You ran HOW MUCH?!

Happy Saturday, everyone!  I hope everyone enjoyed their long runs this morning and found a way to beat the heat.  Today was a rest day for me and with my longest run ever on the schedule for tomorrow (6 miles!) I thought I'd make a quick post about how I've made it from the couch to feeling confident about a 6 mile run!

When I first started running early this Spring I started using a "couch to 5k" app that I downloaded for free from iTunes.  The program was a three day per week training program where you would run for a certain amount of time then walk for a certain amount of time for a total of about 30 minutes each day.  Every week the running periods got a little longer and the walking periods got a little shorter... At least that was the theory.  My husband and I started the program together but we weren't very motivated and usually only ran one day a week or so and it seemed like it we weren't making any progress at all.

After about 2 months of working on this training plan we made it to... the 2nd workout of week three.  Not great progress!

We were determined to build distance so we threw the "couch to 5k" plan out the window and just decided to see how far we could run without stopping... which turned out to be a whopping 1.5 miles.  Not much when I think about it now but I was pretty proud of myself at that point!  We had signed up for our first 5k (which you can read about here) and it was just a few weeks away so we started adding .5 mile each week and got up to three miles without stopping!

After that 5k, I wanted to add more distance to my training (because I was secretly wanting to sign up for the Princess Half Marathon when registration opened!) but running more than 3 miles straight seemed impossible to me!  My new-found obsession with runDisney ended up leading me to hearing about Jeff Galloway and suddenly my outlook on running changed completely!

Jeff Galloway creates the official runDisney training programs (which can be found here) and I was reading through the Princess Half Marathon plan for beginning runners and came across this...

Wait!  An Olympic runner is tell me it's OKAY to WALK?!

That's right!  Jeff's training plan is all about the run/walk/run method!  I was completely blown away... I thought to be "runner" you had to run the whole time?!  You mean walking is allowed?!  Well this changed everything!

I immediately implemented Jeff's run/walk/run method and haven't looked back since!  I was already running about 3 miles at a time when I discovered this plan so I started out with a run:walk interval of 4:1 (run for 4 minutes, walk for 1 minute, repeat!) but everyone has their own happy pace, so try different intervals until you find what works for you!

I have discovered that I think it's easier to run the whole distance (instead of using run/walk intervals) if I'm running 2.5 miles or less... my legs just don't like the whole start/stop thing when I'm not doing it for very long.  I'm also now using a 5:1 interval during my runs to try to build endurance.

Here are a few of tips for Jeff Galloway training program users:

1. Find a good interval for you now and as you get comfortable with that interval, increase your running interval so you keep improving.
2. There's no shame in adjusting your interval during a run if your body is telling you something is wrong!  My suggestion is to adjust the "running" parts of your runs down instead of adjusting your "walking" parts up.  If you walk for more than 1.5 minutes your legs will start to stiffen up and you won't want to start up again.
3. If you're using the Galloway method in a race (or in a training location where there are a lot of other runners, like running trails/tracks) don't come to an abrupt stop when your "running" interval is over!  Move to the side of the trail as you're slowing down and look behind you before you stop... You don't want to get run over and other people don't want to trip over you.
4. Your shins will also thank you for not stopping abruptly during your run... people who stop quickly tend to stop their feet.  And people who stomp their feet tend to get shin splints.
5. There are Jeff Galloway training groups around the country... Join one if there's one near you (you can check out the locations here).  There's not one in my city (or state for that matter) but I hear they're awesome!  You're a lot more likely to stick to a training program if you do it with other people.

Has anyone else had success using the Galloway method?  What are your tips for new Galloway users?

Awesome Upcoming Races

Happy Saturday, everyone!  For a lot of us that means a long run this morning... Mine got pushed back to tomorrow because I'm going canoeing today!  Just enough time for a quick post this morning.

In my last post I mentioned that I was signed up for four upcoming races that I am REALLY excited about so I want to share a little about them!

In addition to being a HUGE Disney fan, I'm also a really big NFL fan.  More specifically, I'm a really big Indianapolis Colts fan!  I've been going to Colts games every year for over 10 years and it's become a family affair with at least 10 family members joining us every year.

The Colts' Stadium all opened up (window and roof) during the Jacksonville game last year!

So how does this relate to running?  Well this year the NFL is hosting a run series called the "Back to Football" runs and I, along with about 15 of my family members, signed up for the Indianapolis Colts 5k!  This run is so exciting for me because the finish line is the 50-yard line of the stadium.  This makes me super excited for August!

The other three races I'm currently signed up for are, in some way, related to runDisney! I first became obsessed with runDisney on our most recent Disney World trip (May 2013) when two of my cousins ran the Expedition Everest Challenge.  By the time I even looked into the run it was already sold out... but I was determined to run in a runDisney race in the near future.  My parents decided that they wanted to take a trip to Disney later this year and I convinced them that the best time to visit would be during the Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend.  I've heard SO many good things about this weekend... It seems to be so many people's favorite race weekend so I thought it would be a good first runDisney experience.  At this point, I never thought I'd want to run anything more than a 5k so we signed up for Mickey's Jingle Jungle 5k.  I am completely obsessed with Disney, Animals AND Christmas, so I think this will be an awesome race for me!  And who wouldn't want a medal like this?!

Photo from according-to-kelly.com

Signing up for the 5k was an awesome decision but it didn't completely fulfill my runDisney obsession... So when registration opened for the Princess Half Marathon, I basically begged my husband to register with me.  It is a lot of money for a race (registration fees plus travel expenses, lodging, tickets, etc.) but we decided to do it!  I am SO excited for this race and, of course, the (even better) bling!

Photo from disneymanners.blogspot.com

As most of you know, runDisney puts runners in starting corrals based on anticipated finish times.  In order to verify those times, the races require qualifying times from other races (at least a 10k for half marathon races) so I had to find a 10k to run!  Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of 10k's in my area... But I did find a Labor Day 10k (the Kentucky One Health Four De Lis Classic 10k).  I'm not super excited about this race itself because I have to work on Labor Day... which means I'll be doing the race at 8 am and hopefully get to work by 10:30ish.  But this race feels like a runDisney stepping stone so I'm still pretty excited about it!

Do you have any upcoming races that you're excited about?  Any tips for my 10k training would also be appreciated!

Fitness and Blogging Newbie!

Let me start with this... I NEVER in a million years thought that I would be a "runner."  I still don't really think of myself as a runner and I probably never will!  I played sports (basketball, volleyball, track) in high school but running was never my thing!  Yeah, yeah... I know you're thinking "you just said you ran track!"  That is true, but I was a sprinter, which meant my longest race was 400 meters (1/4 mile) and the mere thought of running even a mile was ridiculous to me.

With that being said, my husband and I wanted to start exercising early this spring and we didn't want to join a gym (yep... we're cheap!) so running was the only thing we could think of.  So in early April, we half-heartedly started running using a C25K (couch to 5k) app we downloaded for free.  We also happened to be planning a Disney World trip at the same time for early May (my husband's first visit EVER!).  As coincidence would have it, my cousin and his wife were going to be visiting WDW at the same time and they were going to be participating in the Expedition Everest Challenge and the Kids Races that weekend.  By the time we looked into it, the race was completely full but that was it... I became completely obsessed with runDisney!

I was completely obsessed with the idea of eventually participating in a runDisney event and that was the motivation I needed to jump start my running journey.  Before we even left for our trip we signed up for our first 5k (a mud/obstacle race).  Looking back, a mud run was definitely NOT a good decision for our first race!  We had never even ran 3 miles before and we tried to do 3.1 miles with about 25 obstacles along the way.  There ended up being a LOT of walking, but we did finish the race and got our first taste of race bling!

My dad, me and my husband after the finish!

After that first taste of racing, we signed up for another 5k (a very small but regular road race) a month later and vowed that we would actually train to run before that race came around.  Over that next month we ran faithfully three times a week gradually increasing our distance (we added about 1/2 a mile per week) and we got to 2.5 miles before that race and were feeling pretty confident that we could add that extra .6 miles without a problem.  The race ended up being a LOT harder than we expected (we train on city streets and on a walking track around a little league field which is VERY flat, but the race was on a cross country course that was hilly and uneven).  I ended up walking several times throughout the race and finished in about 33 minutes but since the race was so small I actually ended up being the female winner of my age division... It was such a shock and was awesome motivation to keep running even after a race I felt went pretty badly.

My dad ran with us again and he and my husband also won their age divisions...and yes, my eyes are closed in the picture :-)

So this is brings us to today... I'm still running three times a week and trying to build up my distance as the summer goes on.  I'm currently signed up for four upcoming races that I am REALLY excited about.  But you'll have to come back to find out why those races are so exciting and how I've discovered to make building distance easier! :-)

How did your running journey begin?  Any tips for us newbies?  I'm looking for all the tips I can find!