Running Report

My first few weeks of trying to get back into running form are over, and I must admit that the results are rather mixed. Since I announced my intentions to train for a half-marathon almost five weeks ago, I've been attempting to return to the running capacity that I built for the Baltimore Marathon Relay, and then begin a fairly rigorous training program for the half-marathon.

In the month of April I ran a total of just under 32 miles. This was the first month in which I ran over 30 miles since October 2005, the same month as the marathon relay. I followed the advice of running experts, and was careful to increase daily and weekly distances by approximately 10%, and no more. My first week I ran 7.4 miles, then 8 miles in week two, and 9.1 miles in week three. My goal was to reach 10 miles in week four, but due to some scheduling problems I ran on only three days, and my total for the week was back down to 7.4 miles. This is actually not necessarily a negative, as it is important to scale back every fourth or fifth week to allow your body to "absorb" the previous weeks' exercise.

My main concern right now is speed. My fastest mile (as gauged using a wrist stopwatch) was on the track at Northridge High School two weeks ago. I ran my first mile there in 7:07, while my second was much slower. My two mile total was almost 16:00 exactly. This also does not shock me, as any mile under 7:30 (on a track, anyway) is a real strain for me, and forces me to ease back afterwards. Last weekend, however, after an extremely heavy lunch of a hamburger and many french fries, my time was much slower. My best mile was 8:34, and I averaged 9:00 per mile over 2.25 miles. These slower speeds might be acceptable to me on the road or cross country, but on the track they show no improvement over my first year of running.

Still, I have hopes that I can build on the improvements that I made in speed last year. An important thing for me to work on is not staring at too fast a pace. It is unwise to try to running long distances by "getting out to a lead" and then holding on. This only leads to a depletion of energy reserves, and is a chief cause of "hitting the wall" over long distances. While this issue is not as noticeable over the 5k distance, over a longer race it is a factor. It is far better to start slowly, and not let the adreneline carry you beyond your true capacity for a short time. You then have the strength to keep running the whole way.

Another concern is the time committment that training for the half marathon would entail. I would like to take this opportunity to disabuse any of my readers of a notion that I once held myself: That running is merely a skill, not a sport. As someone who had never been able to even jog an entire mile in high school, I once derided running as merely a skill to be used in "real" sports. While this may be true of the ability to run fast, it is in no way true of endurance running, as anyone who has run at least 3 miles together will tell you.

Endurance running really requires a fit body on the whole. First of all, cross training is critical to prevent injury. Non-running muscles in the legs are key to supporting the body in motion. Other muscle groups are equally important. A strong upper body, especially in the torso, helps to hold up your swinging arms and your back for the multiple hours long distance running requires. Here having strong shoulders and abs are especially important.

I have judged that if I am to complete a half-marathon, I'll need to focus extra attention on those two muscle groups. For runners, push-ups and sit-ups (or crunches) are an effective way to preapre those muscles. I would guess that I'd want to be able to do 15-20 push-ups and 40-45 sit-ups. Right now, I'm a bit behind, as I can only do 5-7 decent push-ups at once and 25 sit-ups.

Still, I'm encouraged by my time in that fast mile two weeks ago. It is the fastest timed single mile I have ever run, even if that time is unofficial. My weight is also fine at 189 lbs. For me to be effective, my weight probably ought to stay in the 185-190 lb. range. I may not have the time this sumer, between work and school, to follow the training schedule I have set before me, but I'll post an update on my progress every so often to let you know how I'm doing.