In college, and throughout grad school, FF and I would get up every weekday morning around 7:05 a.m. and run together. We also worked together in a dorm, so this became a time when we often sought each others advice on issues in the building and about life in general. It was our own personal one-on-one session. This morning as I took off down the street missing my trusty partner in crime.
I officially graduated 13 months ago (scary!!) and I have run since then. Last summer I ran every morning in my childhood neighborhood and even increased my mileage. Then I took a hiatus this fall as I adjusted to "the real world" and my allergies and began my overall quest to be in shape this past March. After a brief break due to the hike and extremely warm weather, I was especially eager to run this morning.
Below is my supposed training schedule, but if you ask FF, he can tell you that I probably will not follow it. Goal: Actually follow training schedule!!!
I have to admit, I already cheated. Originally this schedule started on Sunday, but the pool and and the chance to tan enticed me to wait another day. I did in fact accomplish today's goal and successfully ran a 5k!!
Now with all good goals and training programs, you have to be S.M.A.R.T about it. Be specific! This is the point of writing it down and keeping track of your progress. By writing it down, you will remain focused and have an established mission. Your program will also make your goal measurable. Thanks to my program I know how far I should be going when and at what pace.
Not only do you need to write down what you are supposed to do, but you need to write down what you actually do. I use www.mapmyrun.com to track my mileage and record it on my google calendar. In google you can create various calendars. My boyfriend and I each have one that we share with each other, I have a workout one and we have a birthdays one. What is great is that I can see all the calendars at once or choose just to view one.
When starting a training program, you always have to make sure your schedule in attainable, realistic and timely. This schedule was created with my calendar close at hand. If you notice, I am not training on Saturdays due to my social life and in the summer I have Sundays off to. Gotta love vaca! But with all good programs, you plan a head around your life to make it S.M.A.R.T.
The best part about this morning was I managed to only wake up 15 minutes earlier, complete my desired mileage and get to work 20 minutes ahead of schedule!
