Dec. 9, 2008

The intensity for half marathon trainees begins to build just a bit next week. All three workouts are a little different:
Workout 1
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Workout 2
Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)
Walk 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)
Workout 3
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog two miles (or 20 minutes) with no walking.

If you can manage a 10 min. pace in your second mile, that'd be an unexpected bonus. Don't try to hit that pace in the first mile or you're likely to burn out and have a low quality workout. Take it easy in the first mile, then push the pace a bit in the second mile if you feel good. If you can't manage that 10 min. pace, don't worry about it. It will come when your body is ready, and it's still awfully early in your training.

Anyone having any trouble with blisters or chafing? You should be wearing technical socks - moisture wicking, microfiber socks made for runners. You might also apply some Sports Slick or other lubricant to your feet. It should also be applied in other areas that chafe. If you don't need it now, you WILL when you get into your half marathon training.
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I've had a couple of pretty good runs in the last few days. Saturday I did a half marathon. For a change, I checked my GPS for distance only, and just maintained a comfortable pace. Well, it was comfortable for the first 12 miles. The last mile seemed like a bit of a struggle, mostly because it was into the teeth of the wind, which built rapidly in the last 20 min. of the workout. I was glad I hadn't waited any longer to get started in the morning.

Anyway, even without checking my pace, I was pretty consistent, running most miles in about 8:35 and averaging 8:45 for the whole thing. In theory, that's too fast for what's supposed to be a long, slow run, but it's just how it turned out. When the runs get longer, I'll definitely go slower.

Tonight I did intervals, alternating between relatively slow half miles and relatively fast miles. I did 7 miles in 60 minutes on the treadmill, which is about an 8:35 pace overall. My fast miles were between 7:30 and 8:05.