Keeping up with goals

This week has been about getting over vacation blues, overcoming inertia and getting back into the groove. I enjoyed a brilliant vacation in Meghalaya over an extended weekend and got back four days ago. While vacationing, though I had to skip my long run, I more than compensated with hours of trekking, hiking, climbing and cave explorations. I even managed to do a short, brisk run in pouring rain around Shillong's Wards Lake which felt great! But it's been a whole different story since I've been back.

I've managed to be borderline active. Have been doing some yoga and some weighted walking but no running and no strength workouts. Set well-intentioned alarms three times during the week all of which were instantly shut down and ignored. And finally today was the day. Mustered all of my self-motivation, laced up and hit the roads for my 60 minute run.

Remember my running goals for 2017? 10K in under 60 minutes? In my last post I described my training plan of progressive 60 minute runs. Each week, I try and push the distance covered by a little bit and as per my plan, I should be at goal pace & distance by Nov 5. Heres the 14 week map...

I'm on week 3 and its so-far-so-good (despite skipping week 2). Sticking to this consistently will be key. As I progress beyond my PB pace (Week 6 onwards) it will be crucial not to skip any week. To supplement this weekly 60 minute run, one day during the week I will be doing a tempo run at goal pace of 5'55" for shorter distances with the aim of getting accustomed to running at this faster pace. More on that later...

I'm pretty optimistic about this plan. Here's hoping...

Just keep on running

After running & trekking in Yercaud over the weekend, it felt pretty torturous to get out for a run in the hot, humid & clammy Chennai morning. Yercaud had the perfect run weather. Enjoyed a really great trek on Saturday morning and a quick short run up the slopes on Sunday (sans music and running app). In total contrast, this morning saw me run up & down the sloping Cathedral Road Flyover. The chirping birds replaced with the harsh honking of the morning traffic, the lush green with concrete and glass and the gravel & dirt trails with asphalt. I'd swap road running for nature trails any day.

Now that all my events are out of the way and that there aren't any new ones on the horizon, its time to get back to my running goal for the year. At the start of 2017, I had set my sights on running a 10K in under 60 minutes. I had given myself the whole year to train, develop and progress towards the goal. I must say, I was making some good headway until my ankle injury in April. From April to now, I haven't been following any specific plan and have mostly been winging it with the Nitros. Meaning which, I am no closer to my target than I was on Jan 1st.

To put it very simply, in order to run faster,  you must practise running faster. (If that makes any sense!). To run 10K under 60 minutes (even 59:59) I have to be able to run at a pace of 5'55" for the entire distance. My current 10K pace is about 6'55" to 7'05". I can run at a pace of 5'55" but will only be able to sustain it for 1.5K or 2K at the most. My training will therefore involve increasing that distance slowly through Tempo runs. Ultimately its about training my body to get accustomed to running at that faster pace. 

Well here goes!