I never thought I would say this, but running has been a little therapeutic for me lately. I tell ya, when I miss a few days of working out I get in a serious funk. Work has been insane the last week or so and I haven’t been sleeping much. When I do sleep I’m up every few hours thinking about work. The worst! I worked 9 days straight and in those 9 days only managed to run once. Not good for my head space, not good.
This week was the official start of my training. Finally! I feel like I’ve been talking about my training starting for a long time and I’m glad it’s finally here. Knowing that I have a strict schedule to keep will help me stay accountable. I do better with structure. So, on Tuesday I woke up and got my first training run in. It was three short miles but with the heat and humidity it felt like 15. Not my best run at all, but I guess it’s good to get used to running in these conditions.
I officially paid my dues and joined the Arlington Road Runners club. On Wednesday nights they meet at a local high school track and do speed work. I’ve never done this before, but apparently it will help me speed up my pace for the big day! I’ll try anything at this point. I don’t expect to be super fast, but if I stick with it I know I will come out stronger and faster than when I started. Last nights work out was a doozey…
Two Times:
1200m at sprint pace
400m rest pace
Two Times:
400m sprint pace
400m rest pace
Three Times:
200m sprint pace
200m rest pace
Total Mileage:4.75
It was tough but great! For the first couplet I was told to try and finish my 1200’s in 8:45. I think I did that for the first one but probably slowed down a little after….and so on and so on. I was paying too much attention to my overall pace on my watch when I should have been focusing on the time it took me to finish. Now I know!
Most people would probably classify my version of a sprint as a slow jog. But whatevs…I felt like I was getting work done and I’m OK with that! I think any kind of sprint/interval work will help in the long run so I’ll stick it out and see what kind of progress I make. I still can’t believe how into running I’m getting. After the last marathon I ran I swore I’d never do it again.
I’m switching things up and going my long run tomorrow morning instead of on Saturday. I’ll be going to the baseball game tomorrow night and probably won’t want to get up at 5am on Saturday after that. I’ll have to remember no more Friday plans for the rest of the summer…yippee.
Does anyone have any tips for a fuel belt to run with? I trained with my CamelBak and hand water bottle last time and don’t want to do either this time. I’m scared a fuel belt will be too bouncy on my already very bouncy hips– if you know what I mean. Any advice?? Pleas share in the comments!
Happy sprinting, y’all!
Fit With Lo 
I felt the same way on my first day outside doing sprints! It felt like 5x the mileage it was. I really do think it’s the humidity and heat. But we will get used to it, right? It is just going to be painful for a while! 🙂 I have the same problem trying to figure out water bottle contraptions but since I can’t stand waist belts moving up and down, I go with the CamelBak. Which one were you using before? They just modified the Dart to be even more sleek and steady, which is saying something because I thought the last Dart was great for training. You can’t compete with being able to carry that much water on double digit training runs. Also, maybe you could think of it as training with a weight vest on. When you take it off to race, you will be even stronger!
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I guess I shouldn’t complain since you’re in the Florida humidity, huh?! My Dad and I used to have to get up at 0430 to run before the sun came up or it was just too hot to do. Can’t recall what kind of CamelBak I have, but I will look into the one you are talking about. My friend is going to let me try out her fuel belt. I need something. Half way through my 6 this morning I started to hunch over a lot because I started cramping and needed water!! Gotta be smarter about that!
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I admire you so much, Lauren. I love reading your blog – it inspires me!
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Love you Auntie!
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