Training to Run?

Week two of my training plan toward the Blackpool half marathon in April. Already I'm feeling the benefit of having a structured training plan to follow.

When I first started running I would go out "for a run" and nothing more, I might have an idea about where I was going to run and how far that would take me but no more. To be honest I think starting that way was the best for me. I did once or twice go out and try to keep to a specific pace over a distance. The combination of not understanding what the Garmin was telling me and not having much experience in running left me frustrated. I'd be trying to chase a pace I wasn't ready to run at over a distance I wasn't comfortable with.

After a few more months running and getting a few races under my belt (or trainers) I felt not only ready to have another crack at a more organised plan but as I'm working towards a half marathon that I had to. As people who know me well will tell you I like to have things planned out and know what I'm going to be doing when and where so having a training plan that covers thirteen weeks is right up my street. I have down the session I'm doing when I'm doing it, the target pace for the session and even the route I'm taking. Yes, I know, it might be taking it too far, but I like it that way.

Already after a couple of weeks I'm feeling and seeing the rewards of the training. I've pb'd my last two parkrun at Oldham (three if you ignore the Santa run result) and today I went out to do a 10k time trial. This wasn't the most exciting training session I will ever do but it was worth it. Just over a mile away from my house is an industrial park with a nice road loop that is a touch over a kilometre long and has no roads to be crossed making it ideal for my speed sessions. So I decided to warm up my running slowly up to the start then I'd  run a 10k round the loops and warm down by running home. I set off well and in true Dan fashion started a bit too fast, so not wanting to burn out towards the end made sure I kept to about 4:20m/k's which would give me my target time of just over 42 mins. I'm not sure what the security guards at the Manchester Evening News though as a went past them over and over again, but pleasingly I kept to the pace no problem, in fact the only real issue I had was going round and round with nothing new to look at, but it did it's job.

Managed to complete the 10k in 42:28 which is bang on what I was looking for and was about three minutes faster then my 10k pb set at the Rochdale Kingsway 10k back in September. Hopefully I can get a similar time in a few weeks time at the Mad Dog 10k.

This training is also making me think more about my running and where I need to improve. At Oldham parkrun there are hills to climb, but what goes up comes down. I've always felt I have been holding back on the down hill sections, I'm not sure why but keeping the breaks on won't get me a quick time. Yesterday at parkrun I really felt like I let myself go downhill and looking at the Garmin data when I got home that confirmed it. On all three laps coming down the hill I was hitting 3m/k's, might not be fast for some but it is for me, and maybe in time it won't be fast for me. The only way that will be the case though will be to keep up with the training the way I have.