Jen's goal!

Your original 12-week fitness goal

Run 5 miles in under 60 minutes

Your new goal if you have changed it

Kept goal the same—it’s challenging for me but, assuming I don’t injure myself, attainable through hard work and training.

Your training plan for accomplishing your goal

I started with running 3 times per week for 30 minutes each time. This week, I will start building one of those runs into a “long run.” So, this week I will do two 30-minute runs and one 33 minute run. Next week I will add a few minutes and so on. According to my plan (oh, yes! I am SUPER “type A”) I will be at the 5-mile mark by the middle of March, which should give me a little wiggle room if I need to slow down or repeat a week. As long as I don’t get slower (currently do an 11-12 minute mile if I’m running 3 miles or longer), I should be okay.

How things are going/progressing. Do you feel like you will make it?

Yesterday I ran outside for about 35 minutes and covered probably 3 miles. There were some hills which were a little rough, but it was a good challenge and my legs felt awesome. I was fitted for new running shoes last week and they’ve really made a difference. At this point, I feel like I am moving forward and am continuing to notice improvement in my endurance and cardio fitness. My weight training and cross training seems to be helping as well. Again, as long as I stay healthy I think I have a good shot at making my goal. Now, I just need to figure out if there a 5-mile race in the Seattle area or if Col and I (she has the same goal) will need to map out our own route.

Ideas?