I found a marathon training schedule online by a running coach, Hal Higdon. I sort of combined a few schedules and switched the days around to fit my family's activities better and have come up with a schedule I think will work. It starts off VERY SLOW which is good for me. I do not progress very quickly. Jamie can tell herself "I'm going to run 8 miles today because my calendar tells me to" and then just go out and do it. She is amazing! Seriously, she could be an Olympic runner if she had a coach and sponsors and a nanny to keep her kids.
I have also sworn off all road running for practice purposes. I just don't understand why people enjoy pounding pavement when there are other alternatives out there! It must be my infant-like attention span that sees a long stretch of road during practice runs and decides I no longer need to practice. So, I'm going to be doing all my runs on a 1-mile trail loop in our town. It will help build strength in my legs faster and make me focus for longer then 30 seconds so I don't break an ankle. I'll get out on the road when I absolutely have to! Also, probably a week or two before a race so I can get used to the pavement again.
Mon: 2 miles
Tues: 3 miles
Wed: rest
Thurs: 2 miles
Fri: rest
Sat: 4.5 miles
Sun: I'm supposed to just walk on Sundays...I usually don't do this. I'm just not a big fan of walking. I'm usually cleaning house all Sunday afternoon, so I think that's a good substitute.
I told you it's a slow moving schedule but very good for beginners!
I did my 2 miles yesterday at Turkey Mountain in Tulsa. We were there visiting my family and I've been really itching to get out to Turkey Mountain and try it. They have 3 marked trails of varying lengths and hundreds of unmarked trails. I tried to stay on the marked ones since I lack a sense of direction, but will be taking my husband with me next time so I can run wherever I want and he can get me back to my car!
There is just nothing like being deep in the woods with nothing around you but God's creations! The only sky you see is what peeks through the tree branches. It is awesome! I stopped a few times to just look around and thank God for His handiwork and allowing me to be healthy enough to enjoy it!
"The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy." Psalm 65:8
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Upcoming Races
Here is a list of what I'm definitely doing this year. I'm trying to do something every month so I may be adding some. It would be awesome to have a bunch of people there running with me (hint, hint!) so come on out and join me!
July 9th ~ 1st Annual Blazing Sun Run for Freedom 10k in OKC: This benefits a group that sends care packages to the military personnel stationed overseas. A very good cause and one close to our hearts! This race is still a maybe because it would probably mean a night in a hotel and away from my kiddos. It's not a big deal but we will be gone alot this summer for a few concerts and other races...so we'll just have to see about this one.
August 6th? Watermelon Festival 5k in Rush Springs: This is a definite! This race was our first race last year. It is a very hard course with very big hills! You are either crawling uphill or flying downhill. Jamie kicked it in the teeth last year and got 4th place in our age group. I did not. Hoping to make a better showing this year!
September 17th Chase the Skirts 5k at the Scottish Games in Tulsa: I've never ran this before but I think it will be fun! The women start 3 minutes before the men to even the playing field. You also get free admission to the Scottish Games and, since I'm Scottish, I think I'll take my dad and my kiddos and enjoy the day! There is also an award for the best kilt in the race...I'll have to see what I can find.
October 22nd Tulsa Run 15k: I was going to run the 5k last year but my kids were crazy, wouldn't sleep, drove me nuts and we ended up sneaking out of my parents house and driving home at 4:00am. They will never let me live that down! But, if I had stayed they would have had 2 less grandkids so off into the night we went. This year, I will be running the 15K whether I sleep the night before or not!!!!
November 20th Route 66 MARATHON in Tulsa: Excuse me, I just had a small heart attack. My goal is to complete this marathon in one piece. 26.2 miles! I have, however, talked myself in and out of this plan many times! Plan B is to do the half marathon this weekend and do a full marathon in April but my family, husband and kids won't be able to be in OKC in April and I want them to be there when I do my first marathon. Sooo, for that reason alone, I'm going to try my hardest to do the full at the Route 66. I only consider the half when I start to chicken out and get scared! Which happens often.
I have nothing planned for December and January because I will be relearning how to walk.
February 25th Post Oak Challenge 10K Trail Run: This is my favorite event EVER!! I ran it last February just to see what off road running was like and I fell in love! It was sooo amazing and the hardest thing I had ever done. I grew up in that area but where I live now we don't have many wooded mountain areas so I had no idea what was in store for me! The majority of the 6 mile course was single person trails winding through the mountains outside of Tulsa, through creeks (that were quite full), mud, sticks, rocks, boulders, trees, thorns, and anything else nature threw at you. At one point, while I was literally climbing up a mountain side on my hands and feet I think I prayed for the rapture! I was ready to go! But, when I finished I was wet, cold, tired and ready to run it again!!
April 28th Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon: This weekend is still undecided. If I chicken out in November then I will run the full marathon this weekend. If I don't chicken out in November then I will probably run the half marathon again. This year I was signed up for the half, convinced Jamie to run the half with me, did NOT train for it, went with the intentions of switching to the 5K, let my pride get the best of me, ran the half and finished the whole race with no walk breaks!! It was awesome!! Jamie, again, kicked it in the teeth and finished a few minutes over 2 hours. I ran a respectable time of 2 hours 33 minutes. If I run the half I will have to try to beat my time this year.
WOW! This list makes me tired!! I have ALOT of work to do. But, my advice for the day....SIGN UP FOR RACES if you want to start running. It is great motivation because noone wants to make a fool of themselves. Also, I promise, you will NOT come in last place. There are always walkers who will bring up the rear!
"I can do all this through Him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13
Robyn
July 9th ~ 1st Annual Blazing Sun Run for Freedom 10k in OKC: This benefits a group that sends care packages to the military personnel stationed overseas. A very good cause and one close to our hearts! This race is still a maybe because it would probably mean a night in a hotel and away from my kiddos. It's not a big deal but we will be gone alot this summer for a few concerts and other races...so we'll just have to see about this one.
August 6th? Watermelon Festival 5k in Rush Springs: This is a definite! This race was our first race last year. It is a very hard course with very big hills! You are either crawling uphill or flying downhill. Jamie kicked it in the teeth last year and got 4th place in our age group. I did not. Hoping to make a better showing this year!
September 17th Chase the Skirts 5k at the Scottish Games in Tulsa: I've never ran this before but I think it will be fun! The women start 3 minutes before the men to even the playing field. You also get free admission to the Scottish Games and, since I'm Scottish, I think I'll take my dad and my kiddos and enjoy the day! There is also an award for the best kilt in the race...I'll have to see what I can find.
October 22nd Tulsa Run 15k: I was going to run the 5k last year but my kids were crazy, wouldn't sleep, drove me nuts and we ended up sneaking out of my parents house and driving home at 4:00am. They will never let me live that down! But, if I had stayed they would have had 2 less grandkids so off into the night we went. This year, I will be running the 15K whether I sleep the night before or not!!!!
November 20th Route 66 MARATHON in Tulsa: Excuse me, I just had a small heart attack. My goal is to complete this marathon in one piece. 26.2 miles! I have, however, talked myself in and out of this plan many times! Plan B is to do the half marathon this weekend and do a full marathon in April but my family, husband and kids won't be able to be in OKC in April and I want them to be there when I do my first marathon. Sooo, for that reason alone, I'm going to try my hardest to do the full at the Route 66. I only consider the half when I start to chicken out and get scared! Which happens often.
I have nothing planned for December and January because I will be relearning how to walk.
February 25th Post Oak Challenge 10K Trail Run: This is my favorite event EVER!! I ran it last February just to see what off road running was like and I fell in love! It was sooo amazing and the hardest thing I had ever done. I grew up in that area but where I live now we don't have many wooded mountain areas so I had no idea what was in store for me! The majority of the 6 mile course was single person trails winding through the mountains outside of Tulsa, through creeks (that were quite full), mud, sticks, rocks, boulders, trees, thorns, and anything else nature threw at you. At one point, while I was literally climbing up a mountain side on my hands and feet I think I prayed for the rapture! I was ready to go! But, when I finished I was wet, cold, tired and ready to run it again!!
April 28th Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon: This weekend is still undecided. If I chicken out in November then I will run the full marathon this weekend. If I don't chicken out in November then I will probably run the half marathon again. This year I was signed up for the half, convinced Jamie to run the half with me, did NOT train for it, went with the intentions of switching to the 5K, let my pride get the best of me, ran the half and finished the whole race with no walk breaks!! It was awesome!! Jamie, again, kicked it in the teeth and finished a few minutes over 2 hours. I ran a respectable time of 2 hours 33 minutes. If I run the half I will have to try to beat my time this year.
WOW! This list makes me tired!! I have ALOT of work to do. But, my advice for the day....SIGN UP FOR RACES if you want to start running. It is great motivation because noone wants to make a fool of themselves. Also, I promise, you will NOT come in last place. There are always walkers who will bring up the rear!
"I can do all this through Him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13
Robyn
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Here We Go!
A little about me: I AM NOT AN ATHLETE! I AM NOT A RUNNER! It's important that you remember these two things as we go on this journey. So, if you are coming to this site in hopes of advice and tips, let me know and I'll copy and paste some stuff off runnersworld.com! Hopefully, you are just here because A. you need a good laugh B. you are needing a little ordinary, everyday inspiration (because if I can do this, anyone can) or C. you know me and can't believe that I would do anything sports related and needed to see it for yourself!
I started running a little over a year ago when my best friend, Jamie, drug me out of my house kicking and screaming. We had just had our youngest children (well, ok, it had been a year for me...but who's counting), summer was coming up and we needed to get back in shape! The kiddie pool is VERY shallow and VERY unforgiving! So, we set off in a quest to lose weight. I think that first night as we jogged around the block, failing at all conversation attempts through our huffing and puffing and coming dangerously close to cardiac arrest....I realized this was NOT for me! But, lo and behold, a year later we are still going strong. I attribute this to Jamie's bulldog like demeanor...she just won't let go of an idea once she gets it in her head! And, frankly, I'm just scared to tell her no! Really, if it weren't for her I would have quit a long time ago so I'm lucky I have her to keep me going. We have run a few races together that I'll recap in a later post and it really is a bonding experience.
So, as we head down this road literally and figuratively, I'm hoping this blog will keep me accountable. I have quite a few races coming up in the next 12 months and I am trying to figure out the best way to train for them. I'm loosely following a running schedule I found online but I've never been much for doing what I'm told. I hope to post my schedule for the week on Sunday, then I can post updates throughout the week on my progress. I also am slightly obsessed with most things running, and am constantly on Runnersworld.com, as well as reading the magazine and following the progress of my favorite runner, Kara Goucher. So, when I find something interesting I'll post that too. I do have the world's smallest attention span so you can also expect me to get off subject quite a bit.
I hope if you are reading this and you don't run, but want to start, you will realize that anyone can do this! So, lace up your shoes, and go along with me!! We will get through this together, probably NOT in one piece but better for it!
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith".
2 Timothy 4:7
GOD BLESS YOUR JOURNEY!
Robyn
I started running a little over a year ago when my best friend, Jamie, drug me out of my house kicking and screaming. We had just had our youngest children (well, ok, it had been a year for me...but who's counting), summer was coming up and we needed to get back in shape! The kiddie pool is VERY shallow and VERY unforgiving! So, we set off in a quest to lose weight. I think that first night as we jogged around the block, failing at all conversation attempts through our huffing and puffing and coming dangerously close to cardiac arrest....I realized this was NOT for me! But, lo and behold, a year later we are still going strong. I attribute this to Jamie's bulldog like demeanor...she just won't let go of an idea once she gets it in her head! And, frankly, I'm just scared to tell her no! Really, if it weren't for her I would have quit a long time ago so I'm lucky I have her to keep me going. We have run a few races together that I'll recap in a later post and it really is a bonding experience.
So, as we head down this road literally and figuratively, I'm hoping this blog will keep me accountable. I have quite a few races coming up in the next 12 months and I am trying to figure out the best way to train for them. I'm loosely following a running schedule I found online but I've never been much for doing what I'm told. I hope to post my schedule for the week on Sunday, then I can post updates throughout the week on my progress. I also am slightly obsessed with most things running, and am constantly on Runnersworld.com, as well as reading the magazine and following the progress of my favorite runner, Kara Goucher. So, when I find something interesting I'll post that too. I do have the world's smallest attention span so you can also expect me to get off subject quite a bit.
I hope if you are reading this and you don't run, but want to start, you will realize that anyone can do this! So, lace up your shoes, and go along with me!! We will get through this together, probably NOT in one piece but better for it!
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith".
2 Timothy 4:7
GOD BLESS YOUR JOURNEY!
Robyn
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