How Slow Can You Go?

May2

Ok, I’m ready to start working with my new coach. I just got my first training plan and it’s time to get moving. It’s only for 4 days as I will normally get my weekly plan on Tuesday’s. It seems like when I get my new plans, I will then email her back with my weekly completed training plans with some notes. She needs to know what I completed, how I felt, paces, and such. Seems pretty reasonable and I am excited to get started. I guess it’s a good thing that I bought the training journal to keep track of things too!

One thing that struck me though is that FOR NOW she wants me to slow down my training runs. The next two runs are scheduled to be run at 11+. What? How can that be? I think my average run lately is in the low 10’s or better. To slow down is going to be hard. It goes against the grain. When I first started running, I was running an eleven minute mile. Now to intentionally run this “slow” is just going to seem weird and it is actually going to be hard to do. I will do it, but it won’t be without a lot of looking at my Garmin for help. I know that I am going to have to pay close attention to my time and not just go with the flow. Caolan has assured me that there is a method to her madness and to trust her. As I said before, she knows what she is doing. So I will trust her knowledge that I need to run at these slower paces more than my desire not to.

The one line in the email that really stood out to me was when she said,

“Most of us run too fast too often and not fast enough ever.“

She is so right and I will listen to her.

So I will check my ego at the door and run the pace or as close to the pace as she tells me to run.

The real challenge will be being brave enough to get in my swim suit tomorrow for a swim!

Wish me luck!

Have you ever slowed down to speed up?

Turning Goals into Accomplishements

Apr30

I said yesterday, I’ve got Plans. Well, I really don’t have solid plans as much as I have direction that I’m moving towards that will develop my somewhat rock solid plans. That’s something though:)

First Step

I finalized working with a running coach and even paid for the first three months. Now I feel funny saying that I am working with a Running Coach as it just doesn’t sound right to my ears. Me, working with a Running Coach. Ha. I was introduced to her by my running cohort Dawn. We all rode down to the Philly Marathon together. I thought that Caolan was amazing just based on her personal record. We became Facebook friends after Philly and she added me to one of her Facebook groups that she moderates. Then after I got into the Marine Corps Marathon while still running all my 9+1 races, I started thinking about how can I put this all together. This is where Caolan comes in.

I’ve purchased online training plans before. So why not work with an online coach? I’ve filled out all the initial forms, we’ve emailed about what I’m looking for and what my goals are, and we’ve even connected through my Garmin Connect account. She is in the process of putting a plan together for me. That is both exciting and scary. Now before you think, “OH MY GOD, THAT MUST BE SO EXPENSIVE!” Let me just say it really is not. Working with Caolan will be cheaper than what I spent on Crossfit each month. That being said, I still will need access to the YMCA for cross training as we both agree I need to swim as a great cross training exercise. Luckily we have a family membership.

Next step

I bought myself a handy dandy Training Journal. Yes, I have online training logs, but I really am old school. I still buy monthly planners at Staples for the year. I just need to write it down in my own hand. There are lots of types of Training Journals out there. I bought the Runner’s World one. I just like the way it is set up. I will start using it once I start working with Caolan.

Step Three

New shoes and orthotics. I don’t have my orthotics yet, but I did get new shoes. They are lovely and I will do a review of them next week:)

Finally

Breathe and know it will all come together just the way it is meant to.

You can set all the goals you want to but if you do not create a course of action, you will never reach them. You have to walk the walk and not just talk the talk.

So I’m walking the walk now.

Living and Learning

Apr24

Living and learning go hand in hand. Opinions evolve as does your experiences grow. When I first started running, I knew of a couple of people that had running coaches. I thought to myself….. What a waste. I know. I know. I’ve evolved now. I understand that there is more to running than putting on running shoes. I also understand that you don’t need to be an elite runner to have a coach anymore than you need to be a professional bodybuilder to have a personal trainer. I didn’t think of it that way. I apologize to my hopefully new running coach.

I get it now.

No, I do not have to be an elite athlete.

No, I do not need to plan to “win” any races.

(Although, lets be honest for us mere mortals showing up at the starting line is a win).

No, I do not need to think that I am suddenly a top of the packer.

What I am though is someone who wants to improve.

I am someone who is smart enough to know that there is a whole Hell of a lot of things that I don’t know.

I am someone who has a full race schedule coming up that found a little overwhelming.

I am someone who is striving to do better than I did yesterday.

That is all.

No more.

No less.

My epiphany came when I realized that a cookie cutter plan would not work for me. I have had personal trainers in the past at the gym. No one though twice about that. This is no different. Instead of teaching me routines to use at the gym though, she will help me get the most out of each run.

I will say that after our initial chat today that I am frightened especially when she said she will build my running up to 40 miles a week. WHAT!?! She, as most coaches, takes this seriously which I should hope so since this is her job. She knows what she’s talking about too having just completed her 3rd Boston Marathon and now a week later getting ready to run Big Sur Marathon. I hope I am up for the challenge.

It will be nice for change not to have to figure out if I am following the right plan as she will create a plan just for me:) It will be nice just to focus on the task at hand.

If all goes well we will start in the beginning of May which is only a week away. She seems to think that with my past results it might be possible for me to get a 4:30 at the Marine Corps Marathon, but that seems out of my league right now. I guess that’s why we are starting the training now.

Wish me luck.

Have you ever had a Running Coach?

Anyone Can Run…..

Apr15

Anyone can run. Really. Unless there is a medical reason, anyone can run. Not everyone likes to run. I know that too being someone who used to say she hated running. Although in retrospect it isn’t that I hated running. It was more that I had never given running a chance. So I unequivocally state again that anyone can run. That being said, there is a difference between just running and running well. This is the crossroads that I am at now. I’ve been running for a while now and I’ve gotten to the point that I might just want to run well.

Now I am not saying that I want to move to the top of the Pack or become a leading Master runner. I am saying that I think it might be time to take my running up a notch. Take it the the next level. Right now, I’ve been following generic training plans for specific events. I will say these have been amazingly helpful and I’ve learned from them. I know that without my Runner’s World Hat Trick Specific Training Plan that I would not have been able to run those events as well as I did. Online training plans are wonderful and will get you where you need to go. My problem that I am encountering and is starting to freak me out a bit is that I need to form my plan to start training for the Marine Corps Marathon while being prepared for other events. I seem to be going a few different directions at once.

Case in Point….

Running many events of different distances for the 9 plus 1 plan
Training for the Iron Girl Sprint Triathlon
Training for the Marine Corps Marathon and the final hill at the end of it.

Now I would have no problem following a plan on my own to train for one of these events, but I’m really having a problem wrapping my head around training for all of them at once. Probably because I don’t know what I’m doing and have no background in this field. Yes, I read my Runner’s World, Running Times and such but I’ve really been only running since I finished my first Tri in September of 2013. I’m in a bit of a quandary. I know I need to train. I know that both the Tri and the marathon will require serious training with the marathon only being a month after the Tri, I will need to train for them at the same time. That being said, I need to figure out how to train without over training, without causing injury, and without causing burnout. That is where a running coach might just be what I need.

I used to think that a Running Coach would be reserved for the “serious athlete.” The top of the Pack athlete. The career athlete. I used to think that a Stay-at-Home Mom wouldn’t need a Running Coach. What would the point be? Then I realized what the point would be? The point would be that they know what they are doing. The point would be that they can help me reach my goals. The point would be that they can help generate a plan just for me. Just like I’ve hired a Personal Trainer at the gym in the past, a Running Coach can help put me on the right path for running smartly. To help me run well. A Running Coach can help me reach my potential while at the same time giving me the skills that I will need to get to the end of the road all in one piece.

This is where I am now. I’ve started process. I have not hired a coach yet, but have contacted one to see her thoughts. Surprisingly, the cost is not as high as I thought it would be. To be honest, the monthly cost is cheaper than hiring a Personal Trainer for two sessions. Plus the coach that I am looking at has different packages depending upon my need. I don’t pay a gym membership right now and can justify the cost too. Although the biggest justification of the cost will be the peace of mind it will bring me.

Even though I have not hired a coach yet and am still investigating, just the thought of it is easing the stress. I am days away from turning 46. I am a Stay-at-Home Mom. I am a middle of the Pack runner. I have much to learn about the art of running and training. Bottom line is that I was wrong. A Running Coach is for an athlete at any level and I am worth it.

Do you have a Running Coach??

Have you ever had one?

What Training Plan Should I follow?

Aug12

Ask anyone who is training for an event what training plan that they are following and I bet you get a different answer every time. Anyone who is serious about their training is usually following something, even if it their own plan. With anything in life the key is being prepared. You wouldn’t book a vacation and then forget to pack. So why would you register for an event and not prepare for it either. Yes, there are many who probably do this and I have been guilty of it too. I will admit that when training for my first Half Marathon, I didn’t follow a plan. I just pulled a Forest Gump and built up my running distance. There was no special training plan. Yet still I was training. I just wasn’t training very smart.

Now that I’ve got a few things under my belt and am planning more for the future, I realize that I can’t just expect it all to fall into place. It would also be nice if I would be able to walk the day afterwards because my body will be ready. But how to train when your training for both a Sprint Tri one month and then the following month plan to pull a Hat Trick. Every athlete (and I don’t really consider myself one, but I digress) unless working with a trainer really needs to figure out what will work for them. What will fit into the schedule? What can the body do without risking injury? Most importantly for me, how to keep it fun? Most of us also have lives outside our race/training schedule. Lives that take up a lot of our time. So how to fit it all in is usually the biggest question. But you get out of things what you put into it. So if you want not just to finish and event, but to finish it with a smile you have to prepare. I think I’ve found what will work for me and help me be ready when the time is right.

I have done the Iron Girl Sprint before, so I’m not expecting any curve balls. I also just finished up the NJ State Sprint Triathlon, so I feel like I am prepared for this event. What I do not feel prepared for in any way, shape, or form is this Hat Trick. So I have decided my primary focus is going to be on this event. A Sprint Tri is not an easy event to finish, but I am more confident in my ability to do this. What I can’t imagine is running a 5K resting for an hour and then running a 10K. Then going home to sleep to come back for more pain of running a Half Marathon. So my focus right now is on my running and building up my endurance. I feel that this can and should also help me in the Iron Girl.

I have a plan this time. A plan that is working for me. A plan that someone much smarter about running than I ever could be came up with. I am following the Runner’s World Training plan. I’m sure that their running experts know what they are talking about too. I’m learning as I go that there is so much more to this running thing than cute shoes although those are important too. I’m learning about Tempo Runs, intentionally running at a 3 minutes SLOWER pace than normal on some training runs, and just knowing that I am setting myself up for a good experience. I am training smarter not just harder. The beauty of the plan that I am following is that on my rest days, I can still (if I choose) do a bike or a swim because these are non impact and will still allow myself to train for the Tri.

I will never be the fastest, but I will be the best that I can be. That is all you can ask of yourself or anyone else.

The Accidentally Running Mama

Run, Bike, Swim and Have a Life!

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