5k Race Details and Training Plan

I did it - if you look to the right, you'll see the "Donate" button so my peeps can donate money for my 5km race that I will be doing on May 27. All money raised goes to the local hospital foundation to pay for equipment at the brand-spanking new hospital. I haven't been there but I hear it's fabulous, especially the Labour and Delivery wing.

So here's the deal: I don't really like running. I used to do it all the time - in fact, I used to run every day. Sometimes twice. Then I ended up with a stress fracture in my foot (and likely in my shins, too) and decided to stop. I haven't run with any regularity since then. And then I discovered the LeanGains way of doing things (thanks to Martin Berkhan) and then Primal stuff (thanks to Mark Sisson) and I realized I don't have to run 4 or 5 times a week.

Then what do I do? I go and sign up for a 5km race. A running race. Five kilometres. For you Americans, that's about 3 miles. It doesn't seem like a whole lot until you try to do it. Unless, of course, you're a runner and do that easily. I don't. So I better start training! My last race time was 32:23, and was down the side of Hamilton mountain so it took a bit of time off my 2nd best time, which was 33:05. Of course, I'm eating Paleo now, and a lot more protein and stuff, so my body is actually healthier than it was back in 2004 (ouch, I know) when I last raced. So we'll see.

My friend Emy, who is crazy strong and fast and a great runner, suggested I use the Hal Higdon 5k novice training program. It looks pretty solid and doable for me, so I started tonight with a 1.5mile run/walk. I ran for about 7 minutes straight then upped the speed and realized shortly thereafter that I was going to either vomit or pass out, so I walked for a couple of minutes. Then I ran again for the remainder of the run. It took me around 16 minutes, including a 60 second warm-up where I just walked. That's pretty slow, but not bad considering I haven't done more than 30 second sprints in a LONG time.

To see the plan, go to here.

I'll try to do this training plan around my weight training. To be honest, the race is a one-off thing, unless I become addicted again, so my focus will be on finishing with a semi-decent time for my age instead of beating any records. I don't want to sacrifice strength in the gym just to make myself faster.

Is there anyone local to me who wants to run with me??

Low Volume Training

I've been yearning for a gym membership for a couple months now. I had to get a few things straightened out with my budgeting before I could do so, which sucked. Finally, on Sunday I went to have a tour at a local fitness & racquetball club that just opened in January. I went to make sure they had all the stuff I need and want, like sufficient barbells, weight plates, enough dumbbells, area to work, leg press machine, squat rack, chinup bar, etc. I loved the place - it's so clean, and it's not corporate at all - it's run by the two owners, and the staff are very nice and helpful. Last night I took my void cheque and went to sign up for a 1-year membership.

Now that I'm past that whole "low-carb" performance killer period of time - it lasted about a month - I can focus on getting some good results in the gym. I did a bit of research and decided that Nia Shanks' "Minimum Training For Maximum Results" training program will suit me perfectly. I might add in a couple things as time goes on if I feel I need improvement in certain areas, but yeah - I did Day 1 last night and it took me about half as much time as my at-home workouts have been taking. Which totally rocks, because I don't want to spend 5 hours in the gym every week.

So, you ask, what did I do?

I did deadlifts, shoulder press, chin ups, and farmer walks. Since I haven't been to the gym to lift heavy in well over 5 years, I took it somewhat easy and just focused on form. I wasn't sure about deadlift weight because I've never done them with a barbell, only as 1-legged deads with dumbbells. I will definitely go heavier next time after I get a form check by one of the trainers there.

Another reason I went light on the deads is that I ended up doing some unplanned cardio and stair work yesterday for work - I ended up delivering about 300 flyers to homes in my neighbourhood. Over 150 of those were townhomes, each with 4 steps up to the mailbox. Plus, all the stairs at each of the houses...you get my point. My lower back was killing me by the time I got done and went to work. Today it's fine, though, so I'm happy.

I'm considering going to the gym tonight to do some running on the treadmill to
a) burn some extra fat and
b) start training the 5km run I signed up for - it happens at the end of May and I haven't run farther than 2km in a very, very long time. These days I mostly do sprints or walk to get my cardio. So I have a lot of work to do, methinks.

Pledges raised for the race go to buy equipment for the new local hospital. If any of my friends want to donate, I can take money by cheque, PayPal, cash, or email money transfer. Please leave a message with your contact details so I can get in touch with you. I might set up a little widget in the sidebar to make it easy to donate through paypal - is that best?