Hello everyone! This is the first entry to my new blog!
Yesterday I registered for the Minneapolis Duathlon. It’s a 5k run, 18 mile bike, 5k run race. It will be the most extreme thing I have ever accomplished physically in my life! I am going to try to blog about my training for this event as a way to chronicle everything about preparing for this race (plus it seems like everyone else is doing stuff like this, so why not?)
First, a little history……
On November 29th, 2009 I had my last cigarette. I did not have this great revelation or new motivation to quit; I just decided I didn’t want to do that anymore. I did start having thoughts however about wanting to be in shape because I did not want to be that dad that was too lazy to play with his kids in the back yard. I can now say that since that day in November, I have not had a single slip up and have been smoke free!
In January of 2010, I decided to start going to a gym. I had never gone to a gym before, but it sounded like a good thing to do. I started going to a gym that is about 10 minutes away at Fitness 19 over my lunch hour. I started by doing some running on the treadmill and using the weight machines. I found that I was able to run a 9 minute mile pretty easy. I wasn’t breathing hard and my legs felt fine, while running anyway.
It took about 5 weeks and I learned what overtraining was (boo). I ended up getting knee bursitis. After 6 weeks of rehab at Twin City Orthopedics, I learned to listen to my body a little more!
After the physical therapy and a lot of reading on sites like http://www.active.com, http://www.runnersworld.com and http://www.coolrunning.com I decided to start a training plan and set the goal of running the Worthington Turkey Day 10k. I decided that 6.2 miles would be a pretty incredible feat for me since I am not a runner.
For the entire summer of 2010 I ran. I would wake up early before everyone else in the house would wake up and run. I ran around the lake by my house. If I didn’t run in the morning, I would run over my lunch hour. My weeks consisted of 3 days of running (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) and 3 days of weight training (Monday, Wednesday and Friday). I also started watching my diet more to help improve my performance. I began using two web sites: http://www.runkeeper.com and http://www.myfitnesspal.com . I started tracking my inputs and outputs along with my weight.
I did run the Turkey Day 10k race! It was 37 degrees when the race started! When I started this endeavor, my goal was to just finish the race. As the summer went on, I adjusted that to finish in under an hour. The month before I started thinking I could do it in 50 minutes. I ended up finishing in 392nd of 587 racers with a time of 58:21. While unhappy with the time, I still have the feeling of accomplishment for finishing.
This summer, my plan is to train hard and consistent. I feel like since I have a year under my belt, I will have a better idea on what it will take both physically and mentally to achieve some goals.
Speaking of goals, here is what I hope to accomplish this year:
1. Complete the Minneapolis Duathlon in 2:05:00 or less.
2. Complete the Turkey Day 10k in 50:00 or less.
3. Run a few 5k races over the summer.
4. Log at least 600 miles on the bike this year.
Along the way toward accomplishing these goals, I will post thoughts and results for all to share. I will also try to post fun links I find along the way. I will try to keep a training plan up to date and welcome feedback from anyone who reads this with your thoughts, goals, advice, etc.
Yesterday I registered for the Minneapolis Duathlon. It’s a 5k run, 18 mile bike, 5k run race. It will be the most extreme thing I have ever accomplished physically in my life! I am going to try to blog about my training for this event as a way to chronicle everything about preparing for this race (plus it seems like everyone else is doing stuff like this, so why not?)
First, a little history……
On November 29th, 2009 I had my last cigarette. I did not have this great revelation or new motivation to quit; I just decided I didn’t want to do that anymore. I did start having thoughts however about wanting to be in shape because I did not want to be that dad that was too lazy to play with his kids in the back yard. I can now say that since that day in November, I have not had a single slip up and have been smoke free!
In January of 2010, I decided to start going to a gym. I had never gone to a gym before, but it sounded like a good thing to do. I started going to a gym that is about 10 minutes away at Fitness 19 over my lunch hour. I started by doing some running on the treadmill and using the weight machines. I found that I was able to run a 9 minute mile pretty easy. I wasn’t breathing hard and my legs felt fine, while running anyway.
It took about 5 weeks and I learned what overtraining was (boo). I ended up getting knee bursitis. After 6 weeks of rehab at Twin City Orthopedics, I learned to listen to my body a little more!
After the physical therapy and a lot of reading on sites like http://www.active.com, http://www.runnersworld.com and http://www.coolrunning.com I decided to start a training plan and set the goal of running the Worthington Turkey Day 10k. I decided that 6.2 miles would be a pretty incredible feat for me since I am not a runner.
For the entire summer of 2010 I ran. I would wake up early before everyone else in the house would wake up and run. I ran around the lake by my house. If I didn’t run in the morning, I would run over my lunch hour. My weeks consisted of 3 days of running (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) and 3 days of weight training (Monday, Wednesday and Friday). I also started watching my diet more to help improve my performance. I began using two web sites: http://www.runkeeper.com and http://www.myfitnesspal.com . I started tracking my inputs and outputs along with my weight.
I did run the Turkey Day 10k race! It was 37 degrees when the race started! When I started this endeavor, my goal was to just finish the race. As the summer went on, I adjusted that to finish in under an hour. The month before I started thinking I could do it in 50 minutes. I ended up finishing in 392nd of 587 racers with a time of 58:21. While unhappy with the time, I still have the feeling of accomplishment for finishing.
This summer, my plan is to train hard and consistent. I feel like since I have a year under my belt, I will have a better idea on what it will take both physically and mentally to achieve some goals.
Speaking of goals, here is what I hope to accomplish this year:
1. Complete the Minneapolis Duathlon in 2:05:00 or less.
2. Complete the Turkey Day 10k in 50:00 or less.
3. Run a few 5k races over the summer.
4. Log at least 600 miles on the bike this year.
Along the way toward accomplishing these goals, I will post thoughts and results for all to share. I will also try to post fun links I find along the way. I will try to keep a training plan up to date and welcome feedback from anyone who reads this with your thoughts, goals, advice, etc.
I can't believe you have a blog!! I might have to make fun of you a little bit, but I know you'll love getting to share about your workouts. We're proud of you!!
ReplyDeleteChrista