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.

Running blind

Short insight of an inspiring article from Runners World SA (October 2016 issue) Out of Sight.

Being relatively new to the running, and “runners world” (talking about runners in general, not the magazine), I haven’t put much thought regarding other runners out there. I run alone, I have never entered any competitions and I do not have any running buddies (few of my friends run, but we all train by ourselves).

After reading an article Out of Sight by Lisa Nevitt, about Richard Monisi, who was born blind, really made me think about runners who are achieving so much, even with their disabilities.

Monisi has achieved 11 Ocean Ultras and 12 Comrades Marathons! (Marathon PB 3:15)

Imagine, that a someone who cannot see what is infront of him, runs. There has been falls, runs into walls, and you will never see the finish line, but you still run. There is so much more to it, than just getting from A to B or finishing the race. What is it to you? Have a think about it, what your runs really mean to you.

In the end of an article, there are good tips, if you want to become a guide for a blind runner. Now I am not sure when or where I am going to sign up for a race, but when that day comes, I am quite sure I will try to be the helping hand if needed, as there is only so little but at the same time so much to give.

Thank you for a wonderful story Lisa!

XO

M.T.