So now you know my run plans for the upcoming year. (Full disclosure I'm sure more will be added.)
I am OMG FREAKING OUT excited to run TWO races in New York, run the scene of my very first half-marathon - the SF Half, go back to Vancouver for SeaWheeze, AND RUN A RACE IN HAWAII. Kauai, specifically. (Hawaii is my favorite place on this planet.)
So to get race-ready for a pretty GD full calendar, you already know I’ve consulted the pros at The Bay Club to get my running form in check, strengthen my glutes and core, and ensure I have enough variety that I don’t over-train, get bored or get injured. I hit the Bay Club a few times a week for neuromuscular strength training, and early morning treadmill runs. I've come to this weird realization I actually like the treadmill at times.
(I like running on a beach much better, as evidenced. I like anything on a beach much better, as evidenced.)
To the surprise of no one, I also rely on a bevy of my favorite San Francisco fitness studios.
I LIKE CLASSES. I love the community. I like being with my people. When it comes to weights and yoga, I'll do the work, I just like when someone takes the "thinking" out of it. Or the "everything" out of it when it comes to yoga because they are the pros and I am (very clearly) not.
So it’s like this – bear in mind this is to be half-ready. Marathon training will commence in July – at the baseline of being fully half-trained.
Mondays: Short run (5-6M ) + strength
Tuesdays: Cross (SoulCycle) + Yoga/Pilates
Wednesdays: Mid-length Run (7-8M)
Thursdays: Cross (SoulCycle) + Yoga
Fridays: Barry’s Bootcamp (Speed-work + full-body weights; usually ~3 miles)
Saturdays: REST
Sundays: Long run (10-12M)
This works for me because:
1) I love boutique fitness. Hi, have you met me? I love a fitness community. (OMG weird did I mention that already?) Running can get real boring. I love it, but it’s true. It’s also pretty solitary when you’re not a big group runner.
2) SoulCycle gives me HIIT training on a bike, strengthening my glutes and core. Also it’s a dance party in a candlelit room to my favorite music with my favorite humans.
3) Barry’s gives me a chance to work on my speed (sprinting at 10.5-11.0 MPH), and also to work on my strength with heavier weights than I’d ever use on my own. I get comfortable being uncomfortable here. (In a good way.) They also make delicious smoothies.
4) Yoga. Stretches everything. Loosens everything. Good for the body, but also for my Type-A mind to just relax and shut up for a minute. I don’t love yoga, but I know it’s a necessity. (Also I recently found out I can in fact do a supported handstand). I know.
So that's the (completely complicated and full) plan I've been following/will continue to follow. Forever.
JK, just until those long runs start getting into teens and then 20-something territory some summer/fall.
For once, I'll be living in the moment and reveling in those "shorter" distances. (All relative folks.)