RunTheVille

Running is a fantastic cardiovascular exercise if you are looking to tone up, get fit and strengthen your legs. If you are thinking about joining a gym or a running club, then you might be interested in reading all about the advantages of running.

If you have decided to turn your lifestyle around by eating very healthily and exercising every evening after work, then you are sure to deserve a well earned relaxing weekend where you can take it easy and let your legs recuperate, or even chill out with a game of partypoker and a small indulgent dessert. One advantage of taking up running is that it increases your metabolism, which means you burn more calories each time you exercise; so enjoying a nice meal or a dessert once or twice a week shouldn't make you feel guilty at all. But what other advantages are there to running?

1. Running can in fact help delay the ageing process - regular runners do not have as much muscle or bone loss in comparison to non-runners. In addition, running pumps blood around the body and face, giving you a natural and healthy glow.

2. Regular running helps to strengthen your heart and lower your blood pressure, which can reduce the risk of heart attacks.

3. Running is one of the highest calorie burning exercises. It is estimated that you burn around 100 calories per mile, so if you run 3 or 4 miles, this clocks up to around 400 calories, which is roughly the equivalent to a big bowl of hearty pasta.

4. If you want to challenge yourself during your workout, try running uphill or jog up a few flights of stairs. This will strengthen your muscles and your heart, as well as toning up your thighs and arms. When you run uphill, remember to slightly reduce your pace to avoid getting too out of breath.

well, everything was fine until Sunday's long run....

Monday - Rest. This is supposed to be a spin day but I have been lazy. Need to break out of that.

Tuesday - 5 miles at a solid pace. I felt great.

Wednesday - Rest

Thursday - Poor attitude usually equal crappy run. Not this time, attitude sucked but run was solid. 6 Miles.

Friday - Rest

Saturday - I planned to run in the morning but after a week of bad sleep, I slept in.

Sunday - 10 miles on the schedule...longest run in about 7 months. 1st 3 miles I was dealing with lowere leg tightness and shin splints. Finally got comfortable until mile 5.68 and my left calf lost its mind. I've dealt with a strain in this calf before and it will just stop you dead in your tracks. I had to walk 2 miles back to the car and it was freakin cold! Horrible experience.

Not a bad week of training.

Monday - Rest

Tuesday - 5 miles around the 'hood

Wednesday - Rest

Thursday - 4 miles on the TM. Had to cut it back from 5.5 due to my kid being sick and lack of time. It was a solid run.

Friday - Rest

Saturday - Rest but had an awesome day at the UL game.

Sunday - 8 miles. Not a great run but my longest distance in well over 6 months. Stomach issues and an overall lack of energy.

On to the next one!

Training started a little late but I'm back on track. It was a solid week.

Monday - Spin class

Tuesday - I rested thinking training starts next week, duh.....

Wednesday - SRD

Thursday - A solid 5 mile tempo run to kick off marathon training. I felt great and finished in 43:XX.

Friday - Rest

Saturday - 4.5 miles on the trails and 2.7 on the road to finished with 7.2 miles. Solid running but after running 4.5 miles on the trails, that 2.7 on the road was TOUGH!

Sunday - An intense spin class, just the way I like it!

Still in the process of deciding how I want to approach the race. Do I want to go at it more laid back or do I want to go for a PR? I will decide soon.

Well, my genius self can't add so I'm getting a little bit of late start on Marathon training. I thought it was supposed to start next week. Wrong!! Well, not all is bad. I did spin on Monday which is what I will do during training so that worked out but I skipped yesterday's 5 miler because.....I thought I could. opps! Here is what's planned for the rest of the week:

Wednesday - This is typically a rest day but I plan to incorporate some stretching, foam rolling, and a bit of strength work each week. I have my boys so not sure how much will be accomplished.

Thursday - 5 mile tempo run on tap. Weather is supposed to be nice so I might go to Seneca for a nice flat 5 miles.

Friday - This will be early morning spin. Yea, like 5:30am early. To get a spot, I will have to get up at 4:45 but I am determined to do this every week.

Saturday - My long runs each week will fluctuate between Saturday and Sunday, depending on the mileage and what I have going on with my kids. When the opportunity presents itself and I run on Saturday, I will do spin on Sunday mornings. This week, the schedule calls for 7 miles. I am hoping to do 2 on the road and the other 5 on the trails with The Trail Store crew.

Sunday- Maybe spin, maybe rest.

Happy Running!!