Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Half Marathon Training Starts...NOW!

I dived into half marathon training this week, and I have to say that I'm pretty excited. That amazing loving husband 'o' mine got me the training gear I'd been lusting after for Mother's Day.
My new Soleus GPS watch and my FitBit Zip

I LOVE my new gadgets, they do exactly what I need them to without a huge fuss. Hubs did his research when it came to the GPS watch, I compared it to my NikePlus Running app and the Nike app was off by .30 mi on distance. Whoa. The FitBit is like a cute pedometer that tracks my active and not so active movements, it also syncs up to an app on my iphone and I can plug in caloric intakes based on my goals.
Yeah, my watch is motivational and I enjoy it.

I named my FitBit Marshmallow, she has a striking resemblance to a tamogotchi.

Let's get into what my training schedule looks like for the next few months until race day. (September 14th! Aka Amanda's Birthday). OH! Bonus, my friend Amanda and her husband Sean are going to join us for this awesome half marathon. Here is the training schedule for this week:

Saturday- 2 miles (23:47)
Sunday-Rest Day
Monday-2 miles (22:49)
Tuesday- 1.5 mile interval training (16:00)
Wednesday-2 mile Hill Training (tomorrow)
Thursday-Gym Night-Dawn's Class
Friday-2 miles
Saturday-3 miles

Basically, I will be bumping my mileage up one mile per week. I will be running 5 out of 7 days of the week. I'm making it a point to not push myself too crazy to avoid injury, I'm also icing sore muscles in the evening. At some point soon I'm going to be buying a foam roller too. 
I haven't decided whether or not I'll be taking any supplement type things prior to or after runs. Once I get into my longer runs I will definitely be partaking in protein shakes. I also plan on doing some kind of GU gel for energy in the midst of the longer runs to get my body accustomed. 
What are your tried and true running tips? What are your goals?

-Lindsey



3 comments:

  1. I love your training gear! Currently Sean and I share the Garmin Forerunner 10 but it's programmed with his stats (weight, height, age, etc), so I will be getting my own before my own half training officially starts when I get back from Germany. Now I just need to decide which running watch I want! And what color (fun)!

    As far as tips, one day of hills per week and one day of cross training per week really helps me stay strong and improve. Ab work is so important for runners as a strong core is essential! We started using BSN Amino X (we order it off Amazon), and drinking it after a tough run has made for amazing recovery. I use one serving but Sean takes two. I high recommend it. I will definitely bring it with us in June so you can try it (and John too, if he wants) and see if it helps you at all. But every runner has their own preference so if you find protein shakes work better for you, go with it!

    Super excited to read along with your training! :) Happy running!

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  2. Oh and one other thing...these GPS watches are so much more accurate it's ridiculous. Once, Heather and I ran together - her with the Garmin Forerunner 10 and me with a Nike Sensor. At the end of the run we compared, and the Garmin read 6 miles and the Nike Sensor read 7.75 miles - YIKES! Huge difference. And the Garmin was right. That's when we bought a Garmin for ourselves!

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  3. Eat a big meal the night before a long run. It makes all the difference in the world I swear. Also small rewards are big for me. So with a half marathon I would go get a mani pedi after I hit 6 miles and again after 10, and obviously after the race, because they are the most amazing things in the world.

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