Have a Heart Run 10k Training: Week 2

Did I mention that resting on Mondays is my favorite part of this 10k training plan? Starting the week in general is hard enough, so I give thanks to Christine Luff for giving me the day off. Also, this picture of me is a great example of bad running form.

Tuesday and Thursday: still running on the treadmill for my now-not-so-scary 2 miles thanks to the power of Glee. Running during the musical numbers gives me an extra boost of energy. I am still having to stop to catch my breath a couple of times, but the Justin Bieber songs are helping me power through. I walk briskly for .5 miles at the end to get my body used to getting up to 2.5 miles, which will be my next Scary Saturday goal.

On Wednesday I do an ab workout from the same video from last week. My abs burn as does my lower back from the rug burn I received while doing crunches!

Unforeseen side effect of this training plan: I am so hungry all the time! By 10 am at work, I am ready for lunch. I have started drinking protein smoothies in the morning with my breakfast. Hopefully these will help keep me full until my real lunch hour. If this keeps up, I am going to need to keep healthy snacks in my desk at work so I don’t junk out at the office vending machines.

I enjoy Friday rest days because I get to celebrate the hard work I’ve done this week while mentally prepping for Scary Saturday.

Scary Saturday is here! 2.5 miles is for sure the longest run I’ve ever done in my life. I was a little worried because there were no new Glee episodes to watch. I went with Modern Family instead, which was a good substitute. Surprisingly, 2.5 miles went by quickly, and I even increased my treadmill pace a few notches!

Sunday, and I’ve decided to take go on a hike with my boyfriend Mike and my dog. This one isn’t going to be as intense as last week. I think I will replace the Sunday easy jogs with hiking.

Sunday night: Mike has decided to start training with me! Maybe I’ve been talking about the joys of this training plan a little too much? ;)

Have a Heart Run 10k Training: Week 1

Monday, Valentine’s Day, is the first day of my training. I’m ready for it! The schedule says, “Rest.” YES! I can do that. Happy Valentine’s Day to me! This training plan rules!

Tuesday: the first day of running, and I'm up at 6:00 am! Because the weather has been rotating raining/sleeting conditions for the past week, I do my running indoors on the treadmill. 1.5 miles is more difficult than I thought it would be. I had to stop to catch my breath a couple of times, but I made it through. Whew! Day one is done!

On Wednesday morning, I do a lower body workout video using an exercise ball and resistance bands. By Wednesday afternoon, I am so sore I can barely bend down to turn on my computer at work. Getting in and out of my office chair is way more of a chore than I remember.

Thursday’s run wasn’t as bad as Tuesday’s, but I am so stiff and sore in my legs. I am already getting anxious about running 2 miles on Saturday. I don’t think I’ve ever run 2 miles at one time.

On Friday, my next rest day, I decide to treat my aching body to a massage, thank you very much, Bellingham’s Best Massage.

Saturday’s scary 2 miles is made much easier by watching an episode of “Glee” while I run. Thank goodness for modern inventions like treadmills, laptops, and streaming television shows.

I become really ambitions on Sunday and hike 6 miles up a 1,300 foot mountain, rather than doing the recommended 25-30 minutes of easy comfortable jogging. Why? I don’t know.

Sunday night: Ouch and zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Training for a 10k Race

Quinn Slayton is the Volunteer Program Manager at Community Action. Over the next few weeks, she will be recording her progress as she trains for the Have a Heart Run 10k Race.

My Valentine’s Day present to myself was deciding to run in Community Action's Have a Heart Run 10k race. What a better way to show my love for my community, my organization, and for my health! I’ve been an active member of the HAHR steering committee all year, but I had never considered participating because….I’m not a runner! Whenever I see a runner plodding along the pavement on a dreary damp day, I think, “Gee whiz, he looks miserable!” Though I was on the track team in high school, my only attempts at “running” consisted of the 7 steps it took to propel my body over the high jump bar.

My resolution this year was to take better care of myself: getting more rest, eating right, and exercising. After a week into my own made-up exercise routine, however, I discovered that I was losing interest. Who cares if I don’t get up this morning for a jog? My dog certainly doesn’t care to be forced into the dark damp morning, and neither do I.

I didn’t care because I didn’t have a specific goal in mind. After a HAHR committee meeting, the light bulb came on, “Whoa, I could run this race!” Not only did it give me a specific reason to work out, it also gave me a great excuse to buy a new pair of shoes (which is always a great motivator for me).

Now that I had a goal in mind and a sweet new pair of shoes on my feet, it was time to figure out the best way to get started. I found this simple 8 week training plan by Googling “10k training plan.” I ran it (haha) by one of my hard core marathon-runner friends, and she gave it the thumbs up. I printed it off, put it on my refrigerator, and now I’m ready to begin!

Stay tuned for next week where I'll share the painful but rewarding experience of my first week of training!