Running update

In case anyone thinks I've been slacking off - I have, in fact, been really good with sticking to the running schedule. What I have been really bad with is taking care of my diet. Being in school during lunch/dinner hours really sucks, especially when I only get 20 minutes to finish my meal. I've been having more pizzas than I should, as reported by the ever so truthful weight scale in my bathroom. I'd like to think that part of the reason for the weight gain is the core and strength training I've been doing twice a week, but I think I gotta face the fact that I've been a bit of a piggy and need to add more veggies and fruits to my diet if I want to run with sufficient energy.

Meanwhile, I have also failed to keep up with the necessary hydration. Speaking of which, let me grab a glass of water before I continue....

On the bright side, I seem to be getting better at my interval runs. Yesterday I was able to stick with the targeted pace for the most part without succumbing to fatigue near the end. I remember reading somewhere that running long distance is essentially energy management. Go too fast in the beginning and you just might run out of steam before the finish line. Knowing what pace to run at what point of the race is the key. I still seem to be going too fast on my 200m runs, but since I have been able to keep at the faster pace maybe I should just move the target pace from 8:30-mpm to 8:00mpm.

Here is the chart from the last few runs:

The only red yesterday is the second 400m run in the second set. There I actually tried increasing the length of my stride instead of the frequency to see if it made any difference. I only managed to do it for about 260 meters as it was a strange running form for me. But I found that the pace was very quick at 8:17-mpm. With practice I might be able to train myself to run faster by taking longer strides instead of moving my legs faster. This is worth looking into.

While I was quite happy with how I did in the latest interval run, I definitely felt the effect of not having a good diet, hydration and sleep. It just took more energy out of me than I think it should have. So the next few days will be about making plans to get the right kind of food into my mouth and drinking enough water!

Bay to Breakers is in another month. I'm excited! It should be a lot of fun. My plan is to get dressed up and take lots of pictures. Definitely not going to try to run that one fast. After that the real training for the San Francisco Half marathon begins. I'll be adding hill runs to my schedule on a regular basis so I don't freak out at mile 5. I'm still really iffy with running hills; it is time to tackle that fear.