arguchik | Running Update

Today, thanks to a friend who posted this on her blog, I learned about Runner's World's "First Steps" program. II like it much better than the CoolRunning Couch-to-5k plan because it's a lot more streamlined, and it has you do a workout 4 times per week instead of 3, which is also better IMO; or at least it has always worked out better for me, to run 4 or 5 days per week. Also, it has you running longer intervals sooner, more consistently. The CR plan throws in one longer interval per week, starting at week 5, but I feel like that's a bit too soon because the plan hasn't really trained your body to withstand that yet. The RW plan takes more time to get there, but I feel like it will build a better foundation first. Running far and well is all about having a good base.

So this week I'm going to switch, and I'll also add a day of running (probably on Saturday).

Today's run was wonderful, BTW. It felt smooth and even. Best of all, I could actually feel it doing its "thing" on my psyche, building my patience and reminding me how to let anxiety roll off. This is a hard thing for me, and running certainly isn't a panacea, but it is the best thing I've tried.