Training. zzzzzz.

So I went on my first "long" 3.5 mile run last Saturday with a group.  A friend of mine told me about a group that was training for the Tulsa Run that meets every Saturday at 7am.  The group is being headed by the YWCA.

Sidenote:  I had NO idea YWCA's had gyms.  Where I come from it was a shelter.  Period.  So I'm completely confused at the fact that the YMCA and the YWCA are both gym places here.

Okay, back to my story....  So I started my half marathon training last Thursday with some weights and I can't remember what else because I've been getting up soooo early lately all the days are running together.  Yes that was a run-on sentence.

Okay, back to my story, again....  So I did a lot of reading about how to train for a half marathon on Friday.  I've learned all kinds of things about diet and cross training that I didn't even know would be involved in this process.  I just thought I was going to be running.  Turns out I'm learning a lot about just generally staying fit and getting healthy.  I like that.  I like that more than I thought I would.

So we get these weekly handouts every Saturday:

It's a more simplified training schedule than what I had found during all of my research and that helped me come up with my own plan.  I guess you say that it helped me get a little less overwhelmed.  Because lord help me I was overwhelmed!  They also gave me a handout on nutrition.  Again it was a much simpler explanation of what I need to be eating and why.  Much simpler than some of the complicated books I was skimming in Barnes & Noble the other day.  Needless to say I found these handouts incredibly helpful.  Each week we'll increase the length of our long run, which is the end of my week... A GOAL!  I've learned a lot about goals as well.  As in the fact that if you work out without a goal you can lose your vision and get bored.... sound familiar?

Now I know that I'm not even a week into my training but just the fact that I have a goal in the foreseeable future is keeping my motivated.  I love that.

I also love that Sunday is my day of rest.

Something I don't love: the fact that I now have to exercise 5 days a week.

So I've been developing my own plan.  I've incorporated the handouts with other stuff I've read to step it up a notch.  It's a plan that's something simple that I can get the hang of and not get bored with.  After the long run Saturday, I talked to the director of the group about my situation.   About how I'm training for a half marathon in December.  Being that this training group is for the Tulsa Run, she assured me t hat this was going to be the perfect pace for me because once we get to the Tulsa Run then i can keep with the same increased intervals each week to be prepared for the half.  This was like a breath of fresh air.  It was what I needed to hear.  It also helped to hear that she had just gone through Half Marathon training herself.

She also told me that if I was going to be doing all of this training that I really needed to add yoga or pilates into my routine so i could stretch things out every week.  So, I have plans to attend a yoga class as the YWCA using my 7 free fitness days card.  You don't have to use it consecutively, so I'm going to use it for 7 weeks of yoga.  My current gym doesn't have classes, so this is great.  And who knows maybe after it's all over with I might join the Y(wca).  These classes also fall on my cross training yoga day, Thursday.  :)

So here's my plan:

• Monday: run (mileage increase each week)
• Tuesday: cross train (weights and elliptical/ spin)
• Wednesday: run
• Thursday: cross train (yoga)
• Friday: rest
• Saturday: long slow run with the group
• Sunday: REST!

Each week we are adding a percentage of mileage to our runs.  We also added hills to the routine this week.  

My calves hate hills.