My girlfriends and I are in our 3rd week of training. It’s going well & we are feeling confident that we will not die. It’s a good feeling… you know what I mean, not being totally scared. Here’s what I learned this week….
1) Don’t jump rope for 25 mins if I haven’t done it in a VERY long time! Ease into it. Because the motion and form used for running is so different from jumping rope, my feet muscles were so sore that running was painful. In running we land on the heels and pushes off of the toes. Jumping rope lands and takes off from the toes. Ease into using the other feet muscles.
2) Running with friends with greater ability makes me stronger. I’ve become really comfortable running at a pace that doesn’t make me sweat too much or breathe too hard. Running with stronger runners reminds me of the days when I first started running and hated it. I remember running was so hard! It’s a great reminder that if I challenge myself this faster pace will be much more comfortable one day.
3) Integrate short high speed sprints into 1/2 marathon training. OMG! I can feel new muscles and it feels great! Abs are sore without doing crunches, my back, thighs, hamstrings, biceps, triceps, and shoulders all feel worked. We started at the Goal Line of the football field, sprinted to the 10 yard line & walked back to Goal. Sprinting again to the 20 yard line then walking back to goal… and so on until sprinting 100 yards. Next time, instead of following a progression pattern, I will try a digression or zigzags.
Happy training everyone! Keep working to your 100% ability then rest, relax, and recover. The best part of the whole workout!
