Rethinking my training plan

I know I've said ad nauseam that my training plan is going great and I'm super proud that I've stuck with it for the last 3 weeks. And I am!

However, there was a fantastic article in the latest issue of Runner's World discussing the importance of building a good running base (especially for new runners) and it got me thinking. I'm still more than 4 months out from my 10k, and the earliest I'll be racing a 5k is April. The article recommends that newbie runners get a base of 10 miles a week, with a long run of at least 3 miles (or 30-40% of total weekly mileage), 2 medium runs (20%), and one or two short runs (10%) each week. That is basically what the last 2 weeks have been and it's felt like a really manageable amount of running while still challenging me. I think that for the next month or so I'm going to stick to these numbers; keeping my long runs in the 3 to 4 mile range, moderate runs around 2-2.5 miles, short runs 1-1.5 (aiming for 4-5 runs a week). Then in March I'll ramp up the training so I can properly race a 5k in April and prepare for June's 10k.

I'm honestly thrilled with the fact that I'm in a place where I can even run 10 miles a week! Back in August-September, I was severely missing running and anytime I thought about it, I would promptly burst into tears.

picture a pink cast on his leg and you've got August-September Julie

I have a follow-up appointment with my surgeon tomorrow, and I'm super excited to finally circle a 10 on the "how happy are you with your surgery" survey (note: do not ask patients that question when they are less than a week post-op, you won't like the answer). I'm also looking forward to (hopefully) getting reassurance that my raging ibuprofen addiction won't result in multiple stomach ulcers.

Happy Monday!