Yesterday, if I hadn't been on vacation, I would have begun my second time through week 6 of the Couch-to-5k program. Since I didn't, now I'm debating whether I should just skip on through to Week 7.
There wasn't really a whole lot of difference, effort-wise, between 8-10 minute run intervals and just running 25 minutes straight. I think I'm just going to go for it. If my knees/shins start complaining, I'll go back to intervals for a while.
If I do each of the upcoming weeks (7-9) only once, I could enter my first 5k race by this summer. This would leave me some time to pick up my bike training again, which I've been neglecting. I still want to do a century in November, and I'm not even sure I could still do 40 miles right now. I mean, I could, but I might have to sleep the rest of the day to recover. The spinning classes have been good, but they're not really the same as being out on the road.
So, here's my plan--this week is Week 7, all 25-minute runs. Next week is 28-minute runs, then 30-minute runs the following week. The week after that? True 5k distances 3 times per week, until I can do 3.25 miles* in less than 45 minutes AND without my heart going crazy. Since I'm not terribly far from that now (except for the crazy heart part), I figure I can enter a 5k race this summer.
In addition to the running 3x per week, I'm also introducing biking back into the schedule. I still really like the spinning class, but I think I'm going to make it every other week for the foreseeable future. On the Saturdays that I don't do the class, I'd like to bike 1-2 hours in the morning. Eventually, I'd like to work my distances up to 25-30. Though I haven't quite worked it out yet, I'm trying to find a way to fit in a 30-40 minute ride on Tuesdays and Thursdays too.
So, tentatively, here's my workout schedule for April:
Sunday: Rest
Monday: Run 25-45 minutes, depending on training week
Tuesday: Sculpting class, 8-10 mile ride
Wednesday: Run 25-45 minutes
Thursday: Strength workout, 8-10 mile ride
Friday: Run 25-45 minutes
Saturday: Spin class or 15-20 mile ride
We'll see how it goes.
*I think a 5k is 3.1-3.2 miles, but it's easier to measure distances on the track in 1/4-mile increments.
Posted by Joy at April 5, 2005 10:31 AM