Making a Fitness Comeback

Last year was full of milestones for fitness and me. I trained for and ran my first marathon. I participated in the Ragnar Relay, where our team of 12 ran from Wisconsin to Minnesota over the course of 30 some hours.

And then I stopped. No running, no nothing.

I needed a break, so I took one. And then I got used to it, and, gosh, leisure was pretty awesome. But feeling loose in my skin is less awesome, as is the inevitable fatigue and general inertia that comes with an extended bout of laziness. So with the encouragement of my significant other, I've signed up for a May 2 half marathon and am back on the training bandwagon.

Holy cow. Starting from scratch is hard. It's also amazing how much energy I have after only a few weeks. Turns out that actually moving your body is a very effective way to inspire you to do it more. When I was on the bus this afternoon and saw a group of runners sprinting up an icy St. Paul hill, I actually felt envy.

Looking forward into 2010, I want to be very intentional about the sort of training I do. If 2009 was about proving to myself that I could do it, this year is going to be about balance. I want to respect my limits, incorporate more strength training, and figure out how to eat well and be active at the same time. Last year it was either nutrition or exercising regularly -- rarely both at the same time. (It's amazing the amount of Ben & Jerry's you can justify when you've just run 20 miles.)

Above is the half marathon training plan that I'm working with. In the name of balance, each week ends up looking a little different, but the core stays the same. An interval workout, hill repeats and the weekend long run are constants; strength training, yoga, easy runs and other cross training fill in around those three running workouts.

You can download the plan (Half Marathon Training Plan.pdf) if you're interested. It includes a glossary of the terms used, which I'll also list below.

Glossary

LSD: Long, slow distance. Run at an easy, conversational pace. Take a one-minute walk break for every 10 minutes of running (10-in-1s).

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT): An intense form of interval training that involves running 30 second or 1 minute intervals at an almost all-out pace, with a recovery period in between each interval. Learn more in this great article. Because of the strenuous nature of this workout, do no more than once a week and take a rest or cross-training day afterward.

Other speed work: 400m or 800m repeats (also called Yassos) with equal recovery time in between. Pace yourself so that you can make it through all of your intervals. This means you're running fast, but not all-out like with HIIT.

Hill repeats: Start with four or five and build the number each week. Run at a 5k pace up the hill (not an all out sprint, but quickly) and jog down the hill. Rest at the bottom until heart rate falls, then do next repeat.

Fartlek ("speed play"): During regular training runs, mix it up by adding short periods where you run a bit faster (e.g., from light pole to light pole).

XT: Cross-training days are a good time to cycle, do yoga or other non-running fitness activities, and strength train. Easy run days (like Wednesday) can also include strength training, but don't over do it on the lower body work.

Tempo: Run at a faster pace than a normal training run, but not quite at race pace. Hold tempo for about a mile at a time, then take one minute walking as recovery.

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So that's what I'll be up to for the next few months. You can follow my training here and on DailyMile.

Are you training for anything? How do you come back strong after an extended off period?

(Photo by jvchuy.)