1/2 Marathon Training Week 3

I can't believe how far I've come in just 3 weeks of training. Yesterday I ran 5 miles without stopping and while it was challenging it actually felt good! I finally made my way to a nearby park, Tilles Park. I am familiar with the park and felt comfortable running there by myself. The park has a loop that is about 2/3 of a mile so while I was still running in a circle it was much more scenic than the high school track. There were some other runners and a few bikers but the park was pretty quiet and with lots of big trees there was plenty of shade so it wasn't too hot. I wasn't sure how I would do with a 5 mile run but my goal was to run the whole way and complete it in an hour. I accomplished both coming in at just under an hour with a time of 57:13. Again, I'm not winning any races but I feel confident that I have found a pace (11-11 1/2 min/mile) that works for me and that I can sustain for long distances. I'm hoping that week by week as I add mileage I can keep my pace approximately the same. I used my Garmin watch again this week and really like it. I figured out how to set it so it will give my splits for each mile and I've been uploading each of my workouts onto my computer so I can compare them. It's a great tool.

I have found throughout training my body has been put under quite a bit of stress. After a run I noticed that my knees would be stiff and my heels would be a little achy. I have been taking Advil and that seems to help. I know I need to stretch more before and after running. A trainer at my gym also recommended taking glucosamine to help with joint stiffness and pain. I bought a bottle at Walgreens and started taking it yesterday. We'll see if it helps. The other weird thing happening was that my left foot was falling asleep during runs and would go completely numb. This was incredibly uncomfortable. I did some research and apparently it's not uncommon in runners. There could be a couple of culprits. One being the obvious - shoes. I loosened my laces close to my toes making sure to still have them secure around my ankle and this seemed to help. One guy also said that when he feels the tingly feeling come on he runs up on his toes for a minute and it goes away. Sure enough this has helped a lot! The motion of going up on your toes stretches your foot and tendons and gets the blood flowing again. Whatever works and keeps me moving!

3 weeks down, 9 to go!