Today was my first official training day for my half marathon. Welcome to winter running – I’ve been spoiled the first month of my unofficial training – we’ve had an unseasonably warm winter and sans snow. Well that changed on Friday night into Saturday with a touch of wet snow (say ice for Sunday).

This morning we met at the park – where they hadn’t even plowed the parking lot – rough skating rink.  So we met as a group to find who was in our running group.  I was partnered with Charlotte.  We’ve both been doing a run/walk program (her’s 3 min/1 min and mine 2 min / 1:45) (more on that later).  We both consider ourselves non-runners – so a perfect match.  🙂

We left that park and drove to a spot where we could warm up without falling and started our 5 mile loop on Edinburgh Road.  And off we went on our run with an adjusted pace of 2 minute run and 1:30 walk.  It started off great but I knew about a mile into it – it was messing with my breathing (I will tell you that has been one of the things I’ve been so proud of on my prep – my breathing has been great).  Anna (my trainer) was checking on all the runners and she immediately noticed how winded I was (and I know my face was super red – although that is normal for me) and I told her what I did.  She reminded me this is MY RACE (journey) and not to adjust – so I adjusted my gymboss app midway and got myself back to my 2 minute run / 1:45 minute walk.

How did I do on my first ‘official’ day of training (and this journey I’m embarking on…):

• Mileage:  5.17
• Time:  1:08:56
• Pace:  13:20 (best:  12:09 / most realistic:  14:19)
• Avg HR:  166
• Max HR:  179

 

So what did I learn today?:

• Run / Walk on my terms
• Listen to my body (aka my breathing)
• I need to warm up a bit more (and cool down) – my arches totally seized up post 5 miles
• Continue to leverage my mantras – I Believe, I’m Resilient, I’m Strong and Be Patient!!!
• I like the solitude of running

Until my next post!