Category: Training - RunBrinksyRun

SPEED IS THE DEVIL.

3/27/2015

I've told the story before on this blog about my many failed attempts to follow a training plan. I've rationalized it as a stubborn streak, a need for independence, or that following a set plan would ruin my very basic love of running for the sake of running.

Well, I finally figured out how to get me to follow a training plan:

Make someone I run with follow one.

And this is the story of how my friend Jen tricked me in to doing speed work.

So... I've been Running...

12/4/2014

So I started "training" using an actual "training plan" back at the beginning of November.

And to say that I've stopped following the training plan may be the biggest understatement of the year.

Like, I haven't even looked at it in weeks except when I cleaned out my car and found it underneath my seat.

But I have still been running! Just not with any real guidance except how many miles I can fit in and who I'm running with.

That being said, I totally dropped the ball on BLOGGING about running.

WEEKLY RECAP!

11/17/2014

So how did I do during my second week of training for my 25K?

Well, not as many runs as my first week. But perhaps more QUALITY than quantity...

That's good right?

HILL, YEAH!

11/12/2014

I started running back when I was still living in Michigan. I love it and I'm thankful every day for having lived in a place where I could step out my door and go running for however many miles I felt like. Living in Michigan, out in the country, where all the streets are laid out in mile and half mile increments, it was always easy to set milestones on my runs, to know how far I had gone, and how far I had left to go before finally arriving back at my doorstep.

I had access to beautiful trails, covered in pine needles. Quiet, restful places that ran alongside creeks, with gentle slopes and trails that turned and curved through beautiful forests.

I'm glad that that's where I got my start as a runner, because I'll tell you what, if I had started running after I'd moved to Tennessee? Well, that may have changed my entire disposition. We can call them "hills" or we can call them mountains, but I've run both here in Tennessee and have learned to love this gorgeous hilly country.

And I've learned that they can make me a stronger, faster runner.

ONE WEEK IN!

11/10/2014

Ta-Da!

One week in to my training and I have, more or less, kept to my training plan!

Ok, so maybe I've been "less" using the training plan rather than more. Unless you count that my training plan said to run six out of seven days a week. Because I did that.

But otherwise? Ehh... Not so much.

TRAINING tIME!

11/3/2014

So, I mentioned in my post last week that my next big adventure is to start training for a 25k. I have two in mind; one a trail race called T he Black Warrior 25k and the other is the Fifth Third River Bank Run back in my hometown of Grand Rapids.

This will be my longest race to date, as a 25k is 15.5 miles, just a smidge longer than a half marathon. It's part of my short term planning in order to reach my goal of running a 50k. As much as I wanted to run a 50k this year, I just didn't put in the miles this summer for that to be a reasonable goal in the next few months. I spent so much of the first part of the year trying to recover from my hamstring injury and then playing it safe because of that that I just didn't do the work I needed to reach that goal.

But that's the great thing about goals. Sometimes it's necessary to take a step back and reevaluate them. You don't necessarily have to give up on them, just change your time table.

Post-#RagnarTN

10/27/2014

So, #RagnarTN officially ended Saturday and overall, I was pretty pleased with it. After last year's hamstring debacle, I was thrilled to make it through this year's race without sustaining an injury. Considering I was still feeling the side effects of that hamstring injuries during Ragnar Trail Atlanta and Ragnar Trail West Virginia earlier in the year, I was super excited to come out of this Ragnar with no major aches and pains.

In fact, I don't think I've EVER felt so good post Ragnar!

Which is why I am super excited that after this week of "recovery" I'm going to be starting my 25k training! The 25k is my stepping stone to the ultimate goal of running a 50k by the end of 2015. I'll hopefully be documenting my progress on this website as I progress towards my goal of becoming an "ultra runner." We'll see how 25k and 50k go, and then maybe consider longer distances. But for now, we're skipping marathons and going for the big time! Can't wait!

Does it count?

10/21/2014

So recently, I've been debating with myself about a couple of personal records, or PR's that have been set.

And mostly, I've decided to recognize them. But I still have debates about it with myself every now and then...

I doubt their validity.

It's one of those internal debates that rages on. Like if a tree falls in the woods and no one is around, does it make a sound? Or what is the sound of one hand clapping?

Stream of Consciousness

9/29/2014

A friend from one of my many running clubs somehow tricked me in to thinking that joining her for an early morning run was a good idea.

As some of you may know, mornings are NOT my thing.

I'd love to be one of those people who can be all "Oh, I work out in the morning before my brain knows what's happening!" Not to imply that my brain is smarter than yours, but there is no fooling my brain. It knows EXACTLY what it happening. And it wants NO PART of it.

This is me early in the mornings and to prove my point, I tried to keep a running itinerary of thoughts that go through my head during the process. So below, I present to you the random wanderings of my mind as I got up for a 5:00 AM run...

AND.... GO!

Why I Decided To Join A Gang...

8/25/2014

Or as some people like to call them, "running clubs."

But I like gang better. Makes us sound tough.

Plus, aren't running clubs LIKE gangs?

We meet in groups regularly. We represent by wearing our colors and our logos on everything. We compete against rival gangs. What gang your in is often dependent on what neighborhood you live in. You're wideley recognized in your neighborhood and people move out of your way when they see you coming.

SEE! Running Club = Gang.

Ok, maybe my knowledge on actual gangs is a little slim... And sure, running clubs don't perpetuate violence on anyone except themselves. (Be honest, running is a little masochistic.) But what I lack in knowledge about gangs, I more than make up for in knowledge about running clubs!