Farltek Session

Some have asked - what's the Farltek Training Session in your marathon training schedule?  Below you will find information from the training site I'm using:

Farltek Training Sessions
These are shorter sessions made up of jogging, walking and some fast running. They offer a nice change of pace to continuous running and they can help improve aspects of endurance such as VO2max and anaerobic threshold. You don't need to know what those terms mean, I've just added links if you're interested.

Here is the format for our Farltek sessions...

• Warm Up with 5-10 minutes of light jogging
• Run for 4 minutes, jog slowly for 1 minute. This one cycle
• Repeat for the prescribed amount of time (see chart at bottom). A 20 minute session would consist of 4 cycles
• On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 is a very fast run, 1 is a leisurely stroll) aim for a level 7 to 8 on the runs
• Cool down for 5-10 minutes of light jogging

Seems easy enough, but we shall soon see!

One, Two, Three . . .

Ever wondered how many steps are in a tenth of a mile?  Me either!  But, I can tell you that during my run yesterday, I sure counted them, and continued to count every single step as I neared the end of the third and final mile of the day.  Winded and worn, I wished that the treadmill would move faster than the mere five miles per hour I'd set it on.  Yet, I was certain that if it moved just a fraction of a mile faster, I'd be sure to die!

I went into yesterday's training session with great expectations and enthusiasm, sure that I'd be able to run the first two miles, and only walk a small portion of the third one.  Although I'm pleased with my performance, I was definitely surprised when at the end of mile one I was bargaining with myself about the first stopping point.

Have you ever done that - negotiated with yourself?  I found myself making deals I knew I wouldn't be able to keep:  "if only you finish the second mile without walking;" "maybe just one and a half miles, that'll be half way."  Then I started doing math in my head - figuring out how far I could walk, and maintain a decent run/walk ratio.

Needless to say, with all the mindless chatter, I am proud to say that I completed a three mile run!  I didn't fall off the end of the treadmill.  Neither did I pass out mid-run.  No, I finished the run, head held high, breathing hard, but still breathing.  Now I look forward to this day of rest as much as I did yesterday's three mile run.

Welcome Week 2!

Who would've thought I'd look forward to a 3 mile run? Yet, I do!  Early this morning, at my regular workout, I cringed at the thought of doing a 3 minute plank, but I'm excited about a 3 mile run - go figure?!?

Part of what excites me about today's run is the thought of wearing my new running shoes (courtesy of the love of my life).  I've never put much thought into buying a pair of , other than what they looked like.  Who knew there were fashion athletic shoes, cross trainers, and running shoes - just to name a few?  I'd never heard the terms pronation or supination before, either.  What the heck?  Is there really something besides appearance that I should look for in a running shoe?  Apparently so! 

In my reading I've learned that I over-pronate while running - meaning my foot rolls inward at the ankle.  In fact, according to epodiatry.com, this is the most common cause of running injuries.  I wonder if over-pronation attributed to my ankle injury last February?  (I slipped on the ice, inverted my left ankle, and completely tore the ligament - which was surgically repaired last May.)  One thing of which I'm sure is that I want to protect my ankle as much as possible during the training (and marathon) process.  I want to avoid re-injury, and the need to relive the painful and lengthy recovery process that I'm thankful to say is finally nearing the end!

A friend who read my blog for the first time this weekend suggested one way I could track my training was to post pictures of my running shoes at different points in the training process.  Without further ado, I now introduce my new running shoes!  I won't be using the shoes for anything other than marathon training - so whatever wear you see in monthly pictures will be from that alone.  I hope this will be yet another way to document my journey to Marathon (IA)!