Y'all, I Did Crossfit And Did Not Die

Tried something new yesterday: crossfit.

My sentiments of the evening.

When I agreed to go, I did not realize how tough of a workout this was. I know it  was a challenging workout, but I honestly didn't know to what degree.

Sadly, I agreed to this workout with the same flippancy I did when I agreed to run my first half marathon. Let me just say, I was not as worn out after the half marathon as I was this nearly 20-minute workout. Wish I was joking about that, but I'm not.

Fred, a member of our local running group, has been doing this program for several months, and a few of us were intrigued so we went to check it out. Actually, Chris - the head of our running group, was intrigued and roped a couple of us in to suffer with join him.

I fully admit to being naive. That won't happen again.

5 Weeks Down, 11 More To Go - Training Update

I can't believe how fast time flies. Seems just like yesterday I started my training plan for the 2013 Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon. Yet, here I am with five weeks under my belt already.

Thus far, I am feeling good about things. My approach this time is more focused as I'm looking to find ways to improve my performance, and more importantly to me, my endurance.

Above everything, I want to be able to remain strong throughout the race. This takes place planning, focus and practice. Slowly but surely, I'm coming to understand it is OK to have a slower, consistent pace at the beginning of a run/race in order to have more in the tank at the end of the run/race.

This is not an easy concept for me to put into practice. Being a bit Type A, I want to go all out from the get go. And this approach wears me out, forcing me to take more and more walk breaks during the final stages of the run/race.

Going Back For More ...

Yesterday it began, but today was my first training run for the 2013 Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon.

Yup, I'm going back for more.

For those keeping track, this will be marathon No. 3 for me. And all three will be within just over one year. (My first was the 2012 Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon on April 1, and the 2013 edition is on April 7. So, three 26.2-mile jaunts within 371 days.) 

Believe it's safe to say I've gone from "never doing that" to a marathon addict rather easily.

Funny Thing Happened Along The Training Plan ...

My knee after my tumble.

Everything was going so well, so smoothly and the miles were piling up.I was closing in on a career-high monthly mileage total. Marathon training was going great. It was as if it was too good to be true.

Then reality hit, and it was too good to be true.

Actually, reality didn't hit. I hit ... the ground ... hard.

On August 25, I decided to take my marathon training to the trails. I was getting a little bored running on the roads, so I thought I'd mix things up on the trails. The plan was to get 20 miles in, but those plans got changed shortly have mile 3.

Things were going great. It was a comfortable morning, temps in the low 60s and the humidity was very tolerable for August. It was dark when I started at 5 a.m., so I was a headlamp. I wasn't going too fast because it was dark.

Why Can't I Just Run?

(FYI ... the title of this post is supposed to read with a bit of a whine, mmmk ... Now to the post)

I'd admit I'm still new to this running thing. Yeah, I'm closing in on 2,000 miles for my career, but I've been hitting the pavement for less than two years. I've still got lots to learn.

Along the way, I've learned a lot, and I look forward to learning more.

What's the old saying? "Knowledge is power."

One of the things I've heard from other runners over and over again is how beneficial cross training is. In this 2004 article, Runner's World spells out eight benefits of cross training. And they all seem well and good even though No. 8 (Fit Pregnancy) doesn't really apply to me.