This year marks the 6th year, pretty much, that I've run with any degree of seriousness. It's true, I've always run. It's been my touchstone, my stress relief, my therapy, my universal balm. But after university when I started work, I had to actively learn how to make time to run (answer: early in the morning, which is the only time I can be certain there is nothing else on my plate). I signed up for the first road race of my adult life and never looked back. I had to choose running, and I chose to run.
So what have I learned about myself since then?
- I spent much of my childhood right through university being inside, in dance studios or in sports halls (I also used to play table-tennis and am still absolutely appalling at it). So I'm making up for lost time and always want to play outside instead. That's why I signed up for the outdoor activities club in high school and got to go climb mountains and shit (in the woods...literally...).
- Doing active things indoors* bores me to the extent that I have to take a class that forces me to lift weights, in order to lift weights. I have to take a spin class that forces me to do hard bike intervals, in order to do hard bike intervals. In order to make myself stretch? Yoga class, bring it on. Some people scoff at Bodypump; to which I say that any lifting (with good form, that goes without saying) is better than zero lifting. Also, I have to be threatened with pain (quad cramps in a marathon), injury, or severe bodily harm (aka my PT would like to smack me) to do my hip and glute strength exercises. There is a certain buzz I get from long endurance cardio things that you just can't replicate.
* There are some exceptions: like dance classes.
- What happens when I don't run for five days in a row? EXTREME CRANKINESS. My ankle hasn't been 100% happy with me lately (some sort of mystery tendon? muscle? ligament? issue that produces sharp, shooting pains on the inside of the ankle above the malleolus) so I'm resting it. That means no running, and all of the swimming and cycling I want. Still...extreme crankiness. Guess I'm only a fake triathlete.
- Speaking of long endurance cardio things. We all know that I can go and go and go at a moderate pace for ages. The other day I quite happily did 50x50m in the pool with a pull buoy (see: grumpy ankle).
But going fast when it hurts? That's another question altogether.
So between September 7 and the Great Eastern half on November 9, we're going to play a little game. We're going to make it hurt.
I dug up this 'run a half in under 2 hours' plan.
Check out the first and last weeks of that plan. 15x400 is the hallmark of a Coach Shem training plan, I thought. Lo and behold, it's one of his.
Anyway, whether it works or not, I'm going to learn to hurt.
And I'll probably enjoy it.
That plan looks super hardcore. I used this one which helped me finally nab a sub-2 half earlier this year: http://runnersconnect.net/coach-corner/half-marathon-specific-training/
ReplyDeleteRandom factoid: I've never trained specifically for a half marathon before - they've always been training runs as part of marathon training!
DeleteHmm, the plan does sound a bit hardcore because of all the strides and the repeats, but it's not all THAT different - you've still got the speed endurance set and the threshold run and the long run. Coach Shem speedwork has worked for me in the past - eg my 5K PR this year came from lots of speedwork and hill reps - so I have a feeling this one could work. When it isn't giving me asthma attacks :)
Attempting a sub-2 half scares me. I'm fine with pushing myself SOME, like on a long tempo run (where you're uncomfortable but not on the verge of dying), but anything faster than that for any significant distance sounds terrible. But I suppose that someday the desire for speed will hit me... not yet, though! I'll be interested to hear how it goes for you!
ReplyDeleteI think you're pretty much there! With some consistency and tempo runs you can probably pull a sub-2 half out of the bag, no problem. (But like you, I would rather go long on some beautiful scenery than push hard...how are your ultra plans going?)
DeleteYou have the skills to run a sub-2 half, easy! You do triathlons and stuff!! You can do it!
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling this'll work but I know exactly what I need to work on (longer speed sets! tempo runs!). And...it's high time the Coeur folks talked you into doing a tri!
DeleteYou're going to learn to love pain. Or maybe just fear it. But you'll definitely learn that you'll be able to push through it.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to it. We're all terrible masochists, runners. Or it's just that our desire for stress relief and to push the limits mentally outweighs the temporary discomfort of running hard!
DeleteI think training for a HM is a great thing to do - especially if you've only run them as part of a marathon plan. As Char says, you need to learn to hold an uncomfortable pace for a longer amount of time than you're used to - it's a great lesson to learn (says the girl who's still not very good at it). I think you'll really love this training cycle!
ReplyDeleteAnd YUCK about indoor activities too. No thank you. I spent 34 years in a rainy, cold place and NOW I AM OUTDOORS ALL THE TIME!