Speedy Gonzales
I am running. It's tough going, but I'm doing it.
I've joined a marathon training group, Boston Fit, which is part of USA Fit. The program is fabulous. It's a four-day a week running schedule, with the during-the-week runs by minutes, not by miles. Our long runs are done on Saturdays as a group, and let me tell you, running with a group makes a huge difference. I won't say the miles melt away, but they certainly pass faster. So far, our long run is eight miles (nine this coming Saturday) and it feels pretty good. I run a lot faster with the group (especially since I'm not pushing Doodles in the Baby Jogger).
Of course, my individual runs have improved significantly as Adam got me a Garmin Forerunner 201 as a present. I haven't had any problems yet with losing the GPS signal and I do a lot of running on a heavily treed trail (the Minuteman Trail). So far I've actually found it really motivational because knowing my pace and distance pushes me to go just that much faster or farther. I haven't figured out half the features, but the ones I've used have been great. I used to wear a heart rate monitor, but I've read a lot lately that says the old working out in "zone" is a bunch of bunk and I never found it useful because I've never been able to run in my range.
Way back when, before I was a blogger, I used to bike ride. My buddy Eugene conned me into doing the single-day Seattle to Portland bike ride four years ago (only when we did it, it wasn't the "Group Health STP"; it was simply to STP). I did it as a challenge to myself, to see how far I could push myself. And, truth be told, I did it because the boys were doing it and hell if I was going to let the boys do something without me (I'm a big believer in "anything you can do, I can do better"). But Eugene was an amazing coach. Every week he sent out a coaching newsletter chock full of information. Some was motivating talk. Some was training tips (I'll never forget his advice to "imagine that there's a rubber band on the top of a hill pulling you up"; I actually frequently think of this as I'm running up a hill). Some was encouragement of what we did ("and on Saturday, we rode 72 miles, and we all made it up the 65th street hill" [these are not exact quotes]). He gave suggestions for new training rides. It was such a treat.
Now, Eugene is going to run the NYC marathon with me (and when I say "with me," I mean it in the same way that we rode the STP "together." We started at the same time and managed to stay at the same pace for the first five minutes at which point he took off). So, Weegie, I need some encouragement. Where's my newsletter?
I've joined a marathon training group, Boston Fit, which is part of USA Fit. The program is fabulous. It's a four-day a week running schedule, with the during-the-week runs by minutes, not by miles. Our long runs are done on Saturdays as a group, and let me tell you, running with a group makes a huge difference. I won't say the miles melt away, but they certainly pass faster. So far, our long run is eight miles (nine this coming Saturday) and it feels pretty good. I run a lot faster with the group (especially since I'm not pushing Doodles in the Baby Jogger).
Of course, my individual runs have improved significantly as Adam got me a Garmin Forerunner 201 as a present. I haven't had any problems yet with losing the GPS signal and I do a lot of running on a heavily treed trail (the Minuteman Trail). So far I've actually found it really motivational because knowing my pace and distance pushes me to go just that much faster or farther. I haven't figured out half the features, but the ones I've used have been great. I used to wear a heart rate monitor, but I've read a lot lately that says the old working out in "zone" is a bunch of bunk and I never found it useful because I've never been able to run in my range.
Way back when, before I was a blogger, I used to bike ride. My buddy Eugene conned me into doing the single-day Seattle to Portland bike ride four years ago (only when we did it, it wasn't the "Group Health STP"; it was simply to STP). I did it as a challenge to myself, to see how far I could push myself. And, truth be told, I did it because the boys were doing it and hell if I was going to let the boys do something without me (I'm a big believer in "anything you can do, I can do better"). But Eugene was an amazing coach. Every week he sent out a coaching newsletter chock full of information. Some was motivating talk. Some was training tips (I'll never forget his advice to "imagine that there's a rubber band on the top of a hill pulling you up"; I actually frequently think of this as I'm running up a hill). Some was encouragement of what we did ("and on Saturday, we rode 72 miles, and we all made it up the 65th street hill" [these are not exact quotes]). He gave suggestions for new training rides. It was such a treat.
Now, Eugene is going to run the NYC marathon with me (and when I say "with me," I mean it in the same way that we rode the STP "together." We started at the same time and managed to stay at the same pace for the first five minutes at which point he took off). So, Weegie, I need some encouragement. Where's my newsletter?
1 Comments:
I'd send a newsletter if I knew anything about running. Actually, I don't even like running. You know more about running than I do, so I think I need you to send me a newsletter. First things first--I need to find an apartment in NYC. When I return from my bike trip to Europe in August, I hope to start running. I'm not sure I'll get the full 3 months of training in, and I'm pretty sure you'll be way ahead of me on race day. I'll picture a giant rubber band attached to you, several miles ahead.
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