Another 5K Race Done

Another 5K race is behind me as of Saturday and I think I did Ok. I predicted a 22 minute time and I finished it in 22:53. This gave me a second place finish in my age group of 55 to 59, there are some fast runners out there in the same age group that would have pushed me out if they had showed for the race. This race was the Dreher Park morning run of their two part series.

The second race will be August 17 I believe and will be run in the afternoon. I must say it was hot and humid and many people may have run faster if it was cold or at least cooler.

As long as my times steadily drop as my training progresses I’ll be happy. My goal is to eventually get down to the 19 minute range for the 5K. That I hope will happen by this time next year, but who knows what may happen between now and then. In reality it may take longer and I hope I can stay injury free.

As far as my training has been going for the marathon, I have been missing out on the long runs during the weekends due to my work schedule. The work issue has to do with my part time job at Home Depot. They keep scheduling me too early on Saturday and Sunday mornings to run early and I can only fit in a shorter run in the afternoon because I also have other chores to take care of.

But, I have finally worked that out, during September, October and November they will not schedule me until after 11:00 AM so I should have time to get in those increasingly long runs.

On the issue of long runs, I really need to work on my base by increasing my mileage running at a slower pace to build up my aerobic capacity. I have been using Wednesday as my speed day doing mile or ¼ mile repeats hoping to get faster for the 5K but I think it may be too soon to run those. But I think I will keep it up for another couple weeks until the next 5K then back off.

I have an old Heart Rate Monitor I got back in the later 1980’ that I have been using again. I put new batteries in the thing and its working just great. This will help me keep my pace down so I can keep in the fat burning mode while doing my slower or longer runs. I posted the video from the finish line of the Dreher Park race where you can see all the finishers crossing the finish line.

 

   

 

Is It safe To Run With A Cold?

What to do when you have a cold and want to keep running? I have been fighting a head cold for the last week but I did continue to run some. Apparently it is OK to exercise as long as the cold stays above the shoulders.  I ran the first two days and I actually felt better, then I went home from work early because I felt completely worn out and slept a really long time. I took a couple days off from running to play it safe after that.

Check online if you have not to read about colds and running. If you’re cold works its way into your chest don’t run. Give it time to pass or exercise lightly so it does not escalate into something worse. Even with my cold being just above the neck it did have an effect on me.

I am feeling better now and will be running in a 5K on the 20^th so have gone back to some running so I am not too far out of shape. Remember that as you get older it is more difficult to keep your fitness level up as it was when young.

Getting Into My Marathon Training

So here I am trying to ramp up my training/miles easy enough so I hopefully avoid some injuries. My though was to take it easy at this with a long term point of view. Since I have never run a Marathon I have spent some time researching different training plans geared towards the beginner or intermediate runners. I have to remember that even though I have been running and racing for many years, I have been off for six so I probably should think beginner, but I want to do more. So I am just going to compromise between beginner and intermediate.

As of this writing I am doing about 30 miles per week with the longest run being 12 miles. The problem now is it is just so hot and humid it has been taking a toll on me. I’m thinking I will gradually step up the miles and in August (still hot) and start my actual Marathon focused training. It will start to get a bit more comfortable by September.

Some of the tools I am using are a Heart Rate Monitor I bought back in 1989. This has the watch and chest strap wireless function that works great even now. I monitor my heart rate when doing tempo runs and long runs then sometimes during my other runs so I keep my self under control. I am carrying a smart phone on my arm using the Map My Run application. This way I can keep track of my miles, I use those little ear buds so I can hear the miles and pace.

One thing that may be good for me is I am working one full time job and a part time job. What’s good is that I usually work both jobs on Tuesdays and Thursdays (sometimes only one of those days) so I do not have time to run. The benefit is that I am forced to take those days off from running and it gives me some time to recuperate. For cross training I will ride a bike either on the road or on the wind trainer. Wednesdays are my speed training days, I will do ¼ mile repeats, sometimes one mile repeats, even more occasionally a 5K run (not race) to measure my progress.

Hopefully this will get me pointed in the right direction and make some good progress towards finishing this marathon. By the way I do plan to do two or three 5K races and one 10 miler between now and then.