The Training Program Begins

Having been getting a house ready to sell, making crazy life changing decisions rapidly, intermittent traveling blended with rest, stress and running has not made for good race prep.  I am only one day into the Nike the program,  and no matter what life puts in the path, I am determined to  stay on target.  53 days until the biggest race of my life.  The program is just a formal nudge.  I know what I have to do.  So does Ben.  It actually started 1st week of 8 to race Monday, with Cross Train.  We were house hunting and traveling, so the cross training we did is not ideal.  Yesterday was a scheduled day of rest.  Today is supposed to be a 3 mile run, according to NIKE, but due to our crazy schedule and recent inability to maintain our usual maintenance runs, we decided to head out for a slow longer run.  From now on, we are staying on track. 

At 75 degrees, and nearly 100% humidity  Ben and I headed out this morning after coffee and yogurt, for a slow start off run, longer than 3 miles.  A run to slowly program the body for increased endurance.  No speed work.  Just a slow ramp up to the race pace.  Planning helps to be sure you do not peak too soon or at the wrong time.  It is hard sometimes to rein yourself in, as the medal race is never far from your mind.  It is so important to prevent injury as you are training.  Thats why I really prefer to do training runs alone.  I don't feel the need to keep pace with anyone, if I feel a need to slow down or feel like an extra burst of speed I can do that.  I run by how I feel.  My husband runs by his experience in training for races over his lifetime.  It all works, but individuality needs to be considered for the best outcome.   I wanted to slow to a walk after 4 miles today as I felt an unusually tight area in my left quad.  I had done about 15 mins of Yoga and stretched a bit before we headed out, so this surprised me, but looking back, I have had lots of tightness and tension in my back lately.  The leg bones connected to the hip bone, etc.....

The rain had stopped, but the air was so heavy, it was hard to enjoy the run.  What I did enjoy was seeing the wild blackberries ripening, and the wild grapes covered with small bright green unripened fruit.  Along the lake and ponds we saw momma ducks rounding up their babies so that was the enjoyment today.  

 It does feel good to finally be taking the steps closer to the National Senior Games.