X Factor Running Group

The X Factor Running Group meets on Tuesday and Friday mornings with homework assignments to work on throughout the week. The homework consists of cross-training days of biking or swimming with a run/walk day thrown in the middle of rest days. The group was started to help people that have never run for any length of time prepare for their first 5K race.

When starting the group my biggest obstacle was working out a strategy that would challenge someone while giving them enough rest to stay healthy and not over train. I have found that rest days are probably the most important days in a running program. I started running when I was about 7 years old because my dad was a runner. I would run on my own after school and he would take me to Bachman Lake in Dallas during the summer for a 1 mile race every Wednesday. A little later in life I tried doing distance running in Junior High and I found I really didn’t enjoy running or maybe I didn’t like that someone was making me run. I have always been an active person, but running didn’t do it for me. Fast forward to the military and I found a new love for running, though it was not love at first sight.

When I first joined the Army I was running in what they call “B” group where the average runners go to get pushed a little harder than they would normally run themselves. I did okay at first so I tried running with the “A” group runners and failed miserably. So it was back to “B” for me. When we did Platoon runs I would get so nervous because if you fell out of a run the screaming and extra PT would start. I would work myself up so much before PT in the mornings not wanting to fall out that I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest. That was no way to live. So we got a new platoon Sergeant and we started working on our running by doing different training techniques. Little by little I progressed and by the time I was a team leader I was out front leading my soldiers on all our runs. Now I enjoy running and I wanted to start a group to help people reach their goals with as little mental and physical stress as possible.

When “Sharon” first started with me a little over a month ago running for 3 minutes was a major challenge. The morning starts out with dynamic stretching for about 2 minutes and then a short walk. I have lengthened her running times while shortening the amount of rest each week. After a good base was set up we took one day a week where we run at a fast pace for 20 seconds and then walk for 60 seconds. Occasionally I added a minute to the walking to fully recover and then going back to the 20/60 pace. Today was her most challenging day where we ran for 8 minutes and walked for 3 with a fast paced run for 3 minutes followed by a walking rest period then repeat for 3 miles. On Friday we are going for a mile on/off for about an hour. I will report on Sharon’s progress as we move up to running the whole 3 miles and to finishing a 5 K.

Tags: 5K, distance running, running, running group, X Factor

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 at 10:19 am Both comments and pings are currently closed.