~ ONE ~
I had a rough day (emotionally) yesterday, so this morning speed intervals got me moving! I'm never eager to do intervals, but today I had some aggression to work off. Little Girl has the sickies today, so the gym was out. Thankfully, I have that shiny new treadmill in the basement. And Little Girl was completely happy to curl up on the couch with her blankie while I pounded out miles for an hour. Here's what my interval workout looked like today...
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Find the paces that are right for you at www.mcmillanrunning.com. Just enter a recent 5K time and use the training paces for speed workouts that the calculator tool provides. My paces above are based on a 27:00 5K. |
~ TWO ~
The Chicago Marathon (Oct. 7) opened for registration yesterday, and since I live in Illinois, it was all the news amongst my runner friends. I did not sign up - and probably never will for that particular event. While I looooove the city of Chicago, I'm not a fan of the enormous races. The Chicago Rock 'n Roll left a bad taste in my mouth (race congestion the entire 13.1 and the mass of spectators crowding the course). I haven't narrowed down my 'A' race for the fall yet, but all the Chicago rage yesterday got me thinking... What moves me to pick one race over the other? How about you?
~ THREE ~
The final thing that has me moving is STRENGTH TRAINING. Let me tell you, I hate strength training. I find it utterly boring. When I workout, I like to move and move quickly. But after a long talk with my personal trainer last month (evaluating my BMI), he's convinced me to add strength training back into my routine to make me a stronger runner. I am humbly obliging. Tuesday I did some static work with kettlebells and tonight I hope to check out a new circuit class at my gym. Wish me luck!
Do you strength train? If so, what's your favorite move?
That looks like a great interval workout - and the speeds are actually perfect for me!
ReplyDeleteI, like you, prefer cardio over strength training. I'm hoping my trainer (hehe, I have one tomorrow only) will inspire me. That's neat that you have your own trainer, I didn't know that about you.
ReplyDeleteYou've gotten off to a great start in 2012, so inspired (but I already told you that).
I love local races that get me out of bed at the crack of dawn and back home when the kids are still in their jammies (which, in reality, could be 4pm). I love a scenic run, along a beach or river. And I too stay away from big races. The idea of being 'coralled' makes me nervous. The final thing that usually influences my decision is that I love women-only races. I do some co-Ed, but I love the girl-power atmosphere of an Iron Girl or similar event.
ReplyDeleteIf you are going to do a fall marathon you could try the Fox Valley Marathon in Geneva/St Charles in IL. http://www.fv26.com/ I saw the course last year and it was along the river and flat.
ReplyDeleteThe issues with RnR kinda of don't apply to the Chicago marathon because the course opens up around mile 4 once you get out of downtown. RnR had a really bad issue with how the start/finish line were set up due to Lollapalooza screwing up one of the fields where they wanted to have the concert afterwards so they moved everything up a block that in turn left the finish area a hot mess. It wasn't that way the year before so I know they can do better and have. I don't like RnR because of what they did in Vegas so not really defending them but Chicago doesn't do it like RnR.
Even I don't know if I will do Chicago. The last two years by July my season is kaput so I don't want to spend the money and be SOL. kwim?
My issue with Chicago R'nR was more about the crowding & congestion DURING the race. So hard to run in those conditions. At one point, the crowds narrowed the street so much that runners only had a single lane to run down. Talk about a bottleneck.
DeleteI've heard a lot about Fox Valley - gonna have to check that out! Thanks!
Killer intervals! What an awesome workout. You are getting so speedy!
ReplyDeleteAs a runner for 12 years now, I'm embarrassed to say that I have just recently been doing consistent speed training. I love the pyramid workout! I have just been doing repeats and tempos. Thanks! I'm a bling junkie myself and choose races according to the bling and swag! Sad, but true.
ReplyDeleteGreat job on your speed work!
ReplyDeleteNow I'm nervous about the Rock 'n' Roll Chicago Half Marathon, I knew it would be a lot of people but hopefully it is an ok experience.
awesome!!! thanks for the info!!!!!! i never know how fast to run my speed work.
ReplyDeleteI recently started some more serious strength training and I love it. I take power hour at my local Y and love the changes that I'm seeing from it!
ReplyDeleteI think I sort of agree with you. After Houston, although it was my ONLY experience, it wasn't quite what I expected. Very crowded and it didn't really thin out until mile 11! Sadly. I was feeling anxious with all of those runners. At least with most races I was used to, it was nice, mellow and only a few runners around...I felt a little trapped, if that even makes sense! I want to do a RnR race though...your thoughts?
ReplyDeleteFellow strength training hater! I can run for an hour and half- but get bored after 10 lifts of a dumbbell! I really should do some though.
ReplyDeleteThat interval training looks great, I'm going to go create one!! Did you enjoy Bob's kettlebell workout? I'm thinking of buying it but wanted your review first.
ReplyDeleteGood for you for moving on the strength training. Ever since my injury last summer, I'm really trying to make that a priority. Even if I don't get a run in, I'm trying to get some strength going.
ReplyDeleteI have always been a weightlifter first, runner second. To me, it is very interesting to watch the "new" push for runners to do more strength training. I did have to cut back on my lifting when I was in the last stage of my marathon training though, a body can only do so much.
ReplyDeleteRace choices: I love supporting small and local, especially for a cause. I have a hard time dishing out the bucks for expensive races, so a good cause makes that part a little easier. My local marathon supports local families with adoption costs. Worth every penny of the entry (and lack of bling).
So agree on the race size! I did once the MCM and running with 30,000+ people freaked me out. The logistics are a pain and the worse for me was the crowd during the race!! Since then I do small race and enjoy the personal touch and short lines :)
ReplyDelete