The 7:30 Project

With a mere 6 weeks to the Spring in the Park 10K, it's time to get serious about training if I want to hit my goal of 7:30 min/mile average. Since early March, I'm happy to say that I have resumed my running habit, in spite of the characteristically unsettled weather this time of year. One day, I'm running in Smartwool and thick layers, on trails in the woods to stay out of the biting wind. The next day, I'm in shorts and a tank top, sweating in the sun and humidity. For these running days, all that matters is that I get out and do it. Consistency and frequency are the driving factors. Or, I should say, WERE the driving factors. Because now I have to figure out how to increase my speed. A lot. I've been increasing both my run duration and run workout frequency, so now it's time to bump up the intensity (speed). Here's what my weekly run training goals look like, in very general workout terms: Run Faster Run Longer Run Easy/Aimlessly...

I just returned from a week of riding a bike in the desert. 5 glorious ride days, 225+ miles, almost 15,000 feet of elevation gain. There was no running involved. There simply wasn't enough time. But now I'm back home, and it's time to get back to running. I opted for a shorty short run earlier this week, to ease back into the movement pattern and to begin again. Then yesterday, it was cold and windy and so I opted to run a trail in the woods, to be out of the elements a bit. "Begin again" might as well be my mantra from now on. Anytime I take a deliberate break from any activity, coming back to it feels like I'm starting anew. Especially with running. Unless I'm doing it consistently and frequently, running tends to hurt more than I would like it to. So I either stop running, or keep going. I choose to keep going. Spring in the Park is a little under 2 months from now. Time to get moving! I started supplementing with collagen on my...