TJ has been helping me with a plan for our half marathon that is coming up on the 17th of next month.  Yesterday morning before work he came by to pick up something he had left the night before and we eat brownies for breakfast and talked running.  I finally put two and two together and now have a plan rather than just running 5-7 miles a day.  You can read my plan on the “Run Plan” tab above the top picture on this page.

Basically our plan is to run regular runs mixed with tempo (fast pace) and hill runs.  I really think this will be a good thing.  I’ve noticed that after I run a 5K, I generally run at a faster pace the following week.  I am sure there is a scientific way to explain this, but it seems that expending a lot of cardiovascular effort in a race helps me run my later runs easier.  Before this last 5K, I was running in the 9:00 pace.  I ran my 5K in a 7:08 pace and now, with general ease, I am running about an 8:30 to 8:40 average pace.

All that to say, adding a run that is at a fast pace (with warm up miles and cool down miles before and after) and running hill runs should make a big difference.  Just to make it clear, everyday is a hill run in our neighborhood.  However about a mile from home is a hill that is almost a mountain.  It goes straight up for what must be a quarter mile.  It is hard to run up, but harder to run down since it is so steep.

Today is my tempo run.  It should be interesting.  I don’t think I would have much issue with it, except that at 50 years old, my hips and back tend to hurt a lot after running.  If I remember to ice my lower back afterwards, it isn’t as bad, but I’ve been forgetting lately.

26 days and counting until our half marathon!  Now I’m not just running, I’m training.  Life is good!!!