Earlier in the week, I said that I would be working towards getting ready for the new Disneyland Half Marathon/Disney World Marathon training regimen with runs coming on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. However, due to excitement over registering for the my first full marathon, planning a trip to Disney World, and some major head congestion, I only got a few hours of sleep on Monday night. So, I was very tired by the time I arrived home on Tuesday evening. How tired? Well, I’m not someone who goes to bed early and on Tuesday, I was in bed around 9pm (normally, I’m in bed between 10:30 and 11pm).

By Wednesday morning, I was feeling much better and had the choice of going to the gym or taking my first outdoor training run of the year. I chose the latter because I was excited about trying out my new running shoes. Also, after finishing the Angels 5K, I knew that my outdoor running needed a lot of improvement. So, out I went with the goal of running a 3/1 run/walk ratio for 6 sets.

I really want to say that I made that goal. However, I didn’t. What I did accomplish was 2 sets at this run/walk ratio. Half way through the third run set, the huffing and puffing got to me and I quit. I didn’t quit the overall training. I quit that run portion after around a minute and a half. That’s when I got back to playing games with the running. Now, I did try the fourth run set. However, that lasted just about as long. That’s when I hit the worst part of city running…the dreaded stop lights.

Due to these unpleasant things, I do plan on taking the longer runs to the beach where I can run on pathways that have no intersections. Anyways, I made it over 12 minutes before hitting my first red light and that seemed to be the thing that got me off track. I did continue running as much as I could and finished a 2.83 mile loop in 34 minuets, 16 seconds for a 12 minute 7 seconds per mile average. Considering that it was my first outdoor training run of the year, I’ll take the small victory in average mile time and decide to work on making my run/walk ratios for an entire run. Since I did complete 2 full sets, my goal for Saturday will be 4 sets. Then, next Tuesday the goal will be 6.

I didn’t take any pictures of this training. However, one place that always perks me up when I pass on this training loop is the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

Recognize it? If you’re an American Idol fan, you will probably recognize it as one of the places that they have used for their “Hollywood Week” round in the past. I get to this wonderful building around the completion of mile 2.

As I mentioned earlier, I wanted to run this evening because it gave me the opportunity to properly break in my new shoes. I did enjoy the new running shoes very much. They gave me exactly what I needed from them. Additionally, there were portions of this run that I absolutely loved and enjoyed being outside again. Overall, it wasn’t a bad run at all. While I did suffer from some huffing and puffing, everything else felt pretty good.

Do any of you train in the city? What do you like/dislike about city training?