Half Marathon Training

I just finished week three of my training this morning. The weather was finally nice enough (in my opinion) to go outside for a run. After church this morning I went and picked up my sister and we drove down to the train bridge to run along the river. It was so nice! Today's run was only a 5k, which might seem daunting to some, but I have to say that I think I have gained a bit of endurance in the last three weeks of running. It felt really good to be outside, and I have no idea how fast we ran, but it felt good and we only took two very brief walking breaks (and one nose blowing break :P). I felt like I could have kept going, and in fact just as we were almost back to the train bridge my sister suggested a sprint to end our run. I felt really good sprinting, it was probably only a 15 second sprint, but right at the end of the run and it still felt good.

I think that the program that Robin's friend laid out for us is a good one. It is a gradual increase of distance over time with three runs per week. Once each week there is a longer run. Next week it is 6km and each week it goes up by one kilometer until three weeks before the Mogathon when we will run a 20km practice run! Then it tapers off for three weeks until the event. I am still a little overwhelmed at the thought of going these distances. Anything over 10km seems really crazy to me.....but like I said above, I think my endurance has improved, my leg muscles aren't nearly as sore the day after a run as they were even three weeks ago.

I have not suffered any injuries yet, however I did notice my hips and possibly IT bands were a little sore in the last week or so. I am thinking a good massage or two and maybe some yoga should help to take care of it.

Something I have considered is registering and running in a couple of shorter events in the next couple of months. There is a fun run at the Saskatoon Zoo on April 17th that is a 5k around the Forestry Farm park, which I think would be a nice place to run. I was also considering registering to run the 10k at the Saskatchewan Marathon at the end of May. It's amazing how different it feels to run in an event versus just a run on your own. Even today, running with my sister felt good. It's nice to have someone to chat with and keep pace with, and it helps keep you moving when I am sure I would have stopped for a few walking breaks, it's easier to keep going with another person. I figured the events I mentioned above would be fun, and give me some good practice.