Training Goals

During the "off season" I let myself get away with eating ice cream two to three times a week (damn that Marble Slab in Brookhaven!), having bread with breakfast (gasp!) and munchkins (a 50 count box - woo!) at least twice a month. It was pretty nice, except for when my clothes got tight, which is when I committed to (not signed up) the Zooma race in April.

I started training (thank you Hal Higdon) for the race two weeks ago (I'm two days into week 3) with the following understandings:

• I won't be lighter until at least week 3
• I won't be fast(er) until at least week 4
• I won't feel strong until at least week 6

But something surprising has happened - my clothes aren't tight anymore after only two weeks. Yes! I knew this would happen, just not so soon. Either way, I'm glad I won't have to suck it in to get into my fat pants and my running tights are a little more forgiving. 

I did get a little faster from week one to two, but not with any real consistency. My legs are still adjusting to the beating they're taking between the running and swimming. My weight lifting in between has been intermittent, but will be back on this week, so I'm sure that will affect my speed. However, it's all good.

Clearly, my "race" goals (feeling strong, fast and light) have nothing to do with running 13.1 miles on April 22. No matter how many of these things I do, more often than not, my goal has been to make it to the day without injury. What are your training goals? How many of you out there are all about the PR?

Stop Thinking About It

Anyone who knows me knows I am a sucker for an airport bookstore. I don't know what it is about the mini-mart/bookstore/tacky gift shop feel of these places but they make me want to buy every magazine, book and bottle of water I can get my hands on. I had the recent pleasure of traveling alone last week, which allowed me to make several impulse buys in the airport bookstore without judgement.

I bought three magazines for an hour and a half flight (yes, I already had a book to read) and sincerely thought I'd get through them. I guess it's not just my stomach that my eyes are bigger than. The mix of reading material - Outside, Caribbean Travel and Life, and Success magazines - is all over the place, but interesting content can come from where you least expect it.

That's where Success Magazine ("what achievers read" so natch, it's for me) comes in. I honestly don't remember why it appealed to me. Was it the cover of Michael Bloomberg? The headline about J.R. Martinez of DWTS fame (a show I do not like)? I don't know, but it turned out to be a great decision.

There was a great article about creativity and how to put yourself in the best frame of mind to be creative. A list of 17 activities were listed and there are two that I wanted to share to keep all of us running, walking, lifting, swimming and whatever else it might be that we do when we're keeping fit. The article suggests that you play - do some of the things you love to engage your imagination. If you make time to play you'll engage your imagination and allow yourself to have creative thoughts. The other great suggestion was to stop thinking about being creative - take a walk, break up whatever you're working on by stepping away from it for a while. When you let a problem go for a while, your subconscious can work on it and that "light bulb" moment will come.

This article put in print a concept I have already embraced. My clearest moments of thought tend to come when I'm out on a run or swimming laps. I've put my mind on autopilot so some crazy, creative ideas just pop up - some are ridiculous, but some are really good. So keep up with the activities you love and who knows, you might think up the next big thing!

Time to Train...Again

I've signed up for my next half marathon, the Zooma Atlanta in April. What's that you say? I told you I wasn't running any more half marathons? I said I didn't want to run so much? Well, it turns out that I can't resist half marathons. They give me great training structure, something to look forward to and a shared experience for my husband and I (he gets to watch me run a lot, so I owe it to him to change the scenery now and then).

After a lot of thought and consideration - and realizing I can't run by the beach all the time - I've come to some conclusions about how to approach 2012 from a fitness perspective. I really lost my mind training for my last half marathon, so I took a step back and reevaluated what I want and need to do to be healthy, look good and have fun. I took half marathons completely off the table and then (clearly) brought them back.

I've decided to take the training approach of spreading the love, which means I am going to mix up my training as much as possible, but still make a half marathon my short term training goal. Also, I will not run the same race twice unless at least two years have passed since the last time I ran it.

I love swimming and would never want to give that up as part of my training routine. My 6 month stint at CrossfitAF last year also made me really appreciate weight training and cross training. So the progression of my half marathon training philosophy has gone like this:

2009 (Berry, Chicago): Just take it easy, run as little as possible, but give it a try and see if you like it (this was really good)
2010 (Seaside, Silver Comet): Train seriously, but have fun with it (this worked even better!)
2011 (Silver Comet): Just run, try to run more and faster and see what happens (this didn't work)
2012 (Zooma): Train, mix it up, get strong and run as little as possible. 

I experienced most success in 2010 - I must have really had it figured out! So, my plan is to try to get back to that state of mind, which if I remember correctly included only running 3 times a week, swimming twice and doing no weight training. This year, I'll add in weights and see if I completely die training or come out stronger and faster on the other side. And then there's the third possible outcome - I'll keep fit, stay trim and have a nice trip up to the lake in the spring.

I'm already looking forward to the post-race wine...