I’ve been running with the Karna Fitness half marathon training group since the fall of 2010 (for the Women’s Running HM) & we just started up again for the Spring 2012 half marathon season!
This year we’re “officially” training for the Sarasota Half Marathon again.
I’ll also be running the Disney Princess Half Marathon a couple weeks before SRQ so I’m using the training program to train for both races. (A few of the other ladies in the group are running Disney as well.)
We started up 2 weeks ago now, but I haven’t had a chance to sit down and blog about it yet – this is the most hectic time of year for me at work & extra hours in the office means less time for blogging. However, I’m currently sitting on an airplane on my way to Las Vegas for the big convention I’ve been prepping for at work.
Things are a little different for me during this Karna training session – I’m an assistant coach! I’m basically a regular (fee paying) member of the group, but will help with teaching the new runners about fueling and hydration as our distances increase and I’ll also lead the group run whenever Kristen (the head coach/founder of Karna Fitness) isn’t there.
I’m super excited about being an assistant coach – and a little nervous too…even though I’ve already run with most of the women in the group…
Believe it or not, I’ve even committed to participating in the Thursday morning track workouts this time around.
Now why is that announcement worthy of a “believe it or not” introduction? Because we meet at 5:45am…at a track…that is 40+ minutes from my house!
Um, yeah…that means I have to get up at at least 4:45am to get out of the house in time to get to the workout! I’m SO not a morning worker-outer, but I know it’ll be worth it.
The hardest part about the uber early meeting time is that I have a less-than 12-hour turn around after 6pm spin on Wednesday evening. I pretty much have just enough time to shower, eat dinner, pack my lunch for the next day, lay out my running gear & pack my gym bag with shower stuff & work clothes for Thursday.
Our workouts are fairly low-key as far as track workouts go. We don’t aim for a specific pace & don’t run perfect distances – instead we focus on perceived exertion and use “markers” for determining our distances. This week’s workout looks like this:
- Power walk – 2 laps, warm-up
- Jog on the straight away, walk on the curves – 4 laps
- Jog 1/2 lap, sprint 1/4 lap, walk 1/4 lap – 4 laps
- Jog 1/2 lap, sprint 1/4 lap, jog 1/2 lap – 2 laps (uneven distances means 2nd lap ends with shorter jog)
- Jog 1 lap
- Walk 1 lap, cool down
In the end I walked away with 3.75 miles for the day (I was running in one of the middle lanes) and my quads were burning by the time I finished my last jogging lap – I can’t remember the last time I sprinted!
I’m hoping the track workouts will pay off – either by resulting in faster miles or stronger legs! Either one would be fine with me…ok…who am I kidding…I’d prefer BOTH!
WHAT ABOUT YOU: Do you ever do track workouts? Are they intense and regimented based on distance and pace? Or do you rely on perceived exertion and estimated distances?
Wowee that’s early! I admire your dedication to no end. And congrats on being an assistant coach! I know you’ll motivate your teammates to reach their goals and do their best
Thanks Alyse! Hopefully my dedication doesn’t wane too much during the upcoming 12 weeks – that early wake-up call took its toll on me! I’ll get used to it eventually though, right?
Yay for being a coach!!! That’s fantastic!
I’m going to try to add track workouts to my schedule. I really want to get faster.
I’m very excited about being a coach – hopefully Kristen will be happy with how I do & I’ll be able to coach future training sessions too!
I’ve never been able to convince myself to do track workouts on my own – so I’m really glad this group does them!
Theresa, it has been wonderful meeting you and getting to know you!! I look forward to going through the training program with you!! There is a great group of women training… and so glad you have provided us with our own personal body guard and token male for the eary AM track runs! Your husband is a real sport!! So glad you are asst coach… you are doing GREAT!!
Loved reading your blog.
Haha – yes, Ryan is a good sport! I should also thank him for coming to the track because he helps get me out of the house in time!
Fantastic target races! That sounds like a decent track workout too. I don’t get out to the track, well, ever. But I do plenty of interval work on the treadmill instead.
I’ve only done interval work on the treadmill once – I should definitely keep that in mind after this training session ends…because lord knows I probably won’t go to the track on my own!
Congrats on becoming a coach for your program! That’s so exciting!
I like track work a lot. It’s hard but it’s actually my most social running time. Though I don’t think I’d be able to do it with that kind of driving. You’re dedicated!!
We all chat SO much less during our track workouts than during our long runs on Saturdays. Partially because it’s so early & we’re half asleep – but also because the speed makes it harder to talk and run!
Woohoo!!! You are going to rock as an asst. coach. What a team of Kristen and Theresa! BTW — I just signed up for the Princess Half. I think I might be crazy…
Thanks Kerri! And you’re not crazy at all – Princess will be SO fun! I’m crossing my fingers for your knee to keep itself in line!