Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Work out Plan

I know I spend a lot of time planning and micro-planning only to change plans later. A will agree with that a lot! But, I think planning for a marathon I need to psych myself up a lot.

I run with the dog now. I joke that when I participate in the 5K, I will do really poorly because I won't have the dog pulling me along. But, I also won't have him dodging around me, running any which way and stopping while we run.

It's hard to judge distances while running with the dog. I was trying last night to pay attention to: run between four telephone poles, then walk between 4-8 (walk until I recover), run again... but I have to totally focus on where the dog is while I run.

My loose plan now is to continue using the dog walking as my work out. I need to spend February and maybe a lot of March just building up to running constantly for the 1.5 to 2.2 mile loops that we do. Then, up to early August, I will build up the amount of running that I do - up to running "three to six miles comfortably". In early August, I will start an 18 week marathon training. This is when I will really have to start running without the dog most days - to start working on my pacing and distance. Maybe the dog will be trained enough to run next to me (and I can keep up with the dog) so that we can do the shorter runs together.

Does anyone have a marathon training plan they recommend? Is 18 weeks once you are running 3-6 believable?

Actually working out

So, I got my shoes on Saturday morning. I was excited - I planned to go for a run in the afternoon. Well, I was told to break in the shoes - don't work out on Saturday. Only wear them for a couple of hours, then let them sit overnight.

I wore them, then changed to my hiking boots to walk the dog. My boots felt more comfortable then the sneakers! I did my normal walk, then "run" past a few houses. Nothing new.

On Sunday, it snowed all day - just light accumulation, but snow. I didn't want to take my brand new sneakers out in the snow! So, I wore them around the house, then changed to my hiking boots to walk the dog. We went on the icy pond, and every time the dog stopped, I ran in place. The boots felt really comfortable, and supported my light jogging.

FINALLY, Monday night, I wore the sneakers to walk the dog. My toes were cold - there are air holes in the toes, and when I was just walking, the wind would get in. I did a 1.7 mile loop, with alternating running and walking (mostly walking, but I did get work up a sweat which is new). After the first part of running, my feet hurt! Correction - my right foot hurt, but my left was ok. I kept up the alternating, and by the end, my feet felt fine. SO, I did 1.7 miles, and probably ran a quarter of that. Oh, and I wanted to take a picture of my new shoes - but I ran in puddles that I didn't see coming, so they are dirty already. Which, actually for me, may be a better picture.

Tuesday night (last night) - I did 2.2 miles, with probably 0.6+ miles of running. When I put on the sneakers, I was ready to run. I did the same runs as the previous night, but longer! So, I have put about 4 miles on my sneakers. Someone suggested writing the miles directly on the sneaker. At 1.5 miles a workout, I think I may just make a mark on them every 10 miles. Any ideas?

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Running Shoes

I got my new shoes on Saturday! Brooks, size 11B. They are the Adrenaline model.

I was pretty determined to get shoes that fit properly. I had to get over that I probably out-weighed the two salesmen in the store. And, I had to be determined not to just accept the first pair if they didn't fit. Well, I tried on 4 pairs, and one of them twice (with different lace patern).

When I went in, the salesman had me walk in my socks with my jeans rolled up. He mentioned that with my low arches, I would need a shoe with extra support. Well, I was pretty impressed right there. I hadn't mentioned that my feet are close to flat! I tried on a pair of Asics. They felt really good - like I wanted to start running, but they were tight on my feet. He told me that the Asics won't give me the support I need, and that pair was just to give us a starting point.

Then, I tried on Brooks. One was still too small (my toes had no room), the next was too loose, the next was good in the toes, bad in the heel... Eventually, we got to a pair that was really close. We moved the lace to a different last hole, and they fit great. I was ready to go.

Then, he asked me to get on the treadmill so he could see me run to be sure they were good. I needed a boost of confidence then - someone was going to watch me run (and jiggle). Well, I was able to run without holding on for the minute or so that he watched. He pronounced that the shoes should be good - the instep, box, blah blah was good on this shoe.

I did ask if he recommended two pairs. I know when I get to running four days a week, I will need them. He said not yet. I really liked that they didn't do the hard sell. AND, he was very encouraging - he didn't laugh when I said I was thinking of a marathon in a eleven and a half months. The best - he didn't say "good luck". He said, "see you soon". Yes, in another 200 miles or so.

I did ask about Brooks. I have never heard of them brand. He said they are strictly a running shoe. So, that means they sold me a pair of running shoes. Do they only sell those to runners?

Friday, January 25, 2008

Learning to Run - step one

My sister just ran the Disney marathon 2008 - and she is amazing! She's inspired most of the rest of her brother and sisters to run next year. I need major training before that, and I want to journal what I am doing. I'm overweight - 225 pounds at last weigh in. I've lost 30 pounds in six months, but another 30 would make me look like I was running. I used to run in high school and college for feild hockey training - and I hated it. But, I loved the feeling of accomplishment. I loved that it made the rest of the work out easy.

My sister tells me anyone can run a marathon. We'll see. I am going to buy shoes at the running store on Sunday - they will observe my run on a treadmill and help me choose a pair or two to get.
I have been walking the dog for six months - 1.5 miles a day usually. We have gotten so we run past certain houses (especially where there are other dogs), so I have increased the amount of houses we run past. I am not up to running 1.5 miles straight yet. Also, it is really icy this time of year, and the dog pulls me along. I don't want him to have too big a running start in case I fall - is that an excuse?

I am planning for the full marathon in January 2009, but if it is a half, I will be ok with that too. I am just starting on the training - I don't even have good sneakers yet. I have a long way to go, but want to plan big.

I am 9 days away from doing my first 5K in years. Another sister and I are going to do it - she'll run and I will walk. It'll be the first time I do a distance outside. I hope to run most of the first half mile, then walk the next two and run the last 0.1. It is a way to get a starting number. Can I do 3.1 miles in an hour?

What do you wear? I'll have shoes, but what clothes? Tomorrow I am going to run on the local track, outside and see if my old sweats will work. One problem - when you get overweight to a certain size, drawstring sweatpants get hard to find. They are just stretchy - I guess they figure big girls don't work out, or we might break a sweat trying to tie the strings. (Ha ha) With the weight I have lost, my sweats are loose - I don't want them to fall down. So, I will be buying new sweats. If you have any suggestions, let me know - I am running in pretty cold weather, and I get pretty sweaty.