Get with the program already

Its bee a couple weeks since I last posted. My training has increased somewhat since then, but the eating is stayed pretty much the same as has the weight at around 230. The week I just finished was a new PR for weekly distance at 17 miles. 3 4 milers and a 5 miler today, Saturday.
I’m trying to get more specific with a training plan as the idea of running a half marathon gets closer and more real. Its just 17 weeks away and I feel I have a log way to go even though I have made and am making good progress from the couch to 5K program I completed a couple moths back. I’ve been looking at and very loosely basing my training on the Hal Higdon HM training plan for beginners but I started looking around at some other plans this evening. I am also realizing that I need to get serious about treating this like a training program and not just a loose guideline of how many miles I’m going to run each day/week. I need to run on the days I’m supposed to run, rest on those days and cross train on those days. And I really need to get the eating under plan as well. I need to make sure I’m giving my body what it needs to accomplish what I’m asking it to. I think I’m building mental and physical strength with some of these runs. When I feel like quitting at the beginning of a 4 or 5 mile run but finish them all and try to have good paces on runs where I just wanted to stop at the beginning, that shows I’m building up some mental and physical toughness. I also feel like HOW I’m running; the gait I’m using is starting to be a factor. I know this because on a run early this week, my shins were hurting almost before I started running on the warm up walk and each step was a little torture. Although I’d been trying to land more softly on the ball of my foot, at about the 1.75 mile mark, I try to over due it almost landing on my toes and almost immediately the pressure on my shins let up and it made a huge difference in the run. I relaxed and wasn’t tense anticipating the shock on each step. I feel really sloppy on most days when i start and very clunky. It’s like Frankenstein running down the street with those big heavy platform shoes. Only after i have been going for several minutes do I feel like I’m starting to lessen the shock on each step and start to feel a more smooth rythym. I keep replying through my mind some advice I got from my old buddy Matt Condron who is an ultru runner now. Take short steps and feel like I’m trying to push the tread of the treadmill back with my feet. Its a great analogy and reminder. The other thing I was working with the last couple runs was to try and keep my foot on the ground for as little time as possible. As soon as it lands, try to get it back up again. This should help with speed and it seems to take some of the pressure off each landing.
The bottom line is that I am trying to do more each week and the more time I spent out on the road running, the more important in becomes that I’m not going about it in a half assed manner. I need to make plans and stick to them. Avoid doing something stupid because I wasn’t thinking which causes an injury or is counterproductive to my ultimate goal. It’s time to get with the program!