The first two days of the new training program are in the books. Day one was 1,000 meter intervals at a target race pace. Day two was a light run of 30 to 45 minutes or cross training.

According to the program, you are supposed to run at a target race pace four to six times, or until you miss the target pace. With the heat, I missed the target pace after two intervals. Still, it was a good chance to get out there and get things started in the right direction.

In addition to the intervals, I also did five sets of push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups. This is my commitment to doing more than running. The goal is to work on upper body strength and general endurance. The selection of the exercise comes from the Navy Seal Fitness Challenge that I did in 2008. I will do a post on this later. Doing these exercises helped get me in the best shape of my life, so I think they will be a good addition to the running. I still need to make sure that I devote enough time to stretching.

The second day was a long, slow distance easy run of 30 to 45 minutes. I used the run to literally run an errand to the store. When I got back I did some cross training with chin-ups (to shake up the pull up routine), a balance board, an agility ladder, and a foam roller. I will do posts on all these different training aids in the future. While changing things up is part of the reason to use all these toys, there are real training advantages to them. So, it my goal is not just gear for gear’s sake.

We’ll see how long it takes to develop new habits and make progress.