6, i thought about heading to that side to get a high-five but didn't think i could pull it off safely. then into the finish. all in all, a nice race. except for the brown water at the end, not sure what was up with that. official time 56:30, for an overall pace of 9:07.

runners doing some post-race debriefing 

bib pick-up: kleinerman 10k

bib pace still 8:05, since last may i think. maybe next year's goal will be to work on that. or i may try to do the NYC 5-borough half-marathon grand prix (a half-marathon in each borough) next year instead! we'll see.

anyway, green bib, d-tag and clip, long-sleeve navy cotton tee (they were all out of smalls so i got a youth large), and a bag of emerald nuts breakfast mix (likely left over from last week's emerald-sponsored midnight run?).

8am tomorrow, central park, first race of 2012! woohoo!

i'm in!!

this leaves me almost exactly ten months to panic! and i will probably need them all.

goals for 2012

* finish the marathon upright. i have a "moon" goal time in mind -- as in, i'll be over the moon if i make it -- but my main goal is to finish.

* run at least one organized race per month

* learn to make a proper bermuda fish chowder (not running-related)

i don't have specific pace goals or overall mileage goals this year. last year, my primary goal was to qualify for the marathon (done!), and i had a side bet going with myself as to whether i could get my race pace down to 8 min/mile. i did hit 7:59 before the end of the year, but it was only in a 1.7-mile race, so i give myself partial credit.

joined the garmin-verse

santa brought me a new garmin forerunner 210! woohoo! looking forward to using this baby. i think it will come in especially handy when i need to get training runs done while i'm traveling. no need to map out specific routes in advance, just find a trail, park or road and go!

reinvention, the four-quel

so i am back, with yet another new focus. a few years ago, i got bit by the NYC marathon bug. yes. i know. i used to say i'd only run when chased by a bear. so i guess i found my bear. i've been slowly working at it the past couple of years, and today i applied for the 2012 NYC marathon. i have guaranteed entry, so barring injury or crippling fear, i will toe the start line on the verrazano bridge with 45,000+ of my closest strangers on november 4, 2012. yes.