Sunday, November 2, 2008

Now what?

The Grand Rapids Half Marathon was just a small part of the big picture. The big picture? Being a runner.
The next step is to improve my running pace and to decrease my walking breaks. Those two things together should really drop my running pace. Or at least I sure hope it will.

I'm going to digress a bit and start a couch to 5k plan. Granted, it is kind of funny to be working towards a 5k when I just ran a half marathon. I think I needed to run the half first to prove to myself that I this is something I can do, now it is time to do work on the building blocks.

So, the next 9 weeks (or so) will be spent getting myself able to run a really solid 3 miles. I'm talking 10 minute miles. Or at least 11 minute miles. And then I will work on increasing the amount of miles I can do at that pace.

I also think that by running smaller amounts, my right shin will start doing better. I know that your bones need to get stronger when you start running, and maybe I started doing hour + runs before my shins were ready.

And since I'm only going to be running 20-30 minutes 3-4 times a week, I've got time for some other things. I'm talking a little Pilate's action. We'll see where all of this gets me, but that is the plan for right now.

I know a lot of other runners just did their fall races that they were working towards all summer, what are you going to do now?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congrats on finishing the half! I'm a new runner just starting the couch to 5k program too. Good luck!

Chris said...

I think this is a great plan, Amy. You can never go wrong by working on the building blocks before you head towards running longer distances. I am doing a half in about 2 weeks or so. After that, I am sticking with half's. I don't really have any marathon plans for a long, long time. My problem is that I don't have the time required for training...

Also, I love the 5K. I plan on doing quite a few during the cold, winter months. Good luck to you!

Unknown said...

I am planning on doing the same once my half is over in January. I started doing that program way back in April, but fell off along the way. I wish now I would have stuck with it.

Posey said...

I so glad I came across your blog. I am just starting to run -- I just got a book about a 13 week running program for beginning runners, but maybe I'll check out the couch to 5k program also. I'm so impressed that you ran a half marathon.

How did you find your running partners? I'm trying to find someone that is as slow as me.

Anonymous said...

I'm going to attempt to keep running outside as long as I can, but being north like you are, you know it can get really freaking cold, and the snow and ice are not fun either. My brother in law also ran the half that you did,and had a great day too. sounds like a great race.

Sounds like you are really balancing things well. Wedding planning coming along too?

BaddApple said...

I think it’s smart to go with a plan and start to build up slowly. I was the same way my pace wasn't great, but I slowly worked on it. Add more miles so I get my O2 count up. You might want to add intervals to your workout as well. For a period go below your normal pace, and then go for a period above your pace and then back down. This will help increase your speed and stamina. For me I'm in a rebuilding stage. Like Chris I like half-marathons. The fit my schedule more and the distance feels right for me. I also started doing sprint Triathlons. I'm coming off an injury so I'm slowing coming back by doing weights and running. I found a book called "Weight lifting for runners." I want to see if this helped me in the offseason in improving my times and stamina. Best of luck with the marathon. You will feel great when you finish. Run your race, don’t worry about the other people.

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