JJSB Rundate 15071: Training Week 2 & My Running Journey Continued

Week #2 of the 12 week half-marathon plan is now complete.  Actually, it was complete several days ago but I've been busy with so many other things that I haven't gotten a chance to blog it out until now.  All this running is getting me back to my former running shape fairly quickly.  I actually ran my 5 mile long run on Saturday 3/7 at a faster pace than I intended to.  It's a little more difficult to hold back on the pace as I still have a difficult time considering a 5 mile run as a long run.  Still, I think my pace was in line with the plan to run 30 to 90 seconds/mile slower than my race pace goal.  My 4 mile was around 9:30/minute and my race pace goal is between 8:45-9:00/minute.

In other running training news, my right heel which I had so much trouble with after picking the wrong new running shoes is doing much better now.  I switched back to the Brooks Adrenaline which is the shoe I used the year that I first started seriously running and those that I ran the 2012 marathon in.  They have reduced my heel pain to the point where it's barely present and will probably soon disappear entirely.

 Now, to continue with a review of how I got started running and what I've learned through the past few years.  In the last blog post, I talked about how I started by using the Myfitnesspal app to lose some weight in the late winter/spring of 2011/2012.  After I had dropped nearly 30 Lbs over the course of a few month, I just kept using MFP and kind of stabilized around 155 Lbs and started thinking about what was next.

One of my friends had begun a long distance running plan and I began to think about becoming a runner myself.  In June 2012, I decided to join my friend and train to run the 2012 KC Marathon.  I would basically be going from no running to running 26.2 miles in a period of approximately 4 1/2 months.  Looking back, I'm still kind of surprised that I actually achieved this goal.  At any rate, on June 5, 2012, I went on my first run which turned out to be a 2.12 mile run at a paced of 13:29 min/mile.  I just ran at a "comfortable" pace and if I got to winded, I took a walk break.  I remember feeling very slow.  VERY SLOW!  But guess what?  My next run was the very next day and I ran for 2.41 miles at a pace of 12:08 min/mile.  A vast improvement in only one day.  One short week and only three runs after that first one and I was running 2.5 miles at a pace of 10:50 min/mile.

All this to say that if you just get started, start slow and stay consistent, the improvement will be rapid.  You'll probably be surprised how quickly you improve, especially at the beginning.  A pace that once made it hard to catch your breath, will eventually seem fairly easy to keep up with.  It's very encouraging.  

So, that it for this blog entry.

Except, of course, for the "Song of the Run" for this past Saturday's long run.

There were a bunch of great songs, but the definite standout came on as I was wrapping up my fifth and final mile.  

One of my favorite bands, British Sea Power with "Lights out for Darker Skies"

"And we were lit by kerosene
And we were lit by acetylene
And we walked under neon skies
You know it made me wonder why

Why all the frequencies combine
And form a cleaner, brighter light
And we filled our florescent sails
It led to sodium-scarred wailing weeks"

More to come next week in my Training Week 3 entry.

Peace My Fellow Runners!