I was supposed to be running with friends, but this time of year seems to exacerbate flakey behaviour so, rather than risk not getting started on what currently seems like a gargantuan task because people decide they want to ride, swim, watch mountain bikers or drink beer instead, I'm going to stay on home ground and run the Long Circular Savannah route, alone with my sweet, energising music.
The funny thing is, I'd never wanted to run a half marathon...it was one of the last things I thought I'd ever want to do...right down there with a full marathon and an Ironman (needless to say they are still lurking down there in the improbable section...). However, in going to support some friends at the UWI half marathon I suddenly changed my mind. It was almost a eureka moment, I saw a man with a disability causing his legs to be bent in towards each other completing that race, strong and proud and all of a sudden couldn't think of any possible reason for not doing it myself. I'd never liked the idea of running up the Priority Bus Route as it's probably about the least scenic place you could run in Trinidad. I also am conscious that excessive pounding on hard surfaces never did anyone's joints any favours....but hey, it's just one little event, and as I've procrastinated thus far it's only seven weeks of training before I can cut my running back down and return to building speed joint-friendly sea swimming instead.
There are several training plans floating about, some specifically for triathletes....but as ever I seem to be developing my own version as I go along. This may be the reason I don't achieve phenomenal results...but I guess there's a part of me that doesn't want to take it too seriously as there are always so very many other things going on in my life at the same time, clawing legitimately at my attention. Also I'm just getting into riding so I definitely don't want that to fall back in any form or fashion. On analysis though, these plans all seem to say something similar: do at least two runs a week: one long building distance each week and one shorter but harder run with either hills or pace. Then there seems to be a lot of emphasis on the arduous bane of my life: strength training.
So my plan is as follows. First, to do one long run a week, building up to the 21k that is a half marathon and is also double what I've ever run before (gulp). Secondly, I will do the shorter hilly run each week...the Fartleks and sprints drive me nuts. Next will be to continue building aerobic fitness without the impact by riding my bike twice a week, and I may even add some mountain biking in there if I am to fulfil a promise to myself to fight the fear and get back on the damn contraption before the year is out (sigh). In addition to all this is the specialised strength training I've been putting off for some time. I will commit to ten sessions of the inevitable torture, then see where I am after that. I'd also really like yoga to be part of the regime too, but time is looking pretty eaten up right now. Then, lastly, I can't stop swimming altogether...so a weekly seabath would be a lovely addition.
This may seem ambitious to some, and trust me I'm one of them...especially with Christmas and the advent of carnival fetes just around the corner. And I may not manage all that every week. The saving grace is the knowledge that I could run this half marathon tomorrow and not drop dead...so any training I do is just augmenting the process and getting me closer to my not particularly fast target time of two hours fifteen minutes.
So now time to hydrate a little more, lay out the gear, and get some sleep.
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