Training Schedule: Week of June 23

Mon./Weds. I did circuit training for 35 minutes (then stretching, of course!). Tuesday was timed trials night at the track - I did 5K (3 or so miles) in 42 min and 09 sec!! Hey, remember I am a novice runner. I felt really good during the run and never felt like dying or throwing up. I kept with the 3min run/1 min walk. My goal at this point is to maintain 14min miles. I ran 3 miles at Thursday's buddy run (3min run/2min walk). I didn't want to push too hard, because I'm shooting for SIX miles for Saturday's long run. WOO HOO! I DID 6 MILES ON SATURDAY in 1 hour/20 min while running 3 min/walk 1min pace! I felt good throughout but felt my best between the 2 and 4 mile marks. My lung capacity is increasing and my heart is becoming more efficient - I can now run and talk at the same time. At the end, I felt like I could have gone 7 miles. And hey, based on Tuesday's track, my estimated marathon time was 7 hrs 19 min. Based on Saturday's run, my estimated time is only 6 hrs and 34 min!

Training Schedule: Week of June 16

It's been a tough training week - Coach Doug (Olympic athlete 1988, now orthopedic massage therapist) checked out my ankle on Tuesday. Tendon issue. Ran/walked for 3 laps in 10 mins (not bad!). Could only complete half of relay (I did 5 laps!) before tendon soreness started up again. Honoree Doug (different Doug) told his story. His doctor left a message on his answering machine telling him he had cancer. Jeez.

On Wednesday and Thursday, I iced my foot at work. Swam laps for 25 minutes on Wednesday! Per Doug's orders, did nothing but stretch on Friday.

Then Saturday....Calero County Park - started running 8:30am-ish. Here's the lowdown - hilly, hot, dirt trail shared by horses (you know what that means!), and did I mention that it was HOT (96F at 10:30am). We were off the trail by 10am due to a heat imposed health advisory. I did manage nearly 4 miles of run/walk (started at 3min.:1min, but changed to 1:1 because of the heat). After the two mile mark, I walked up and down steep inlcines. Because of the hills and conditions, this 4 miles was the equivalent of 6 flat miles. End of run bagels, watermelon, water, juice provided by TNT captains and mentors (yahoo!). No ankle pain before, during, or after! I think I'm outta the woods. Next week, back to the non-injury regular training schedule.

Buddy Run

Ice couldn't cure the effects of the buddy run last Thursday. Ran/walked mile one, walked mile two with ankle pain. Replaced Saturday's run with swimming. Rest on Sunday. Circuit training on Monday with focus on stairmaster for the cardio piece. Ankle feeling a bit better. Donations are rolling in!

Coach Led Training #1

Running the Trail -- I aimed for 2 miles and did 3 which pushed me to the limit. This was/is a milestone! I alternated one minute walking with one minute running. My calves were sore that night (ice is my friend), but it didn't stop me from walking for 4 hours the next day. My ankle started to feel 3 days after the run - I had only done walking and cross training since then. My new friend - ice packs in "foot cooler" under the desk at work, ice packs at night. I like ice.

Why J9, why?

I'm training with Team in Training while raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (lls.com) for blood cancer research and patient services. GO TEAM! My training will be no where near as rigorous as the fight patients and families go through while they battle their diseases. Visit my site to make a donation!http://pages.teamintraining.org/sj/nikesf08/jpenney