Planning for the 10K

So, running a 10K in May. From pretty much sedentary now.

The biggest question for me is "how not to overtrain?" I've been doing start-stop training for the past couple of years. What seems to happen is that I start off reasonably, then I remember how I used to run when marathon training and I start overdoing it. This is really frustrating because I like running.

So, walking home from work today, I came up with a plan so cunning in its simplicity, I was astounded. :)

I'm going to plan to Calories for the next 5 - 6 weeks and then re-evaluate. What I'm thinking at the moment is do a minimum of +1200 calories / maximum of +1800 calories a week, spread over at least three days per week. Each session should be a minimum of 200 calories and a max of 600. My goal would be to do this in 4 -5 sessions, preferably just by walking home from work. This is a 45 - 50 minute walk, yielding 380 calories. If I take the train to Kensington station, that cuts it down to about 30 minutes and 220 calories. That leaves quite a few combinations that will work.




Check back later, we'll see how it goes.

2009-11-23: Small clarification / update: Reduce the minimum number of calories per session to 150. That seems to be where I can definitely "feel" something. Max of 6 days of exercise per week. Max of 600 calories per day, not just per session.

What's been happening

As so often seems to happend when I push, push, push, the running from the spring broke down. My leg got to the point where it was practically collapsing and where I just felt crappy all the time.

After a bout of strep throat at the beginning of June, we took a 2 week vacation. The first week was in Las Vegas with 40+ degree temperatures every day. It was great. We walked and walked and walked.

The second week was at home and we ended up going to the gym practically every day. My wife is great - she pushed me to not push myself. So, I just went with the flow and that is what I have been doing since. We seem to be semi-regular at the gym/workouts (approximately 3/week). I'm feeling well, sleeping well and eating OK.

Nice.

Outdoor walking...

Well, its looking like we can get back into it slowly now. Perhaps the weather will help. I managed an indoor run on Saturday and today walked up to the U. The walk up is quite good as it starts with 5 minutes on the flat followed by a 5 minute steep uphill course. Total workout comes to 35 minutes. I'm sure it is at least as much effort as a C2-125 30 minute.

Finally, a run again!

The past few weeks have left me somewhat frustrated as I have spent time resting and recovering from a persistent abdominal upset, rather than running. (Don't worry, I have no intention of sharing the details.)

I went for my first run in weeks last night. I did a 30 minute C2 - 125 run. (That means cardiac target HR of 125 BPM). The interesting thing is that it felt harder than before, but I actually covered more distance and therefore had a faster average pace. That is compared to previous C2 runs of 122 - 127 for 3o minutes. Very cool.

Good news is that the weight is still down / steady. I'm about 2 pounds above target at the moment, which I think will evaporate quite quickly as the running picks back up.

On the menu tonight is stretching. Next run is possibly Friday night. If not then, then definitely another C2 - 125 / 30 on Saturday and a 45 minute speed priority (probably about 4.0 mph) on Sunday.

A slight digression... I quite enjoy the C2 type runs. It is truly interesting to see how much the treadmill "hunts" as I do the run. In last nights run, my speed varied from 4.8 down to 3.3. I suspect as my fitness picks back up the hunting will decrease.

Additionally, the "long walks" are interesting as my HR steadily increases over the length of the walk, usually starting about 110 BPM after warm-up and getting up near the 130+ range at the end.