Last week I received entry into the Credit Union Cherry Blossom race on April 1, 2012 in Washington, DC. While I have run parts of this course in several races (CUCB, Army 10-miler, Marine Corps Marathon) this one is my favorite. It is a manageable distance completely within the District and the Cherry Blossoms are in full bloom. Last year, I completed the race in 1:25:24, a PR for me in the 10 mile. This year my goal is to shave time off that PR and run the race in 1:20 – 1:23. This would be a significant accomplishment for me because I have only completed one race at a pace less than 8:30, and that was a 5k.
To accomplish my goal, I will be following Hal Higdon’s training program for a Half-Marathon (www.halhigdon.com), and chronicling my progress here. Training officially begins on January 9th, but in the interim I will be building up my base.
12/12 – 3 miles on the treadmill in 33:17. Cardiovascularly, I felt great. Legs have a long way to go to get into running shape.
12/14 – 3 miles on the treadmill in 32:47. Goal was to run it faster than Monday’s run and push myself a bit to determine how fit my legs are. Ran one mile at a 10 minute pace to see how long I could sustain a higher speed. Legs fatigued more quickly and reduced speed to complete the mileage.
12/17 – 4.1 miles on the treadmill in 45:54. Goal was to complete a longer run than the previous two runs at a sustainable pace. Felt good afterwards.
12/18 – 15 minutes of yoga. I successfully completed the poses and stretches in the routine, but will need to build the strength and flexibility over time. Based on my previous training experience, this will be the most difficult part of the program to maintain on a consistent basis.
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