Tip #1:Hal Higdon, my hero

My first advice to anyone who is wants to take their recreational jogging to the next level is sign up for a race, tell everyone about it, and find a training plan.

You might think that you aren't ready for a race-what happens if you come in last?  But believe me, you are ready and you WON'T come in last (well, technically, I suppose it is a possibility, but I have faith in you).  

For me, it is equally (if not more) important to tell everyone that you are doing said race.  Why? Pride, my friends.  Pride is a powerful thing, and when it is cold outside, or raining, or you would rather be at happy hour, pride is sometimes the one thing that will actually get you outside for that run.  You don't want to look like a pansy when someone asks how the race went and you have to tell them you were drinking gin and tonics and just couldn't commit to training.  

Or if pride isn't enough to get you motivated, money surely will.  When I was doubting my ability to complete the Olympic Triathlon I had signed up for in December I remembered the $150 nonrefundable dollars and realized that if I dropped out I would a. look like a pansy and b. have wasted $150.

Along with telling everyone you are racing, you need to find a training plan.  This is the easiest, most foolproof way to hold yourself accountable and make sure you'll be able to cross the finish line.  Without a plan you might be able to convince yourself that you really don't need to start training for that half marathon until six weeks before the race (when you can't even run 2 miles right now).  Without a plan you might be able to convince yourself that 4 miles is an acceptable long run and 2 times a week is sufficient to complete a marathon.  For me, my training plan helps me figure out if I can really commit to training for the race and gives me a guideline so I know what my weekly workouts should look like.

What training plan should you use?  So glad you asked.  There is only one name you need to remember in the world of training plans...Hal Higdon.  Hal Higdon is a famous runner/marathoner and has a website dedicated to helping people of all fitness levels compete in races.  The best things about his training plans are: 1.  Room for flexibility 2.  Free

His site breaks down plans by distance of race, and offers plans for the novice, intermediate, advanced, and even walkers.  Right now I am gearing up for a half marathon in Napa, California and am using his "Novice Half-Marathon" plan. I've used this plan multiple times for half marathons, and used his marathon plan as well.  For this race, I'm picking up the plan in week 9 because of triathlon training.  However, I'm glad to have the plan to focus my last few weeks of training.

Some things to note if you choose to use Hal's plans....it doesn't really matter what day you do the runs as long as those distances are covered in a week.  Now, perhaps Hal would argue with me, but for people who are trying to FINISH the race, and not necessarily WIN, I think that rule applies.  Life happens and you don't want to stop training because you can never fit in the Wednesday runs (when you could easily fit them in on Monday).  My other piece of advice is don't stress of the "stretch and strengthen" section.  I would usually just take 3 days of rest per week (4 days of working out is just fine with me, thank you).  I don't think I was any worse for the wear.  Just make sure you are stretching after your runs.

So that is it.  Tip #1--Sign up for a race, TELL everyone, and then get a training plan (preferably Hal's).  What are you waiting for....go....sign up....right now!  And be sure to tell me about it :) 

An Origin Tale-How one nonathlete got off her ass and went out for a run

Let me start off by saying-I am not athletic by nature.  My foray into running and triathlons happened by accident (though, how someone wakes up one day and accidentally decides to run a marathon is beyond me).  In fact, if you had the pleasure of knowing me in elementary, middle, or high school, you’d probably be pretty surprised by my fairly recent transformation into runner/triathlete (I’m just beginning to call myself a “runner”, and also feel like I’m telling a little white lie when I do). 

I had the typical “nonathlete” childhood.  I sat indoors for hours and read the Babysitter Club books over and over again.  I was picked last in gym class, tried (unsuccessfully) to twist my ankle before the mile-run day, and ate more than my share of Hostess food products.  Basically, I was your average book-loving, art-making, overweight child.  I wasn’t lazy, perse, I tried to play all of your typical team sports-soccer, basketball, softball—it was just very apparent to me early on that I wasn’t very good, and since I don’t like to do things I am not naturally good at I never lasted in any sport too long.  By the time I reached high school I had found my niche in music and theatre, and left the ball playing to others.   

What did happen, however, was I befriended a group of girls my sophomore year of high school who WERE naturally athletic, and all ran on our school’s cross-country team.  They convinced me to do “pre-season” cross country the summer before my junior year, which consisted of me waking up at 5:30 in the morning (I lived in Arizona, and if you didn’t start running then, you’d melt) and going for an hour run with the team.  When I told my parents I was doing this they looked at me with a raised eyebrow and said I wouldn’t’ last the summer.  Nothing like your parents telling you that you can’t do something to get a non-athlete’s ass into gear.  I may not be athletic, but I’m stubborn, competitive, and tenacious (all traits that really do help with this sport).  So I dragged my butt out of bed every morning and went for a run.  At the beginning of the summer I couldn’t run 15 minutes without stopping…by the end of the summer, I was running 50 minutes. 

I wish I could tell you that it was that simple.  That I began on the cross country team that year, became a star athlete blowing people’s 5k times out of the water…In reality, I got in the school play and stopped running, except for the occasional jog around the block.  However, running never stayed too far from my mind. I was not blessed with skinny genes…so I continued to run so that I could eat (because I was definitely born with the eating gene), and hopefully still fit into my skinny jeans.  In college my roommate and I decided to run a half marathon (I don’t remember whose idea this was-I doubt it could have been mine!) and so began my transformation from non-athlete into self-made athlete. 

Over the years I have had periods where I have trained and raced a lot, and then there have been periods of time when I’ve done nothing.  I’ve learned some basics along the way, and while I’m no expert, feel I might have some pearls of wisdom to share with other non-athletes like myself.  I have noticed as of late, that many people, particularly females my age, are starting to get into racing. That was the impetus for this site.  I hope for this blog to be a collection of tales of my own running/racing history, like the one above, but also bits of advice and tips that I have garnered along the way.  Hopefully it will motivate people to get outdoors and start running—or train for your first triathlon.  Believe me, if I could turn myself into an “athlete”—anyone can!