Oops, I forgot to report on my latest run. First off, apologies. I took off about 6 weeks, to let my legs heal. I ended up deferring my Frederick 5k race until next year, and literally did not run at all for 6 weeks. I walked a lot, though – not that it’s the same.
So for my first run, I knew I had to take it easy. I planned to just do a 2 mile out and back (1 mile each way), walking as needed, but when I started, I decided to revise that. I was really good about limiting how much I actually ran, and certainly how hard I ran, but I did a 4.7 mile loop. I ran more at the beginning, and walked a bunch at the end, but I finished feeling great, and even the next day, didn't have much in the way of soreness, so I call that a win. My stats for the run: Monday evening, April 23, 2011 - warm and humid, 4.7 miles, 1hr 13 minutes, with an average heart rate of 138, which felt good to me. I have to admit, my HR didn't seem to be the issue, as I thought it would be, but rather my lungs were the limiting factor. Obviously, walking was not the cardio exercise I needed to maintain my lung strength. But for a first run, I was pleased.
And then the bad news...
Three days later, I was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection, bringing with it a nice painful cough. So no running since then. Joy.
I am revising my training plans a bit. Starting this weekend (assuming I can breathe without coughing by then...) I am going to start a slow run/walk program to get me back to speed again, and while doing that, I'm going to also do the Insanity DVD program. It's a three month program that is aimed at cardiovascular health and weight loss, and I am hoping that the combination of the DVDs and the running will get me healthy and prepared for the marathon. I believe the Marine Corps training program starts at the end of June, so I need to be semi-ready for that.
I am also making some life changes. I am going to change my work hours, so that I better utilize what little free time I have. By moving my hours back one hour, I should be able to get up and run in the morning before work, without having to get up any earlier. It will also eliminate wasted time after work, as most of my evening activities begin later and the time between was wasted watching tv or surfing the net. Either way, we'll see how this works...
More to follow...
