Short Run

Short run today. Didn't get to run this morning (as I mentioned yesterday, I had an early meeting and couldn't quite get up at 4:00 am to get the run in...) However, I'm glad I was able to run this afternoon. Couldn't get out until 5:15 pm though. I'm glad the days are getting longer. It was getting dark towards the end, but at least it started sunny.

It was windy though... medium to high winds. Temp was 28 but windchill was 16. brrrr. I wore my trusty ol' vest though. Man, that makes all the difference in the world. Did 5.02 at 8:37 pace. Not bad. Never warmed up prior to run.. just ran. Not sure that was smart. Ask me again in 3-4 hours.

Tomorrow, I'm trying to figure out how to get a long run in. Not sure if possible though, as I found out I have a meeting somewhere between 1pm and 4pm, the prime time for the long run. Oh well.

HR Run

Did a HR run today (what's that? see post 'A Good Run' on Jan 31, 2008). I ran for 80 minutes and felt pretty good. The first couple miles were a little stiff (probably due to fast run yesterday afternoon), but the middle was great. At 40 minutes, I had to remember to turn around. I could have kept running. However, the last 2-3 miles were a little tiring. Not exactly sure why. My pace was around an 8:59 for the whole distance, so I wasn't running too fast.

Tomorrow I have a meeting at 8:30 am in Reston, so I'm not sure how far I'll be able to run (if at all) in the morning. I may need to run in the afternoon (not having a day job allows for this kind of flexibility you know).

Overall, I'm glad I ran today. Oh, nearly doubled my mileage in a single day!

Two Days, Two Runs, Ten Miles?

Two Days, Two Runs, only 10 miles? geez...

Yesterday I ran 6. Felt stiff for the first 1-2 miles (probably due to the 14 miler last Saturday). However, the last 4 were good. Overall, an 8:33 pace, so I guess I wasn't too slow.

Today I ran 4.75 miles. I didn't run until the afternoon, and I'm not used to that, so I started out a little slow. However, since it had been 1.5 days since I last ran, I didn't take it easy. Mile 3 was 7:57 (wow!) and I ended up with a 8:25 pace. Doesn't mean anything until I run tomorrow though. Hopefully I'll run in the morning and I'm going to try to do an 70 or 80 minute run (pseudo-HR run -- see an earlier post on that).

Today's run was good though as it wasn't too cold (almost springlike!) and it was a little misty (and actually a bit rainy towards the end).

Again, we'll see!

Whew!

What a week. Lots of stuff going on. My Lovely Wife ran 10 miles today, with a pace she was very happy with! That was great!

I ran 14.5 miles, finally breaking the 40 mile/week barrier that I've had for awhile. The run was good, but I never really warmed up. It was 32 degrees, but I had to keep putting my gloves back on, even at the end. I wonder if there was a little moister in the air... Anyway, the first 10 miles were great. The last 4 were... not so great. Another mile and I would have hit the wall.

I only had a GU during the run. I wonder if I need to start carrying fig newtons or some other sort of nutrition on my long runs.

Anyway, what a week. And running was only part of it. But I hit 40 miles! (finally)

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night...

Kinda fitting, on a number of levels... Today was my last day working for a contractor who primary business was for the US Postal Service....

Also, it's kinds snowy and rainy outside (but not hot or dark right now).

The weather kept me from running this morning. At 4:15 am I awoke to freezing rain hitting the house. Schools were closed, the Federal Govt was on liberal leave, and the whole area was in panic mode. I chose to go back to sleep after verifying the weather.

I went to work, came home early, and before settling in to the 'couch of doom', decided to put on my running clothes to do an easy 4. 4.36 to be exact, but no Garmin or watch to verify that. Nice and easy run, no running too fast (a little risk of ice anyway on the road). Ran in my Montrails -- mostly because I wanted to.

Now going to run 1/2 mile with Number 1 Son. All in all, a good day.

16 Fun-Lovin' Degrees!

16 degrees. whew. They said the wind chill was 15 degrees. I don't believe that at all. At least, my forehead doesn't believe it. Once again, it felt frozen 1/2 mile into my run because of the wind that was blowing on it!

8 miles today. Overall, I felt fine. I was a little worried as I did 8 miles yesterday, and today was supposed to be a bit easier. But since I felt really good yesterday, and I had already taken 2 days off, and tomorrow I might not be able to run because of potential snow, I decided to run 8.

The first 5 miles were really good, but then I started to get tired. I averaged an 8:40 overall, so I guess I felt more tired than I actually was.

Tough to get started!

You know, I originally started the blog (and training journal) so that I would have additional motivation to keep up with my training (signing up for marathons wasn't enough, I guess...).

The thing is, no one is reading my blog (not that I blame them) and it's not really helping to motivate me (too much).

That said, I've run 2 days this week (and it's already Wednesday). That means that I need to run Thursday, Friday and Saturday. That, plus there's weather coming in (Artic clipper coming in today, and a 'more complex' system coming in tomorrow night). I'm not sure I'll be able to run (physically) even if I'm mentally ready to run.

complain complain complain....

Today, I ran 8 miles. Felt really good. No time on this one. I put my GPS out to get ready (before me, as it was 23 degrees) and when I went out, I saw that the battery was low. I didn't feel like going back in to get my watch; also, I knew where the 4 mile mark was (roughly). Why need to know exactly how long it took to roughly 8 miles? However, I *did* run (yay!), and it felt good. I *think* it was fast (fast enough anyway).

This brings me up to a whopping 14 miles for the week (boo).

Taste of Spring

52 degrees.

wow.

52 degrees.

felt wonderful. plus dark, misty, and quite humid. kinda like real Spring.

Good run but a little slow. My abductor (adductor? can never remember which is which) is still a little sore from Saturday, so I decided to run 6 at a non-fast pace. My original goal was 8-10 but after walking around the house, it didn't seem a good idea anymore. During the run, my abductor felt okay, but I felt it again after the run. I figure that if I do an actual recovery run (even 2 days after the long run) before doing a long run again, it will prevent my abductor from getting worse (may not heal it though).

quick check online. An adductor (with a D) pulls the muscles closer to your mid-line. An abductor (with a B) pulls the muscles away from your mid-line. So I still don't know what to call the muscle that lifts my leg up from the hip.

End of week

End of week run, this time at Burke Lake. Decided to do 3 laps yesterday, as I couldn't decide where around my neighborhood I wanted to run 14 miles. I've been around the same ol' same ol' routes over and over again and I'm getting a little bored of them. If I decide to drive to a running spot, I've always thought that it had better be a good place, or it ain't worth the drive. This is fine for a running group or a scenic run, or in this case, running on softer ground at Burke Lake. I even wore my new trail shoes!

The first lap was great. Well under an 8:30 pace, probably closer to 8:20. The second lap was also very good, more or less at an 8:20 pace. The third lap... well.. I was beginning to feel a little tired. I stopped and had a GU gel to ensure that I had some energy. Then walked about 30 yards, and then started running again. Due to my fatique plus the short break, my first mile on the 3rd loop was in the 8:50's. I got it down to an average in the 8:40's for the lap, and that got my average pace for 13.83 miles at 8:28. All told, a very good pace -- and well under my goal marathon pace of 9:00.

My new trail shoes are coming along. I almost instantly replaced the shoe laces with Yankz (stretchy replacements for shoe laces) so that my shoes give my feet the right give (without being too loose or tight) and they don't come untied. Plus I used my new gaitors. Add to that a water belt with only two bottles (out of four), my Garmin 301, and needless to say, I was a total geek out there. If I had a bandana around my head it would be a total picture.

The gaitors are great. (gaitors? gaiters?) The last time I ran Burke Lake, I kept getting little rocks in my shoes. Now, I don't. Of course, I need (want) to use my trail shoes so that I can keep grip on the flat, level trail that 99.99% of other runners, walkers, baby strollers don't have any trouble with. Anyway, the shoes are great too. I can't wait to get back out on the Bull Run Regional Park trail.

Two days...

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. It was a doozy... It was 21 degrees, with a stiff wind (windchill was 11). I literally ran 1/2 of the my run with the wind right in my face. I couldn't believe it. My face was NUMB. Started with anticipation to run 6, but ended up running 7. Felt pretty good considering, but pace was a little slow (around 9...).

Today was pretty good. I ran 6 with a pretty good pace (8:50). Not too far as I want to run 12-14 tomorrow.

Pretty boring posts, huh?

Happy Trails!

Sunday, I ran the Bull Run Regional Park -- well.. 5.22 miles of it anyway.

It was my first official trail run! It was slow, I got off the trail not once, but twice, I got overheated and had to take off my middle layer shirt, I never caught my breath going up and down the hills, I had to walk up two hills due to steepness (and walk down coming back) -- in other words -- I Loved It! It was so much fun! I can't wait to do it again.

One rule -- don't start at 3:00 pm. It's getting too late in the day. Also, learn how to read the marks on the trees. I learned (the hard way) that a double mark means a turn in the trail. That's why I got off the trail twice.

New goal -- run the entire length of the trail, from the Bull Run Marina to Mason Neck. I think it's around 30 miles.

Today (Monday), I ran 4.36 miles -- 12 degrees, strong winds. COLD.

Getting back into it

I had big plans to run 12 miles this morning. My original plan was 14 miles, but due to a mid-week slump, I didn't want my long run to be near 50% of my total. My goal is to have my long run be 30% of my total, but even 12 miles would prevent that, but I didn't want to run less. So I did....

I got all ready to run -- I was all excited that a new steverunner.com podcast was out there (finally!) and I got myself all ready, put my water belt on, made sure my phone was in there, made sure my gel was in there, made sure my iPod was clipped on, put on my gloves and hat and was out the door. 1/2 mile later, I realized that the water bottles (all filled) were still on the kitchen counter (no wonder the belt felt light). Oops.

I changed plans -- instead of running 12, I was going to run 6, as that's less than an hour, and I didn't think I should run more than an hour without water (even though it's Winter). Nearing the 3 mile mark, I realized that I was running at a pretty good clip, and wasn't *too* thirsty. So I added a mile.

Total time, about 1:08 -- very good considering my week.

I *hope* to add another 6 miles into today, bringing my grand total to 14 miles today, but I'm not sure that will happen, as weekends are pretty busy at the house. If not, I'll still have 24 miels this week. But I really need to be getting up to 40+, rather than lower than 30....

There's always next week!

Two Runs, Bad Week

I didn't post on Tuesday, after running 4 miles, due to events at work (don't ask). I then proceeded to take two days off of running. I ran again today to get back in the swing of things, 4.44 miles at 8:45 pace. I need to get back to my normal mileage, but probably not this week!

Hopefully, tomorrow's long run will be good.

Tempo

Today I ran a Tempo. I went to bed knowing I was going to do one, I woke up without dreading it, and got through my morning routine without giving it a second thought, and I actually looked forward to it after my 2 mile warmup and was beginning to run hard for 4 miles.

Wow. I didn't think that would happen -- me actually looking forward to a tempo. Well, that's not quite true. I wasn't actually looking forward to it, but I wasn't worried about it either. I guess my body is starting to think that it can run faster. The tempo run is the best way to do that.

Not too much time for posting today... I did a 2x4x2 tempo, 9:02, 8:37, 8:56. I think it's a little slower than my last few tempos, but they weren't as long either.

Good End to the Week

14.05 miles. Not bad. I hit my goal (mostly) for the week, and definitely hit my goal for today's run. I wanted to run 6 days this week, but 5 days this week isn't too bad.

The first 1/2 of today's run was great. I was feeling good. I was feeling good into mile 10, and even into mile 12. However, around mile 11 I was starting to feel tight. The last two miles I was feeling the miles in my body. My pace, however, wasn't too bad overall. I didn't have a negative split, as my second 1/2 was about a minute slower than my first half... but a minute isn't bad when the total was 2 hours. My pace was slightly slower than last week's long run, but last week, the course was much flatter. On the other hand, it was slower still than my long run from 2 weeks ago. We'll see if I stay at 14 for next week, or keep increasing. It would be good to keep it steady to see if my pace improves, but we'll see what the Plan prescribes. I'm reserving one of my free weeks for the National Marathon (1/2 distance) with My Lovely Wife. We are just going to have fun with it... no running for time on that race.