In Training

Monday, 17 August 2009

I ran track and field in high school. I was by no-means an amazing runner, but I was in relatively decent shape and I'm proud to say that I was able to run 100 meters in 13 seconds, and 200 meters in 29 seconds.


Track Trip, North Carolina 1993. That's me, middle row all the way to the right

A lot has changed in the last 15 years. I'm out of shape and living a fairly sedentary lifestyle, I don't pay much attention to the food I'm eating, and as I get further into my early 30's it's becoming more and more apparent to me that if I don't do something now, I'll never have a chance to get back to the point where I'm able to run 200 meters at all, let alone in less than 30 seconds. As my waist size slowly creeps closer to 40, it's become apparent to me that I've got to make some changes in my lifestyle.  I've certainly tried to get into shape before, but this time I've got a few tricks up my sleeve:

A solid training schedule

I've been hearing great things about the Couch to 5k training program, and that's where I'm starting. As the name implies, the program is designed for people who are not currently active who want to get started running and get to the point where they are capabile of running moderately long distances. The schedule starts to ramp up somewhat aggressively around the five week mark, but it looks like a nice, gradual program that gives people a good chance of success.

Technological support

I'm a huge geek, and although I don't know a lot about statistics I love looking over numbers and charts and trends. As I've been toying with the idea of running and cycling more over the past few weeks, I've tried out several technology options to help keep the activity interesting. Through this process, I've become absolutely sold on the RunKeeper application that is available for the iPhone. It tracks your run via GPS, optionally gives you auditory notifications during interval training, and maps your run and statistics at the end of your workout. Here's an example of what RunKeeper maps, taken from a recent bike ride I took in DC

Peer pressure

They say that one of the best things that smokers can do when they want to quit is to tell everyone that they're quitting, so they have some public accountability.  I'm hoping that by talking about it here, and promising to keep weekly updates on my progress, it will be that much harder to just decide that I've changed my mind.  So please, ask me about my progress, and keep an eye here for weekly updates on my training schedule.

In addition to the promise of weekly updates here, I've also committed to some of my friends and co-workers in DC that I intend to run a 10k race with them in December.  It's four months away, which is more than enough time to get into shape to at least finish a 6.2 mile run as long as I follow a fairly resonable training schedule.

Speaking of which, here is this week's schedule.  Eventually, I'd like to work cycling and using Wii Active training in as well, but I'm starting this week's training with just the Couch to 5k training for the first week.  The first week of training calls for three 20-minute running sessions with the following intervals:

  • A brisk 5-minute warmup walk
  • 60-seconds of jogging
  • 90-seconds of walking

Repeating steps 2 and 3 until the 20 minutes are up.

So that's my plan to get back into shape.  I'd like to work in some dietary changes, but more on that next week.

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