Time to go faster

Running fast is great. For me, that is the moment when I actually feel like a runner.

Today I’ve decided to take it ‘easy’ and try out my speed. The weather seemned nice and the tempareture was decent.

Luckily I own several pairs of running shoes, so I didn’t have to wear the ones that are all covered in mud and dirt. (I know I should wash them, but it seems like a such a hard work! Maybe another time…)

Anyhow. I got all dressed up (forgot my hat and gloves though) and went running against the wind. I must stay, it is quite a workout! Already after 5 minutes I felt like opening my jacket and trying to catch my breath. I would recommend windoroof gear for these situations, but like I said, after few minutes, you’re warm enough, and might not need anything fancy except for a running jacket (although a headband would also be quite useful – as my ears were getting cold….).

I did a 6.5 km run in 36.5 min = 10.68 km/h ! That is really good. I am aiming to run in 11 – 12 km/h a 10k distance somewhere in the summer. Going through online tips for improving the speed, it is recommended to aim for the hills, quit eating sweets and do some sprints. I know I’m not good at following any tips that dont allow me to eat things like chocolate, so I’ll try to train (run) more often and go little bit faster each time. That’s more doable.

This month I haven’t done as much running as I did in October, so that is another key element; consistency. It really does feel harder to run and have a good performance after skipping few runs! My excuses were university and other nonsenses I do daily (like facebooking and checking e-mail), when I could have had even a short 15-20 min run.

But I hope I will do better in December. I have to. And for anyone reading this blog, I really recommend keeping track of your activities. I think it is important to see and compare the runs, logs and everything! Because then you can learn if you have gaps in your activity calendar, and how to add exercise into them. Also have a goal and check how are you performing/are you getting there?

That’s all for now.

XO

M.D.

The training – begins!

My friend has noticed on my Facebook feed that I’ve started running relatively often and asked me to join her for the Helsinki City Marathon that will take place on 12.08.2017 in Finland.

And of course I said yes! This would be my first race ever, and marathon is a long…. long… 42km long run (at least in my world it’s super mega crazy long).

So today I went to do a ‘test’ run. My friends comment “if you can run a half marathon, you can run the entire thing” was stuck in my head, so I kept running.

I did 20km and I felt like I’m going to die.

At least now I know I have to start training, and probably find online marathon training sheets.

I can usually run 10km in less than 1 hour, but the road wasn’t runner-friendly.

So I had to run slowly, jump over muddy puddles and avoid the ice.

But scenery was nice, and I have never ran to these places before:

After the run, my shoes were all wet and covered in mud, as well as my legs and socks.

I want to be able to run much faster, so I need to plan different runs and exercises to be able to do so.

That’s all for now. I’m going to start searching the web for training plans, exercises and food recipes. 🙂

XO

M.D.

Preparing yourself for a long run

Just few days ago I’ve managed to run almost 20k. It was hard but rewarding. It was my second time I’ve ever ran that far. First time my run involved a lot of walking, because I wasn’t physically nor mentally prepared.

It took me a week after my first attempt try it again.

Just last month I’ve picked up running again. I’ve been occasionally running 3-5k in 30-50 minutes.

Entire September I was running 4-5 times a week between 3-6k and once a week with 10k run. Improving my pace and performance in general. I have also been also doing strength training at the gym, attending boxing and lifting classes.

After my first 20k attempt, I had short recovery and ran 16k at a very slow pace. Continuing my usual training routine, day before my new attempt I ate well, and on the actual day, I was fuelled by proteins and carbs one hour before the run.

Run went well, and I was totally broken the next day. Doing stretches and relaxing.

My goal is not to run a marathon, but to be fast in a long run.

After posting my successful run in the social media, my friend had commented doing his 20k in 1h 45min. Now I have a goal, and really need to do interval training for speeding up my pace.

I wont be doing long runs, I will continue with my 6-10k 4-5 times a week, and try to do a long run after a month to see is there any progress.

Anyone out there, I highly recommend setting up goals, and getting there slowly. You don’t need to increase your distance with every run, because even a short run counts. I hate intervals, but they are a must, if you dont want to be jogging your marathons.

Remember to eat and drink plenty of water!

XO

M.T.