Week 1 of Training for Shamrock

In 14 weeks I will be at the starting line for my 1st big race of the year, the Shamrock half marathon. This past week was my first week of training.  Before we take a look at how my training went, I want to tell about some things that will be different with this cycle. First since I want to drop some weight for the upcoming season, I will be posting my weight every week for you to see how I am doing. I am hoping that is will keep my accountable since I am putting it out there for everyone to see. So with that being said lets jump into the training.

Weight in: 185 lbs - I am hoping to drop 15 lbs before the Pittsburgh half. I believe with less weight I will really drop some time.

This week started out very slow and I had to miss my runs Monday and Tuesday due to my gout. I was in pain and running on my feet would of just caused more pain. Even though this was the first week it killed me to not be out running. With the 3 halfs in a 3 month span I really want to get in some good miles and use each race to drop time.

Wednesday: 4.5 miles on the treadmill. When I run on a  treadmill it is very hard for me to just jump in and start at my normal pace, so I like to start out slow and gradually increase the speed as I go. At the end of the run I was still able to finish with  a 8:30 mile pace.

Thursday: 3.5 miles on the treadmill. Like the day before I started slower and built up speed. I did go faster than the previous day though and made sure to pick up the pace quicker, I finished the run with a 8 minute pace.

Friday: 2 miles of hill workout followed by 30 minutes of circuit training on the machines at the gym. The hill workout was really good and I was surprised to see how good I felt for not running hills in a while.

Saturday: The weather was almost spring like with high's in the 60's. I got up early did some cleaning around the house and headed out for a 10 mile slow run. For not really doing a long run since my last half I was really pleased to see how good my legs held up. I didn't get any pains in my hips like I normally do when I go for long runs. My pace was just over 9 minutes and for my first long run I can see tons of room for improvement over the next few months.  After my long run I headed down to a local bar for a fundraiser for Children's Hospital. It was a great time and I got to see so many people I hadn't seen in a while.

Sunday: Today I am taking a rest day because I am starting to get a cold. Hopefully it doesn't stick around to much and tomorrow maybe I will be able to sweat it out at the gym.

I know I am starting a bit early for a half marathon training cycle but I am really hoping to cut some time and some weight. If you were too run a half how many weeks out do you start your training cycle?