Monday, November 18, 2013

Ragnar Training Begins

It's been a quiet year. Not really, it's been freaking busy - so busy that my blog has been quiet!  I planned a wedding with a reception 2 weeks later, I got married, I ran a few BIG races back to back, I quit half of my job, I traveled a lot. What I haven't done is run religiously. This was on purpose. Last year I trained hard for my first marathon, quickly followed by my second one as part of Goofy weekend. Once it was done I vowed to essentially give myself a rest year, running races whenever I felt like it, but not dedicating my calendar to scheduling runs.  My hibernation has come to an end!

Yesterday I planned out my next 4 and a half months as I prepare for my first Ragnar Relay. I keep trying to type ranger instead of Ragnar. I'm getting on my own nerves. As I type I am saying, in my head, Ragnar, but my fingers want to type ranger. ANYWAY!  I looked at the training plans on the Ragnar site. They offer beginner and intermediate. Um, excuse me? I've done tons of races and don't consider myself a beginner. I also don't consider myself advanced. I always figured I'd be intermediate. Clearly, according to their training, I am nowhere near intermediate! So I spent a lot of time talking with Man Friend and doing math to make sure it is a small increase every week, and I've created a blend of beginner and intermediate training. I'm pretty darn excited!

I'll be running 5 days a week, giving myself a rest before and after my Saturday long run. I'm looking forward to hill training and speed work, as well as the days when we run 2 or 3 times in one day. Having a big goal race is just what I needed to help me put an end to my rest year. I love the fact that I am part of team. Knowing 11 other people will be depending on me gives me extra motivation to not slack and to really focus.

So last night was my first run. I hadn't run a single beat in exactly 2 weeks. TWO WEEKS! That's a long time to not run at all. I figured it was going to be painful and that I'd want to walk it all. Um, yeah - it felt awesome!! I ran every single step of the way and never once thought of whining. While my pace is slower than when in training, it wasn't as slow as I thought it would be. I have a goal range I want to get to by the time Ragnar is here, and if last night is any indication of my current fitness level, I think I will be able to achieve that pace!

Expect to see more posts of running and training, as I like to keep my blog as a way to hold myself accountable to myself! And that's all for today. I shall now spice this up with random photos from my computer!

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