Yesterday I met up with a group of people I follow on Twitter.  We decided to brave a cold Tennessee morning and run the Jingle Bell 5k.  I set e new PR in my second 5k: 38:34.  Though I am sure it was a bit shorter than that because I was at the very back of the pack.  I have already signed up for the New Year’s Day 5k and hope to finish that in well under 35:00.

But that isn’t the only bit of running news I have.  So many of us enjoyed ourselves running together that we are going to do it again.  Only next time it will be a half marathon!  You heard me right.  I will be running my first half marathon on March 29, 2009 in the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon and Half Marathon.  Hopefully, a few of my Twitter friends will be joining me.  Training starts tomorrow.  Until next time, here is a photo of me at the race yesterday.  Big thanks to @suzytrotta for taking the shot!

Sadly, I was unable to do my long run and second easy run last week.  The reason?  On my Speedwork day I pulled something behind my left knee.  Walking more than a mile caused pain and irritation.  Luckily, today it is feeling much better, so I am hoping to jump back into my routine.  This week’s plan is similar to last week’s except that my Speedwork day is a Tempo Run.  For the Tempo Run, I will have a warm-up mile and a cool-down mile with 3 fast miles in the middle.  I will run those at a pace consistent with what I would do in a race, so not as fast as my sprints but not as slow as my long run.

Here is what I have to look forward to:

Monday: Cross Train

Tuesday: Easy 4 miles

Wednesday: Cross Train

Thursday: Tempo Run: 1 mile Easy Warmup, 3 miles at “Race Pace”, 1 mile Easy Cooldown

Friday: Easy 4 Miles

Saturday: Cross Train

Sunday: 8 mile Long Run

o, I am not going to post about my daily walks right now.  I will be honest, they have taken a turn for the boring!  Mainly more errand runs and runs around Union Square.  Not much fun for you, my dear reader, to hear about another duplicate walk.  But have no fear, I have still been doing them daily.  Hopefully this week will make for a better walk.

Onto good news… I did another long run today for a total of 8 miles!  That is 2 miles longer than my long run last week.  I feel as though I could have even done 10.  I made a bit better timing too at 11:37/mile.  I really want my short runs to get faster, but I am fine keeping my long runs nice and slow.  They are meant for endurance building, not speed.

I have also decided to let you know what my plans are for running this next week so you can run along with me.  I have been using the Smart Coach at RunnersWorld.com and here is what they are telling me to do for the next week:

Monday: Cross-Training

Tuesday: Easy 3.5 miles

Wednesday: Cross Train

Thursday: Speedwork: 1 mile Easy, then 800 at 5:24 plus an easy 400 (times 3), 1 mile Easy Cooldown

Friday: Easy 3.5 Miles

Saturday: Cross Train

Sunday: 8 mile Long Run

Today I ran my very first long run. It took me a whopping 1 hour, 21 minutes and 1 second to run 6 miles.

Why did I put my body through this 6 mile jaunt?

Mainly to become a better runner. There are different types of runs that you are suppose to include in your training and The Long Run is one of those runs. The Long Run gets your body use extended aerobic exercise and teaches it to run on fat as a fuel source.

How do you do a long run? Once a week, run at a easy pace - about 1 mile/hour slower than your normal pace. Run at this pace for about 20 - 30% of your total weekly mileage.

Want to know more about The Long Run? Check out this previous Q&A from RunnersWorld.com.

I finally did it.  I finally signed up and paid money for my first 5k.  I am going to be traveling to Orlando in September for the Expedition Everest Challenge.  Technically, it is a bit more than a 5k.  First, you get to run a 5k in Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World.  Next, you head into the parking lot for an obstacle course.  Finally, you head back into the park for a scavenger hunt.  Doesn’t that sound like a blast?!?  And you get to do it in teams, so the Husband and I will actually be doing the Challenge together.

I am actually hoping to participate in a 5k before then, probably once I move to Tennessee.  But if nothing else, I am committed to doing this one in a few months.  Plus it means the Husband has to take me to Disney again.  Yeah!

This has been a very busy month.  I went apartment hunting in Tennessee, competed in a Mediation competition in Chicago, had two sets of out-of-town guests and the Husband left for the Netherlands.  Now that I have set up the background I can tell you that I fell off the wagon.  I started off staying on track with my eating and exercising.  However, the last week and a half sent me into a downhill spiral of not working out and eat foods that are not the best for me.

April is a new month, which means I can start fresh!  I do want to let you know how I did with my March goals:

1. Read a Motivational Book: Consider that done!  I finished A Complaint Free World which is a great book (and corresponding wrist band) that helps you live a complaint-free life.  Love the idea, got the band, and we will see how long I can go without complaining.
2. Reach March Goal Weight:  I know I have not done this one.  I was down to 155 by the end of Spring Break.  But then Chicago came (with Garret’s Popcorn) and the house guests (lot’s of eating out) so I am sure I did not drop the last 2.  I probably actually gained a bit.  I won’t know until tomorrow when I weigh in again.
3. Exercise Outside:  This was definitly accomplished.  I have been out hiking twice this past month and took one of my workouts outside.
4. Move Faster:  I have previously posted that I can now jog 3.5 miles non-stop.  My best time right now is 44 minutes.

So 3 out of 4 is not bad.  I am proud that I was able to accomplish so much.  By the end of the week, I will be posting my April goals, so stay tuned!

I just wanted to share the wonderful news that, not only have I been able to jog for 4 minutes at a time, but I jogged for a full 40 minutes!

Amazing, huh?

The key was to just slow down.  I don’t have to go at a break-neck pace.  I just need to get my body use to the jogging and running movement.  So I cut my speed down and jogged the whole way.  I ended up doing my 3.5 miles one minute faster than my previous personal best.  Time to start thinking about new goals for April.