Running interlude: 2 weeks to train for a tri

While I recognize this is a bicycle blog, I am going to interlude for an entry which I will periodically update on my n00b running training.  If you read my last post, I talked about how in the name of camping, beer and good company I signed up to compete in a triathlon with 2 weeks notice and without having gone running in over 9 months.   I hope it may be of public interest to document my 10K in 2 weeks training routine.

The theme of this training regime is what I like to call "keeping it real".  As anyone who has ever played a sport, musical instrument, or tried to learn a subject such as math knows, the real key is consistency.  It's not optimal to go hard for a week and then lose interest, it's best to try to practice frequently.  "Keeping it real" to me means trying a training plan that I will actually stick with.  

Run 1: Tuesday June 19.  2.3 mile easy jog.  (Read last post for details)

Run 2: Friday June 22.  My legs felt used for the past couple of days after Tuesday, so I was not in a hurry to run again.  However, I am going out of town this weekend so will have a couple recovery days, which is the perfect opportunity to break my running legs in and be a little sore.  I woke up super early to get a run in before hitting the road to go see Phish.  I found the very very very worst part of running early in the morning was seeing every single cyclist out there.  Talk about bike envy.  It's even worse when you're doing something awful like running.   

Here was my run:

12 minutes easy jog warm up

6x 4 minutes run/1 minute walk

5 minutes easy jog cool down

5 minutes walk

I made it all the way to Highland Park, a distance of about 2.5 miles, so I got about 5 miles in with 24 minutes of solid heart rate up running.  I'm bringing my yoga mat with me on the road for some major stretching.

Run 3: Monday June 25.  Same 2.3 mile easy jog.  Consistency was the key here: "better to go on a short run than no run".  I had to barter that with myself; I didn't want to go running so badly this morning that I had to compromise a realistically short jog in.  Beat my time from last Tuesday by almost a minute!

Run 4: Friday June 29.  65 minute jog/run/walk.  When my alarm went off at 6:30 this morning, I had to channel my "inner Kamden".   The best part is, "inner Kamden" told me it was supposed to be really hot today and it was run now or never.  Then, when I got back, the real Kamden said about my run, "You beat the heat!".  That made me really happy.
On this run, I almost got hit by a cyclist running a red light when I was on the crosswalk with the green light.

Run5: Monday July 2. Same 2.3 mile jog.  This time I mixed it up a little: sprinted up Friendship avenue starting at Negley, then walked a minute.  Then ran for 4 minutes, jogged easy for 1, then pushed myself home.  Beat last Monday's time by 41 seconds.

That description makes it sound like I'm a badass who hops out of bed to run with a plan.  The truth is, getting out of bed sucked real bad and I feel I'd be globally more productive sleeping.  The mantra of "Consistency, consistency!" is what fueled me this time once again.  Hopefully I'll make time Thursday evening for one final longish run before this race, otherwise it'll be an easy jog/walk Friday morning (race is Saturday!).