Fitness Friday: Running Update

Its Friday ALREADY! This week just flew by, not sure where the days went, but when I woke up this morning and realized it was already Friday again, I was like what the heck!

 

I have recently started concentrating on building up my running skills. I’ve been running at the gym on the treadmill for a few years, but only as a last resort to get some added cardio into my schedule. About two months ago, I decided that I wanted to really amp up my running and see if I could actually finish a 5K race.

I downloaded a running app on my phone to track progress and back on August 31st wrote a post about my progress. A few days after that I was signed up to do a 5K at the Wilmington Waterfront in Delaware. It’s a perfect course for beginners as it is mainly flat and on the water so the sights are great which makes running more pleasurable (for me anyway).

I committed early that week to running the race (not walking) and geared up both mentally and physically. My goal was to finish the race in 40 minutes. Up to this point I hadn’t run a complete 3 miles on the road yet and was a little nervous, but knew I could walk when I needed a break.

I arrived 30 minutes early picked up my registration packet, pinned on my bib, and did a little stretching. Prepped my mappy thing so I could time each mile as I went so that I could look back afterwards to gauge my progress. The BF also came down to watch and support me, which meant the world to me. He encourages me in everything I do, and always says he knows I will do whatever I put my mind to. It was important to me that he be there at the finish line when I crossed. He was. And it made my night.

The gun went off and we headed through the gate and over the timer mat. I took off quickly passing people right out of the gate. I don’t know if it was the adrenaline or what, but I completed my first mile in 10:49. That was the fastest pace I had ever done. Dont’ really know how that happened but it was a cool feeling when the voice in my headphones said “split pace 10:49.” I was like yeah girl you go (in my head of course).

The second mile was not as good as the first, my breathing was crazy out of whack and I started walking/running/walking/running. I finally got my breathing in check and found a good pace after the second mile and found myself next to a younger girl and we were in synch the rest of the way to the finish line. Thinking back that helped me out tremendously getting through the third and last mile.

When I realized the end was coming up and I rounded the corner, I took off for the finish line. There were two older women in front of me the entire time, and I was like “no way I’m coming in behind these two” so I picked up my pace, passed them on the right, rounded the corner to the finish line and crossed with a time of 37:44. Whew!

I beat my 40 minute goal by 2 1/2 minutes. I was exhausted, proud, and really really sweaty.

That was Sept 4th.

Last night my co-worker and I competed in a second 5K on the same course. This time I ran the entire time only walking to grab water at the water station. My goal for this week was to run from beginning to end without walking and hopefully dropping my time a bit.

I was late getting there, quickly grabbed my bib and lined up just in time. They decided to start the race 10 minutes earlier because a severe thunderstorm was in our near future. We lined up, listened to the National Anthem, the gun went off and out we went. I felt good even though I hadn’t had a run in a few days.

First mile pace was 10:17. Slightly better than last weeks race even though the sky opened up and it downpoured on us for the entire first mile and a half. I was concentrating so hard last night to keep my breathing under control because I knew if I was going to run the way, I needed to keep that in check.

Second mile pace ended up being 12:21 not sure why except maybe that I was just over thinking everything at this point and just kept telling myself “don’t stop running”. I crossed the half way point and grabbed a water took a few walking steps and finished the cup of water and got right back to running. By this time i felt good, my feet were moving at an even pace, my breathing was no erratic (like last week) and I found a good pace that carried me all the way to the end.

I finished this weeks race (without walking) in 36:36 with an average pace of 11:48. My best time yet!

I am loving this process. I am thankful that my body can handle what my mind wants it to do. I can’t wait to get better, faster and more efficient in my running. I find it very impressive when they announce at the end of the race the top 70-75 age bracket winners. I want to be one of those women at age 75 still running races. I love that! So encouraging.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5K Color Run Training

March has been very unkind to me in regards to fitting in workouts.  I’ve been super busy with school and other kid related activities and on top of all this random stuff I’ve been trying to get done, I’ve been battling with a rotator cuff injury from my so-called mid-life crisis (as everyone seems to keep putting it) snowboarding adventure back in mid-March.

But I have three months to go until the Philadelphia 5K Color Run and realized that I haven’t been on a treadmill for over a year now.  I’ve been concentrating on strength training and P90X which does not include running.  Since I am unable at the moment to continue with P90X training, I’ve headed back to the gym. 

iPhone apps have been a huge part of my life lately.  I’ve been adding organizing apps, list apps, banking apps, photo editing apps, all kinds of apps.  So heading back to the gym seemed like why not add a running app?  I have had a few apps that I’ve downloaded in the past like the Nike+ Running app and Map My Run, but both of those apps, as great as they are, are a little bit too much for my level of running at the current  moment. 

Map my Run is great if you are trying to track mileage/distance as well as trying to find a good route to run.  Nike+ app is great for training as well, but requires the little chip that goes into your shoe that connects that allows you to connect your iPhone or iPod, in which my Nike shoes are long gone and have since been replaced several times with a more all around fitness shoe since I’ve been doing P90X for the past year.

So looking through the running apps I came across Run a 5K! app and decided to give it a shot.

It’s a cool little app that allows minor change settings like miles to kilometers or GPS on/off, and a Facebook feature if you choose to share with your friends;  it also links to your music play list so that’s covered too!

It’s definitely a beginner running app, but since I HATE running, it works for what I’m up to.  The apps 5K Program Details, states that it is 3 short 30 minute workouts per week with a combination of running, walking and resting to build up to your first 5k (3.1 miles).

Yesterday I hit the gym and used the app for the first time.  If I follow the apps training plan, it says I should be able to run a 5K in 7 weeks.  Since I have approximately 12 weeks, this works out great. 

Here is my first sessions results:

I didn’t turn on the GPS function so it didn’t calculate my minute/mile but I wasn’t exactly sure what I was in for so I opted out of GPS tracking.  I’m not sure it would work on the treadmill anyway, as in the apps review section it actually shows the map of your course.

The first workout was a 5 minute warmup and then it started with jogging/walking intervals of 1 minute jogging and 1.5 minutes walking for a total of 14 intervals plus the 2 warmup/warmdown sessions for a total of 16 intervals and 30 minutes. 

It was a nice way to start back on the treadmill, but I actually could have handled much more.  But with my injuries I am not going to push it until I feel 100%.  I’m going to stick with this training program for the time being and then decided if I want to switch to the 8-week Color Run training.  Either way, I’ll be ready for the run by mid July. 

What apps do you use for fitness training?

 

Related articles

• Tips for Taking Your Run from the Treadmill to Outdoors (news.health.com)
• #Nike+ Running App Review (femmefitaleblog.com)