Wednesday, January 28, 2015

WWU - What's Next?

 
My medal rack - still room for a few more...

I took a full week off of running after the extravaganza weekend that was Houston, and I feel great!  I was pretty sore for the first few days, but by Thursday, nothing ached anymore and I started getting a little antsy to run.  But a recovery period is recommended after a big race, and I didn't do that after the BCS half because I was still training for Houston.  Since I managed to make it through the last year injury-free, I felt like I needed to acknowledge and appreciate that by giving my body a real rest and recovery.  I have to say, I highly recommend doing this - I ran for the first time yesterday and it felt wonderful!

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OK.  I know I said I was hanging up my distance shoes.  And I meant it.  I still mean it.  But Houston was really fun.  And they opened up registration to everyone (no lottery, no qualifying time) right after the race was finished, for five days or whenever they hit 10,000 registrants (and then it's closed to mortals like me until June).  And my JFR Crew started signing up.  I held off - I was not wanting to even THINK about running another half marathon...but there was peer pressure.  And I still held off...until the following day, when my former running pal Loretta signed up.  She is coming off of a stress fracture, surgery, and now has pins in her hipbones, and she still wants to run.  I really enjoyed running with her before her injury and the idea of getting to do that again pushed me into registering.  So I'm all set, and now I don't have to think about running long distances for quite a while (and I'll be looking at changing up my training, when the time comes).

Back to now.  I'm going to work on my speed and endurance for a 5K.  Three point one little miles.  Once upon a time, I used to be able to run for several miles without having to take a break.  At a decent pace (for me), too.  So that's what I am going to play with for the next several months...working my way up to running a mile without stopping, and then adding some extra effort to see how fast I can do it.  I have a few 5K races in the spring, and I'd like to finish them in under 40 minutes, and see continual improvement as the months go by. 

I've also started going to Planet Fitness again, as of Sunday.  I really like working out there; I only stopped because I was just plain worn out with all of the high miles I was running.  But I'm feeling refreshed and ready to take on a little extra, and doing more of a full-body workout can only help, not just with my running, but with overall wellness in general.

So this is the plan.  Shorter runs, short workouts - it sounds pretty refreshing, and I'm looking forward to it, which is all I can hope for when it comes to exercise and me!

17 comments:

  1. Love your rack. I like that you can see each medal separately. Mine are all on one hook.

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    1. I love my medal rack - it's from Allied Medal Hangers, if you're interested.

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  2. After my June half, I want to just do short runs until next January.

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    1. Good idea, and it gives you something to look forward to (as well as your upcoming halfs) - a nice break.

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  3. I always took a break between races too. I have a lot of runner friends who go right from one race to the next (and even run a lot of short races during training) but I never could do that. Even my mind needed a break from "training" mode. I hope you enjoy yours!

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    1. I'm enjoying it already! Yeah, I was ready for a break.

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  4. You are one determined lady! All the best with your upcoming fitness régime & goals.

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    1. I never thought of myself as all that determined when it comes to exercise, but I'll take the compliment! :)

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  5. OMG...I LOL at Darlene's comment! God I'm childish! Sorry shelley...and sorry Darlene! :)

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    1. Well, I didn't read it THAT way until your comment...now, I can't think of it any other way!! ;)

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  6. It sounds refreshing Shelley! High marks on your attitude and goal setting and ... well, sanity. You approach things so sanely.

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  7. I think it's good to have a break and change up the routine. Sounds like a smart plan to me. And after Summer you will be ready to tackle those long distances again.

    For at least the month February I will be focussing on only running in the weekends (as you already know) and do more strength/cardio workouts on weekdays. When March comes I will see what time it's daylight and maybe if it's still dark but temperatures are better I'm going to run more. And first focus on 5K and after that we'll see.

    Enjoy the new training program that you set up for yourself.

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  8. short short short until we meet up to WALK A HALF???

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  9. It's always nice to change things up. When biking season winds down, it is nice to hit the weights harder. It's just too hard to do that intensity when the cardio ramps up.

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  10. That medal rack is so perfect for you! Right down to the hibiscus! :)

    Do you have any plans to add speed work into your routine? That made a huge difference for me when I was getting faster last year. Even adding one or two fast laps around a track (or a tenth of a mile if you don't have one) helped me take time off my 5k. Good luck with your goals!

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  11. You are going to need another medal rack soon girl!! Love your goals - it was 18 months ago that I ran a sub-30 5k, but I was 158 pounds back then, and it makes a difference - now that I am back up to 173, I don't even run now because it hurts my knees too much at this weight. I'll get there this year though!

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