Running For More Joy - NRC

 

Today, I ran with the Nike Run Club app using a 35 minute guided run called Running for more Joy. It felt good to get out and run. I missed it over the past few weeks but kept coming up with excuses not to go. Of course some of those days it was way too cold to run, but the excuse that I didn’t want to look creepy as the kids at the school in the neighborhood was dumb since I get off work about an hour before they get out. Getting rid of the excuses is the first obstacle I always have to overcome. Once I do, I rarely regret it. 

The guided run I did today was full of reminders of finding joy in life. He talked about the joys of being outside, the joy we felt running as children, and  the joy we can find in running now. As he did so, I did my best to run for 1 minute and walk for one minute. I wasn’t perfect at it, but it felt good. 

I also ran in new shoes. I have been running in trail running shoes for years inadvertently and the trad is wearing on the pair I have been wearing for a while. When I took my son to get shoes, I found these on clearance and was excited because they were exactly what I needed. They are so much lighter than the others. My only problem was the blisters. Next time, I’ll wear bandaids. 

Strength Training 16 Minutes

Today, I dragged the hubby to the gym for some strength training. (He had already worked out but he likes spending time with me.) We started with walking on the treadmill for 10 minutes to warm up. Then, we went to the weights where we did 3 sets of 10 of flies, bench press, and one legged squats holding weights. I used 5 pound dumbbells, and it took about 16 minutes to complete. I would have liked to have done more, but most of the machines were in use. Maybe, I can use them next time. 

25 Minute Easy Run - NRC

 Today, I had a 25 minute easy run in my plan. I had to go a few minutes extra to get home, but I would rather do that than have to run around the block or cul-de-sac at the end. I only have a few runs on this plan. Then, I will move onto random guided runs until I start training g for my marathon. 

I felt accomplished on this run. I ran up the hill behind my neighborhood to the dirt trail into the next one. At this point I ran down to the next dirt path and ran that for a few minutes before I turned around and ran the hill down to my neighborhood. Then I turned onto my block and ran the last hill home. I did this with mostly 1 minute run and. 30 second walk intervals. At 12 minutes, I had to take a minute for the walk as I passed the top of the hill. Also, around 20 minutes I lost track of my count and had to pull pout my phone and look at the app to track the seconds. In the end, I did 2 minute runs twice! I can’t even tell you how happy I am that I can do that again. I can tell I am getting to be a stronger runner again!

“Next Speed Run” - NRC

I ended up skipping the 10 minute run on Saturday. I don’t know why I have a hard time motivating myself to get out on Saturdays. I need to get past that if I am going to train for a marathon. 

Today, I did speed drills. This time there were varying intervals with a higher intensity for lower times. For example, when running for 2 minutes, I ran at a 6/10, but when running 45 seconds, I ran at an 8/10. This was the most fun I have had running in a long time. I may have to do it again sometime.