my base training, preparing to prepare for a half marathon!

Woo what a title! Yep this post is going to talk to you about how I am building up my training for my half, by doing a little pre-training or base training before I actually start training. Does that make any sense?

No, I am not an elite runner who is prepping for a marathon and waiting to get up to some great strength to start the grueling routine. I am a totally newbie who is preparing to start training for a half marathon and I needed to come up with something before my real training starts at the end of July. At the moment I have run the most at one time 5 miles and only have done a race that is 4, so preparing for a 13 mile run scares me. I am pretty sure that screams "newbie" and I am pretty sure I am okay with that! In order to start my training I want to be able to do a consistent long run, short fast run and whatever run a week For me these would be a 5 mile run, a 3 mile run and whatever my body can handle on the third day.

Yep that is it. Easy Peasy, right? Nope, not easy for me because a 5 miler I have only done once, so I am working my way up to it over the next few weeks. The thing that gets me through is the fact that I know I can do it! So each week I gradually up my mileage and if I have to slow down to a snail pace, I am totally fine with it.

The thing I pride myself in when it comes to running is I am okay with the speed I am currently at. In the future I might want to work on PRs (personal records) but right now I am focused on distance. No need to make goals and get upset because of my time. Maybe next year I will set

goals for times but this year, its just to finish the half marathon by running the whole thing!

On top of running I will also be doing other things to build my muscle and core. I feel this is super important for me when it comes to breathing and not injuring my body. Yes injuries happen but they are not cool battle wounds to show off, they mean I pushed myself too hard when I shouldn't have, or I ran off the side of the sidewalk, like I have now done twice! I want to ease into things and have my body to back me up when my muscles start to get tired.

Here is my goal training schedule:

Monday: Running Club- This will be done with a group of friends and will be my long run. We

run about 5 miles once we get in a groove, last week we did about 4 but I can run a bit longer and do 5 with some of the group.

Tuesday- Jillian and I will have date in front of the TV, with a little high intensity interval training.

Wednesday- 5k day. I hope this will also be my day to push myself to run the best that I can.

Thursday- Yep you guessed, Jillian again or maybe the gym if I have babysitter that my daughter loves.

Friday- off

Saturday- I will run with a group on Saturday mornings that run up to 12 miles. You can run however you want or with the running coaches on intervals. I love the resources Kansas City Track Club has available!

Sunday- Yoga. I love Yoga and feel it really helps with running. I wish I had time to do this

everyday and if I do have spare minute on other days I might!

So that is my crazy wacky, self created training plan over the next few weeks. I sure hope it builds a nice base for my real training program, created by a professional for the half! What do you think, a little crazy or about right?

How I got out the door and started running!

When the new year hit, I knew it was time for me to get my running dreams in gear. This is my last year in my 20s so I set a high goal to run a half marathon before January 2012 rolls around.

(from KCTC)

I had already done couch to 5K in the past and liked it but I needed and extra push. I looked around and found that our local track club, Kansas City Track Club, had a Monday night class full of runners who needed that extra push.

We started off on a 3 mile course that you could walk when needed for the first couple of weeks. By the end of the 10 week course we were running over 5 miles and having a blast! The class usually starts big and slowly gets smaller, thankfully our group got to know each other and we ended up finishing with about 10 people in our group. It was the biggest finish in the history of the class!

(Brew to Brew Relay Run Finish Line Photo)

The fact I had people who were wanting to do what I wanted and that were not super fast right out of the gate. We worked together and even did a 44 mile relay race together at the end of class!

We all still run together on Mondays and are currently running with the new class that started a few weeks ago!

Do you run with a group of people to help motivate you?

Welcome To A So-Called Runner!

Welcome to A So-Called Runner! I am Courtney and I am a newbie runner, wanting to chronicle my experiences! I currently blog over at Cooking Up A Family, but I wanted a blog that I could focus on my goal: to become the runner that I am in my mind!

I started officially running at the end of January this year. A made a goal a few years ago to get out and run. I had few bumps in the road but I am working very hard to accomplish my goal. I have signed up for a half marathon in October and cant wait to accomplish that goal.

I plan to do the following things on, A So-Called Runner:

• Post about my experiences with running through out the week and keep track of my training.
• I hope to do about 3 to 5 posts a week, with both blogs, that is all I can handle!
• Write about the things that help me get better at running.
  
• Write about all the ups and downs I experience
• Get advice and inspire runners new and old!

I cant wait to start journaling my thoughts and feelings on the subject of running. I already write about my journey to healthy eating and my love for other things on my other blog so I hope you

enjoy this aspect of me!

Thanks for stopping over and commenting! Please let me know a little about you and share your blog, so I can blog along with you! Thanks for stopping over and commenting!