Getting back in gear
As noted previously, 2006 wasn’t a great year for me in terms of running and health. One personal goal in 2007 has been to assess where things stand and make improvements from here, rather than focusing on where my previous benchmarks have been.
On the positive side, the mysterious breathing problem that started at the end of 2005 doesn’t seem to be life-threatening and hasn’t been getting worse over the course of 2006.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve increased the volume of running workouts and have begun increasing the duration of my longest weekly run. Yesterday I logged a 9 mile run for the first time in months, mostly at 9:00 pace with a couple of 5 minute segments at 7:30 pace to check it out. Part of my training task is to work on the psychology. I’m running more slowly now, and it simply takes longer to cover the distance. Or put the other way, since I usually run for a set time, I’m logging shorter runs in the same time as before.
I’ve kept a base training level of around 20+ miles per week during the latter half of 2006, with relatively short weekly longest runs of 5-6 miles. I’m encouraged that I can still crank out 9 miles without a huge effort, and I seem to be OK holding 9:00 pace. On the other hand, I’m de-trained enough that it’s been making me sleepy all day yesterday and today. Next time I’ll bring some gels if I think I might run longer than an hour. I have a bunch of Vanilla Gu in my desk drawer somewhere left over from last year.
Tags: fitness, running, training
January 21st, 2007 at 6:45 pm
My name is Robert Key and I am an avid runner from Houston, Texas. I have a web site http://www.faithfulsoles.com which is dedicated to inspiring, encouraging and motivating walkers, runners and athletes of all abilities, and we are launching a Running Blog Database this week where members of our site can find and read blogs that most closely fit their own ability and goals (you can read more about it on the web site).
One of the bloggers who recently registered is “warriorwomen” from the United Kingdom, and I saw a link to your blog from there, which is how I came to read your blog and contact you.
I would be grateful if you would register a link to your running blog with my web site for our members to read (it only takes about 2-3 minutes to complete the online form). From the home page, under “Free Features” in the lefthand column, just click on “Link your running blog”.
If you would like more information on my running background and involvement in the running community, click on “Meet Robert” from the main menu, or “Faithful Soles in the news” from the Weekly Features section in the lefthand column.
Thanks and continued good luck in your training.