Spin Dr: New member Introduction (Read 909 times)

I wanted to jump in here and introduce myself. I have been a pseudo athlete all my life, but never really enjoyed running. Probably the closest was during Navy Dive school when I could run 6 min miles, while singing in cadence. But that was 10 years and over 20 lbs ago. Since leaving the active Navy, (still a reservist) I have been at a desk job for the last 7 years, and I have finally said enough! I have 2 little ones (2 and 5 mos) and I need to set the right example for them and get back in shape and help prepare them for the ongoing fight against the American bulge... My older sister has been on me for the last year to train for a marathon; she has since completed 2. She lives in Utah and runs whether it is snowing or 5 degrees. So me living in So Cal, leaves me no excuses. She is going to be running the La Jolla HM with me in April, and I am also signed up for Rock n Roll Marathon in June. I am going to be following Hal Higdons Novice training schedule which officially starts in 2 weeks. The schedule works out well since week 6 is the HM and my long run is 12 miles. It will be good to get a HM race out of the way prior to the Marathon. I have completed a couple 5k's in the past couple years. PR 26:30. But right now, running 3 miles is a chore; and that is at a 9 - 10 min mile pace. I know I have a long way to go, but signing up for the races, and telling everyone that I am training, will hopefully help keep me honest and on track to meet my goals of completing the races, and dropping 15 to 20 lbs on the way to a healthier life for me and my family. I have been lurking for a couple days and enjoy the different and similar experiences you all share as runners. Spin Dr

Welcome to RA Spin Dr. Glad to hear your getting back on the right track!

Welcome to RA!

Welcome aboard. The first step is the hardest from what they have been telling me. Of course "they" say plenty. Enjoy the insanity we have plenty of it.

Hey brother I think I got this sight figured out. Come see me at Shel Jo

Hal Higdon has great training programs. I know where you coming from...I used to run in high school & college. I tore up my ankle in high school and said after college I would never run again. Well, almost true...took 10 yrs off. Then I started back up....and it was tough at 1st, but got easier. Biggest thing for me is if you miss a run, DO NOT TRY TO MAKE IT UP. There are so many junk mile days...if your sick, injured, or miss a few days...just come back and do your LONG run. I think Higdon has great programs for finishing a marathon....but I disagree on his training programs if you want to run SUB 3 marathons. WAY TO GO!!!

I agree. FOR SUB 7 pace, his plan lacks PACE runs & 321 runs in my opinion. So if you keep at it, you may want to experiment with other plans if you start to level off in performance. But lets get that 1st one under your belt. Also did you join his VIRTUAL TRAINING? Got to be honest...Hal is a Hell of a guy. He takes time to respond to almost every post. I have also talked to him directly thru e-mails about training & injuries. Hal Higdon is awesome.

I agree. FOR SUB 7 pace, his plan lacks PACE runs & 321 runs in my opinion. So if you keep at it, you may want to experiment with other plans if you start to level off in performance. But lets get that 1st one under your belt. Also did you join his VIRTUAL TRAINING? Got to be honest...Hal is a Hell of a guy. He takes time to respond to almost every post. I have also talked to him directly thru e-mails about training & injuries. Hal Higdon is awesome.

I wanted to add to the pace runs...I follow Hal guide so far as the mileage. I can't do runs that are 1 to 2 minutes below my normal pace. The last 2 times I tried that I was so whacked out and in pain...never again. I run however I feel that day. His Intermdediate I plan got me a 3:48:54 first time marathon time...almost 3 minutes shy of boston qualifying. So, I'm going with Hal again this year but again, I run my own speed...