Monday, November 30, 2009

Warrior Dash training begins!

I took Rex out Saturday for his first training session, and it was my first run in forever. What we did to ease him into it but still push him to his limits was run for 3 minutes, walk for 2; wash and repeat for 25 minutes (5 sets) with a 5 minute walking cool down. Let me say that I'm very proud of him for giving his all for this run. We ran around our neighborhood, which has some hills that make it harder for beginners. His new running shoes have been working out well too. I'm hoping to get him some more running gear to wear so he can have some variety and more comfort. Here are some things we discovered about his running and fitness levels:

- Exercise-induced asthma! His asthma appears during the run, while mine appears after the run. Either way it sucks, but at least he knows that it's common and is greatly reduced as he gets more active.

- Heartburn sucks! Some runners get heartburn while running, and Rex is no exception. He thinks he ate too much prior to the run, so next time he'll try eating less.

- Walk breaks are a life saver. It was so much easier for him to focus on 3 minute blocks rather than being intimidated by 25 minutes of running. I didn't let him keep track of the time either. I was the coach, so I kept track.

- Stretching is so important. The front of his thighs were super tight and sore the next day, but he was a trooper about it all and knows that he has to run during the week or else his weekends with me will always end in pain.

It was actually a lot of fun helping someone else run rather than focusing so much on myself. I also feel more motivated to keep up with my training so I can keep pushing him. Running at a slower pace than what I'm used to is hard, so keeping up with my training will help me keep up with his. We have so many friends joining us for this race that I want to make sure we kick some butt LOL!!

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