The 7:30 Project

So in the meantime, I'm climbing the walls...   I was all-in at the beginning of this second week of running training.  After going to the gym on Monday morning, which is my typical gym day, I met my friend Tanya for a short run at a local park. It was cold but sunny and it felt good to get out and run! My goal was simply to run a bit farther than I did previously, stretching my mileage from 3 to about 3.5 miles. And my speed seems to be coming back, too. I ran the additional 1/2 mile but it took me only about 3 minutes longer than my previous 3-mile run. So, I'm running at a training pace of around 8:30-8:40. I'll take it! The next day it was back to cycling training, since I'm preparing for a quickly-approaching week of cycling in the desert, and that desert has long miles and big climbs and I want to be ready.  But then something a bit unusual happened. During my weekly Stelleri group ride on Zwift on Wednesday night, I had some knee pain that came from out of nowher...

You gotta have the hair thing... Re-starting a running habit isn't that hard, I guess - but as I've only run twice this week I may be premature in labeling this a 'habit'. But I'm determined to pursue my goal of running a 10K at a 7:30 min/mile average, so I'll keep going. Those of you who know me also know that I'm an endurance coach with Stelleri Performance Training . I work with Masters women athletes who want to be competitive runners, cyclists, and multisport athletes. I also coach myself, so I have the ability to design my own running training program in an intelligent progression. By 'intelligent' I mean without hurting myself. So far, I've learned a few things about myself as a runner: My current go-to training pace is around a 9:00 min/mile. I have enough aerobic endurance to run at a steady pace for about 3 or 4 miles before it starts to feel like work.  My right hamstring might have something to say about running again. I need a new p...

How to begin this journey back to claiming a 7:30 minute per mile running speed (ideally, for a 10K average - but I'll take a 5K average as a starting point)? First, I need to start running again on a regular basis. Then I'll need to increase both the duration of my running workouts, followed by increasing speed. These won't be approached simultaneously, at least not at first. Once I can run at a steady clip for an hour*, I'll work on increasing my aerobic capacity by pushing the pace up incrementally over that hour. *What's my rationale for setting a goal of an hour? If I'm to run a 10K at a 7:30 min/mile, I should finish in under 47 minutes. So I need to at least train my body to run that fast for 47 minutes. Extending the time out further - in my case, to one hour of running - ensures that I have enough training adaptation to cover more than I need.  Here's the tentative plan: 1. Start running consistently 2 to 3 times per week. The goal is simply adaptat...

 Inspiration can come from the most unexpected places. A text I received this morning from my friend and fellow Stelleri athlete Barb T proved to be a powerful inspiration that resulted in almost immediate action. First, let's talk about Barb.  Barb is not only an accomplished and experienced triathlete and runner. She's a fierce competitor and she's downright scary when she's at the top of her game. Even after a significant setback (resulting in surgery and a long healing process) sidelined her for quite a while at the end of 2023, she was determined to get back in the game as soon as possible, and not just "to finish". This gal is in it to win it - whether it's the World Championship triathlon or a local running race.  She texted me to tell me that she took 2nd place in her age group (AG) in a Groundhog Day 5K yesterday.  The course, according to Barb, was sketchy, which comes as no surprise for those who have lived through many Ohio winters. Barb ran a ...