Hard Core

Half marathon 2011 is approaching... and I'd love to get through this one without
• boinking
• walking
• swearing at my knee

We'll start with the third bullet.

Enter Hard Core! Hubby and I joined a gym last December (so we ARE NOT resolutioners, thank you very much!) and a month or so ago met with a trainer for our initial assessment. He recommended one of their classes called Hard Core, which is supposed to strengthen the most important muscles--everything from your knees to your chest, approximately. So far I've gone to three classes. They're tough, but I feel like I get a total body workout. Nothing has translated into my running yet (last time I ran my knee hurt the next day), but its coming. Right?

Last night was class No. 3, and I'm happy to report that I can walk this morning, and other than my shoulders, I'm not sore. Yay! Good thing, because I have my regular Thursday class coming up, which is killer. Its a cardio conditioning class that, after months, still kicks my butt. I love it. The more different classes I take, the more I'm finding I like the athletic conditioning classes far more than the aerobics classes. Why run around (and up and down) on a step when I can get my heart rate up running outside or spinning?

Problem now, however, is the list of almost daily classes I'd like to take. I'm running out of time for running, the reason I started doing classes in the first place. Oops. I don't have to officially start my running training until April 2 so my short-term goal is to up my miles. Time to double up.

On to the second bullet.

I'm not as worried about this one. Last year's walking was due to a combination of the other two problems, so I think as long as I train properly, I should be OK. I am going to run a full 13.1 miles BEFORE the official run this year. Last year the most I did was 10. According to the plan, the energy of the race and determination to finish will see me through the last 5k. Ha ha. Pipe dreams. Running the full thing this year. Lesson learned.

First bullet.

Time to look into supplements. Once my miles start increasing, I'll start trying out different kinds to see what works and what doesn't. Anyone have favorites? Are these things even vegan?