Adjustments

3 miles in 6/1 run/walk intervals, no cheating. 33:33. That's the short version.

Here's the long version, and an explanation of this post's title: I always warm up and cool down before and after each run by walking for 5 minutes. When I began running, it was at the gym on a treadmill, and so it was easy to see how far I'd walked in those 5 minutes and subtract that from my total mileage. Once I began running outside, things got trickier. I decided to take the mileage  I normally walked during my warmup (0.22 miles) and add it to the beginning and end of my runs. Therefore, when I run outside, the total distance covered is 3.44 miles, for example, but I report it as a 3 mile run.

I know when to stop running and start my cool-down because I've mentally marked several places that I walk to in 5 minutes from my house. When I get to that spot at the end of my run, that's the end of my mileage, and I stop running and mark the time. The problem is that I kept feeling like my times were really short. Maybe I was just better at running outside, but it seemed like I was running faster than I expected. Finally today I measured the distance from my house to one of my stopping spots.

0.31 mi.

Ugh! This means that on a typical run I've been crediting myself with almost a fifth of a mile that I didn't run. No wonder my times seemed so great. So starting today, I'm now adding 0.6 to my runs, to ensure that my warmup and cool-down don't encroach into my running distance. The time at the top of this post is for a run at the new, improved distance (you can see the route here): 3.61 miles.

An Introduction

Recently my Mom started walking to get back in shape, and she's done a few 5K races. Around Christmas time she asked me to join her in April in NYC for a race, and I said sure (even though I'd never done one before). Fast-forward to January, when my Mom reminds me about the race, and informs me that it's a half-marathon. That is 13.1 miles. I have never run any races, I have asthma, and until recently I've been a dedicated couch potato. This is going to be rough.

Immediately after realizing what a challenge I was facing, I looked around for plans. My Mom and I will be run/walking, so this one seemed perfect. Currently I'm in the middle of week 6, with race day falling on Sunday of week 10. There are two types of workouts in this plan: defined time and defined distance. In the defined time workouts, I alternate running and walking for set intervals. For example, the first workout is run 3 minutes / walk 2 minutes, repeated 7 times for a total of 35 minutes. In the defined distance workouts, you do the intervals the same way, however many times it takes to get you to your distance goal. Last Sunday (my long run day), I covered 8 miles by doing 14 or 15 cycles of running/walking.

Today was a defined time workout: run 4 / walk 1, repeat 9 times. This was the second time that I was walking for only 1 minute. The first time was very tough. I felt like the break was too short for me to recover my breath before running again, and my asthma built up over the repetitions until my throat and chest felt painfully constricted at the end. This time was much better, probably because Cash Cab was on. I love that show--I would win so much money if I ever got in that cab. Anyway, I was thoroughly distracted while running the first half hour, which helps the time pass more quickly. The last 3 cycles I passed by increasing my speed each minute, until I was sprinting the last minute. I did sprints at 6.5 and 7.0 MPH the last two cycles, which was fun, and made me feel like I was finishing my workout on a high note, rather than feeling exhausted. My total mileage: 4.31.

First Blog Post!

Just got back from my first outdoor run! I have to shower now (ew) but I'll be back later with details.