Turning the Corner: Trust The Plan

I just passed Santa on the corner. And while my self-discipline with regards to holiday fare in the month since Thanksgiving has been a bit weaker than I had anticipated (I’ve gained back 4-5 pounds since turkey day), I’m still not as fat as Santa and I’m not anywhere near the pace that I was on last year at this time when I ended up gaining 16 pounds back. All that being said, I am turning the corner now and looking forward to the exit of the last few cookies and glasses of eggnog from my house and the return of a more manageable and healthy daily eating routine. I know also that, while I’ve been keeping a steady routine of strength and core workouts going over this past month, the lighter running/cardio plan has left my metabolism a bit sluggish.
My planned approach since Thanksgiving has been to basically put running on the back burner and focus more on consistent core strengthening (with an emphasis on hamstrings) and stretching. While I think I’ve been a little lighter than I could’ve been (averaging three strength training sessions a week – four would be better), I do believe I can tell the difference. My pes anserinus bursitis has been more manageable with daily hamstring stretching and my optimism that I’ll actually be able to follow through with my training plan, en route to running the half in Nashville in April, is rising once again.
I really am trying to be as conservative and careful as possible. I’m just now in the midst of making the transition from one run a week to 2-3 per week. By the first week of the new year I should be back up to three thirty minute runs per week again and ready to start adding a very conservative increase to my weekend run’s distance each week. The plan that I have in place for my third run each week, my “long run,” is as follows:

Week of/Long Run Distance
12/23    2.75
12/30    3
1/6    3.5
1/13    4
1/20    4
1/27    4.5
2/3    5
2/10    5
2/17    6
2/24    6
3/3    7
3/10    7
3/17    8
3/24    9
3/31    10
4/7    9
4/14    11
4/21     10
4/27 Country Music Half Marathon 13.1

I’ve been running my 2 mile runs over the past month at about an 11:00/mile pace. A couple have been slightly faster and a couple slightly slower. For the long runs, once they start reaching past 3 miles, I’ll probably start trying to slow them down in an effort to keep my heart rate as close to 142 bpm as possible. In my experience I’ve only been able to accomplish this by moving at a shuffle pace toward near the fourth and fifth miles. This concerns me, though, because I fear that I’m risking bad form that places undue stress on the wrong parts, possibly leading to a flare up of the pes anserinus bursitis issue or cramps in my left hamstring. So, I may end up resorting to running at a quicker pace which will allow me to extend my legs back further, but, then taking short walk breaks to keep my heart rate down. I’d prefer not to have to do that, though. I’d prefer to actually run the whole thing. But, if cramps become an issue, I may have no other choice.Either way, I’m probably getting a bit ahead of myself at this point. Right now I just need to focus on getting more core strength training workouts in as consistently as possible and stretching my hamstrings on a daily basis.My mantra has and must continue to be: TRUST THE PLAN.

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To learn more about why I’m doing this particular half marathon and why I’m also growing a hideously scraggly beard, please check out some of the posts I’ve put up on my normal blog Meanders. Additionally, I do have a few posts on the topic on this blog, too.

If you are on Facebook, please visit and ‘Like’ the Beards, Hands, & Feet Project’ page. Thanks and Happy Holidays!

The Plan

Onward and upward!

Anybody who reads this blog, talks to me about my running, or knows me at all knows that persistent issues with my left leg cause me continual frustration. But, ideal circumstances are a myth. So, with participation in the 4/27/13 Country Music Half Marathon as part of The Hands and Feet Project team as my goal, I’m moving forward, in faith, with my plan:

1. Strengthen and stretch my core: It is my goal to spend at least 4-5 days each week performing exercises targeted at strengthening my core and, most specifically, leg strength – especially my hamstrings. I’m also mixing in some upper-body weight training more than I normally do.
2. Stretch – focus on increasing flexibility with added emphasis on my left leg hamstrings. This is due to the build-up on my left leg hamstring just above and behind my knee. I’ve had a couple of doctors refer to it as scar tissue and one as, possibly, a lipoma (fatty cyst). Regardless of what it is, at this point, the most feasible solution is a consistent and proactive plan of strengthening and stretching with stretching being done on a daily basis.
3. Run minimal miles to close out 2012 and enter 2013 very conservatively. At this point I’ve been running just 2-4 miles each week, total, in each of the last few of weeks with an eye on easing back into three 2-3 mile runs each week before increasing the distance of my long run at all. If all goes well with this conservative approach, I will eventually be running twice during the week for 2-3 miles with a third, longer run each weekend, but, won’t eclipse the 5-mile mark for my long run until late February. From there my plan will increase the distance of my long run by about 10% each week with a shorter long run every fourth week. This schedule should have me doing a long run of about 10 miles in April before tapering for the 4/27 Half Marathon (13.1 miles) in Nashville.

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As far as my weight and blood sugar goes, my blood sugar has been slightly higher since Thanksgiving due to the fact that I have been loosening my discipline just a bit on account of the holidays, in terms of what I’m snacking on. That being said, my weight has stayed pretty stable, bouncing back and forth between 214 and 216-ish. I’m confident that, with a half marathon (which I’ve already registered for) looming, consistent strength training, a little running, and some conservative tasting of holiday fare (unlike I’ve done in the past), I’ll be able to avoid last year’s winter weight gain.

ONWARD AND UPWARD!