The White Rock Diaries (Week 1 of 5)

One of the great things about maintaining a blog like this is that you can use it as a motivational tool for yourself. I have come up with a training plan for the Dallas White Rock marathon, and by posting my planned workouts on my blog as well as on the fridge (and updating the post throughout the week), it makes me very visibly accountable.

And I am counting on you, dear reader, to give me some grief if I start slacking.

Since White Rock is the first weekend in December, my training plan started on November 1st (yesterday) and will run for 5 weeks. It will probably then transition into a plan for the Rocky Raccoon 100 in February.

So here we go - week one of the "White Rock Diaries".

Date	Monday November 1st
Plan	am - Nothing pm - Bob Harper's Inside Out Strength workout (1 hour)
Outcome	Well, it would look really bad if I missed a workout on the first day of the plan, wouldn't it. Nancy and I did this together after everyone went to bed. It makes it much easier when someone else is suffering alongside you :-) I celebrated my dedication by diving into our stash of leftover Halloween candy while catching up on "Top Chef".  I was rooting for Angelo.  He lost.

Date	Tuesday November 2nd
Plan	am - 10 miles pm - Bob Harper's Inside Out cardio workout (1 hour)
Outcome	am - It rained overnight.  I was woken by torrential rain and thunder around midnight - but it had stopped by the time my alarm went off at 4am. It was cloudy and the footing was surprisingly slippery, but I had a fantastic run. The temperature was 55F. I ran 10 miles in 1:16:27 (7:39 pace), and felt like I was cruising. pm - oh yes, this was the workout with all the kettlebell swings and squats.  Tomorrow's run should be interesting :-)  Waited until everyone went to bed, then ground my way through it fuelled by a handful of Candy Corn.  Recovered afterwards with cold rice pudding and caught up on Survivor.

Date	Wednesday November 3rd
Plan	am - 8 miles pm - Bicycle trainer (30 minutes)
Outcome	am - another 4am alarm call.  Woke again this morning to the sound of the rain, which left me humming the old Eurythmics song as I ran.  It was cool (55F) and wet - great running weather.  Expected to be a little sore after all the squats and swings from last night's workout, but I felt really good.  Another fantastic run - I did 8 relaxed miles in 1:01:05 (7:38 pace). It feels good to be putting together a series of these pacy runs, and I celebrated afterward with some breakfast tacos.  If I don't have a good run in Dallas, it won't be for lack of effort!!! pm - did my 30 minutes on the bike trainer while watching "American Greed".  Great show to pass the time but I'm really not a good cyclist :-)

Date	Thursday November 4th
Plan	am - 6 miles pm - Bob Harper's Workout 1 (30 minutes)
Outcome	am - decided to skip the easy 6 miler this morning and opted for a few hours extra sleep instead - my reward for a few excellent runs.  Three 4am wakeup calls in a row were a bit much this week, but I'll make up for it by hitting tonight's workout that much harder. pm -Ah yes, the Bob Workout 1.  30 minutes of non-stop workout and home of my nemesis, the Turkish get-ups. I alway enjoy this one.  Nice way to finish out the week.

Date	Friday November 5th
Plan	am - Nothing pm - Nothing
Outcome	Day off from working out (as it's Guy Fawkes night) - hooray!!!