2 down 16 more to go

Two weeks of my training plan done! :) Feeling so great about it!! Been quite consistent with getting my runs in but have been skipping some of my strength workouts which is not ideal. Need to get better at doing those regularly too. 

For a few weeks before I started this, I had been doing nothing in terms of movement or exercise so my body is going through a coping phase. But its not so bad that it has become sore in protest. Energy & enthu levels are still quite high and I think thats the benefit about starting the training at a slow volume suited to my prior activity levels. 

My current training volume feels quite comfortable. Yesterday I ran 50 minutes straight (at a nice and easy pace of 8'15") and the thought of running 1 hour in a couple of weeks is not the least intimidating. But sometimes the errant thought creeps in that soon I would be running for 3 / 4 hours and that really gives me the butterflies - so I try not to think about it and tackle each training block as it comes. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.  

And it begins...

This week, without too much pomp and ado, I started my training. As always, I have my excel sheet ready with the training plan jotted down and after every run / workout that I do, I gleefully get to add my green tick to the chart (or woefully a red cross). 

Since I haven't been doing much running of late, the first 4 weeks of the training plan I've dedicated to base building and to getting my confidence to run long and far back. At the end of this block I should be able to comfortably run a steady hour. And then seeing how this block goes, I'll then move on to the next blocks of training which is to increase the distance / time on my feet.

I like to build my plans around time on my feet rather than distances... and week-on-week I would compare the distance covered in the same chunk of time to judge any progress. I find this way makes it mentally easier to tackle the run. I haven't specified any rest days. I'll add them in as I go along, swapping either the Wednesday, Thursday or Friday workouts for recovery as and when depending on how I'm feeling. This way the plan becomes flexible enough to absorb the inevitable curve balls that the upcoming weeks may have in store (migraine attack / unexpected late night socialising / too much work)!

So there! all set to take this on... more updates as I progress.