Last Sunday I was cleaning off my desk and found a printed-out copy of Hal Higdon’s Half Marathon Novice Training Plan. “Hmm,” I thought, “I should see when I need to start training for the January 9th half marathon we signed up to run.” Even though we may not do it, I still want to train like we are.

Yeah, it’s a good thing I checked. I needed to start training on the next day – Monday the 19th! (Um, so I was originally going to run a marathon on the 17th and start half marathon training the 19th?! Bad idea, Kim!)

So… my Sunday training posts are back! MUAH HA HA! I am not sure how much I will have to modify them, because of my shin, but my plan is try to to run three days a week, but cut it down to two and walk one if I need it.

Day 1 | October 19, 2009: Stretch and Strengthen

I used the office gym weight equipment for the first time the week of October 12th and damn… my arms were SORE! Like, “you can’t put your coat on” sore. I am hoping that will go away!

I don’t know much about weights, so I did three sets of 15 reps (to build endurance?) on each machine. With the arm machines, I rotated back in forth between two at a time, but with the leg machines, I did all three sets together.

So… I am doing it right? I put my workout in small print below because it’s boring.

Seated Row: 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 45 lb, 15 @45 lb
Lateral Raise: 15 @ 25 lb, 15 @ 37.5 lb., 15 @ 37.5 lb
90 Degree Chest: 15 @ 20 lb, 15 @ 20 lb, 15 @ 40 lb
Shoulder Press: 15 @ 20 lb, 15 @ 20 lb, 15 @ 20 lb. Yeah, these are killer!
Pectoral Fly: 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 30 lb
Arm Curl: 15 @ 25 lb, 15 @ 25 lb, 15 @ 25 lb. OUCH!
Leg Press: 15 @ 40 lb, 15 @ 60 lb, 15 @ 60 lb
Leg Extension: 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 45 lb, 15 @ 45 lb
Leg Curl: 15 @ 30 lb, 15 @ 40 lb, 15 @ 20 lb
Crunches: 10
Bicycle Crunches: 10

Day 2 | October 20, 2009: 3 m run

Steven and I “ran” these 3 miles together, in the dark, but in a perfect running temperature – 55°F! The nice thing about running in the dark is that you are not constantly checking your Garmin. The bad thing about running in the dark is that you CAN’T check your Garmin to see if you are running too fast (well, I can’t figure out the back light). Oh, and that you might trip and fall. Or mistake a branch for a snake, as Steven did. Ha ha.

Distance: 3.00 | Time: 32:33 | 1: 10:23 | 2: 11:10 | 3: 10:58

Day 3 | October 21, 2009: 2 m run or cross

Yawn. Treadmill walking…

Distance: 2.00 | Time: 30:00 | 1: 15:00 | 2: 15:00

Day 4 | October 22, 2009: 3 m run + strength

I did the same strength work-out as Monday, just mixed it the order a bit. I’m liking it so far. I can feel its effects. I think I need to add some lower-leg strength moves though. Do you know any lower-leg exercises?

I put the 3 miler off until Friday, since it was raining.

Day 5 | October 23, 2009: Rest 3 m run

So, I ran in the rain, on Friday with Steven! The “hills” in our neighborhood were killing me, but I can tell my fitness level is increasing!

Distance: 3.00 | Time: 33:05 | 1: 10:48 | 2: 11:08 | 3: 11:07

Day 6 | October 24, 2009: 30 min cross rest

Day 7 | October 25, 2009: 4 m run

Another “run” with Steven, with more difficulty on our neighborhood “hills.” I am struggling with breathing now. I used to not have to think about it at all, so it’s frustrating. But I did enjoy the nice fall weather – clear blue skies and a nice temperature in the 50s.

Distance: 4.00 | Time: 46:02 | 1: 11:02 | 2: 11:19 | 3: 11:47 | 4: 11:51

Week Summary: 12 miles

Starting over is exciting (because it seems like you are reaching a new goal each day) but frustrating (because you feel like the goals you are reaching are something you did months ago). I have been making sure to take it nice and slow, and stop if I feel any strong pain in my shin. I hope I don’t have to modify this training schedule too much!