So, I'd not set foot in a gym from Dec. 3, 2010 until Feb 7th of this year.
Since then, I've gone from barely being able to run 10 min at a stretch to running at an 11 minute mile pace for 30 minutes. So I'm pretty pleased with that, even if I was running a 8-9 minute mile before B was conceived.
My question for runners is... What's next? I'm kinda eyeing up a race in June to train for. It's either a 4 or 10 mile run - my choice. I know H and my sister will do the 10 miles. So do I try and improve duration or do I focus on pace? And how would I do either. Frankly, I'm not a runner by passion, though I'm getting there. I like the achievement I've seen over the last few weeks. It's very motivating. I just have no idea where to go from here.
Re: NPCER: can I brag? Also, runners, help!
Where do you live generally? No way in heeellll I'd be running 10 miles in June here. Too hot.
You have time to do either. If the temps are cooler where you live I'd shoot for the 10 miler.
"You don't get to be all puke-face about your kid shooting your undead baby daddy when all you had to do was KEEP HIM IN THE FLUCKING HOUSE, LORI!" - doctorwho
Everyone is different, but if it were me, I'd focus on distance almost entirely - I'd want to be sure I can run 10 miles at whatever pace I can. But I don't see the harm in adding some speed to your training; it's just that I wouldn't make it the focal point since you just got back into running, and you're not there yet in terms of level of passion (or so it seems?).
If you do want the speedwork training, intervals are where it's at. Are you near a track? I'd limit intervals to once per week, or once every other week if that's too much. Otherwise, just stick with adding 0.5-1 mile each week for your long runs and try to run between 3-6 miles during your other runs during the week (distance depends on how long your long run will be that week).
Good luck!



<a href="http://www.thenest.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=tickers" title="Home DCongrats on your progress!
I'm not sure what you should do next, but you should totally do the Tyranena Beer Run with me in November! I'm going to start running again Monday (starting all the way back at couch to 5k), but that is my favorite race of all the ones I've done. The course is nice, and afterwards, you get lasagna and Tyranena beer!
I've been following the Hal Higdon half marathon training program (novice of course) even though I'm not signed up for a half...yet (I'm probably signing up for the Women's Half here in June sometime next week). It's nice because it sets goals for every week (every day really) - and the distance gradually increases.
I didn't really start running till maybe October? And was having a lot of trouble - so much so that I finally went to the doctor and got diagnosed with exercise induced asthma. Now that I have that under control, I've been able to see some real gains in my mileage. I'm still slower than dirt, but am able to complete a run without wheezing like mad. I'd like to increase my pace (11 min) but right now, I'm focusing on distance.
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Good for you! My post-partum pace is laughably slow (I mean way slower than 11min/mile), so I'm already impressed. I know that I have different goals depending on the stage of my running. Once I squeezed out that marathon, I knew I never wanted to do any such thing again, and instead decided to focus on shorter distances and increasing my pace.
Good luck!
Woohoo! Well done! For June I'd say 4 miles. You can focus on that distance or slightly longer for training, and your pace will probably improve pretty rapidly. That's been my experience, at least. I think it will give you a great feeling to do the 4 miler and do it well, and then a 10 miler or 10K or 1/2 is more fun to train for.
I am sure you could do 10 no problem by June, but I'd say stick with 4. Then again, I'm sticking with the 10K distance for a while because it's really nice to see a rapid improvement in pace without having to run more than an hour at a stretch. For convenience's sake, it's ideal.
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