Get your mind out of the gutter!!! I was too lazy to get up this morning and I have plans after work tonight so I went home at lunch and ran my 4 recovery miles on the treadmill. I ran at 6.5 mph or a 9:13 pace.
My ankle is feeling better and better but I can still tell I did something to it. I'm trying to save a little for the week-end as I have to cover 25 miles on Saturday and Sunday.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
I'm not ready for this
As I was getting ready for my run last night, I laid out my tights, gloves, short sleeve shirt, and a long sleeve shirt. I am definately ready for the cold weather. It seems like we went straight from Summer to Winter.
I met Scott at 0555 at the Y for our 8 mile long run. When I got out of my car the temp read 29 degrees. We set out on the usual 8 mile course. I was holding back just a bit because I wasn't sure how my ankle was going to hold up. After the initial shock of the pounding on the road, it started feeling really good. We were running at a pretty good pace. After we stopped for some water at the fountains, we headed down Wiggins for 3 miles of hills. It was tough getting started as my ankle/foot tightened up fast but quickly loosened again.
After a quick stop for water, we headed for the finish. As the sun was rising, both Scott and I could feel the temp dropping and the frost was starting to appear. As we were running down Scarrett, I asked if we had slowed the pace. Scott laughed and said that we had picked up the pace since we crossed MacArthur. That's my mistake. For some reason I get this burst of energy toward the end of the run. Where was that at the Allerton Trail Race???
We finished with 8 miles under our belts on a chilly morning. Our time was around 1:09. I bet if I look at the laps, we were pretty close to on pace or slightly negative splits.
Great run Scott!!! I think we are well on our way. The next 5 weeks are going to be crucial ( 17, 18, 12, 19, 20 milers) for me so I am going to be relying on your expertise. I'll have my gels ready and plenty of fluids.
I met Scott at 0555 at the Y for our 8 mile long run. When I got out of my car the temp read 29 degrees. We set out on the usual 8 mile course. I was holding back just a bit because I wasn't sure how my ankle was going to hold up. After the initial shock of the pounding on the road, it started feeling really good. We were running at a pretty good pace. After we stopped for some water at the fountains, we headed down Wiggins for 3 miles of hills. It was tough getting started as my ankle/foot tightened up fast but quickly loosened again.
After a quick stop for water, we headed for the finish. As the sun was rising, both Scott and I could feel the temp dropping and the frost was starting to appear. As we were running down Scarrett, I asked if we had slowed the pace. Scott laughed and said that we had picked up the pace since we crossed MacArthur. That's my mistake. For some reason I get this burst of energy toward the end of the run. Where was that at the Allerton Trail Race???
We finished with 8 miles under our belts on a chilly morning. Our time was around 1:09. I bet if I look at the laps, we were pretty close to on pace or slightly negative splits.
Great run Scott!!! I think we are well on our way. The next 5 weeks are going to be crucial ( 17, 18, 12, 19, 20 milers) for me so I am going to be relying on your expertise. I'll have my gels ready and plenty of fluids.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Allerton Park 5.5 mile Trail Run
On Sunday, I ran the Allerton Park 5.5 mile Trail run. It had rained quite heavily a few days prior to the race so I wasn't exactly sure what I was getting into. I met my dad and one of his friends @ 0715 and we headed over to Monticello. We arrived at about 0815 with plenty of time to get our numbers, shirts, stretch, and a quick warm-up. The weather was a little chilly at start time (0900) but I knew I would be fine after a half mile. With my marathon training going so well, I was a little scared about the ground conditions. I didn't want to compromise my training by rolling an ankle or something like that.
The race starts by the visitor center (high ground). About .25 miles into the race, you head down a hill toward the river flats. The course was extremely muddy on the flats. I knew I was in for a long, wet, and muddy run when at about mile .5, there was a little creek that you had to go through with both feet. The rain the previous days had caused some minor flooding. It stayed pretty flat with some slight hills until the big one. I guess it was a .5 mile pretty steep up hill to the Sun god statue. After a brief round-about, we headed back down the hill with a quick left at the bottom. This next section is where we encountered most of the hills that was taking us back to the upper ground to the finish line and this is where I encountered my worst fear. Somewhere between mile 4 and 5 I rolled my ankle... BAD. I had rolled it earlier in the race but nothing too crazy. Initially, it hurt but that quickly went away and all felt ok until I got home. After 3 sets of stairs (about 8 each) and a little run through the Chinese Garden, we had about .5 miles left. You hit the meadow and in front of you are 2 steep uphills. I got passed by 3 people on this section of the course.
I crossed the finish line in 41.58.6 (7:38 pace). I finished 30th overall, 5th in my age group. No quite what I had expected time wise but I'll chalk this race up to experience. I will definately do this and other trail runs, just not while I'm in marathon training.
So I got home, unpacked my bags, cleaned my shoes and talked to Kristi about what the plan for the afternoon was. After much discussion, we decided to run some errands and head to the grocery store. While she was getting ready, I stretched for a bit. This is when I noticed my ankle beginning to throb. I thought, "Scott is going to kill me if I injured myself and would need to miss some running". I thought that maybe it was a little pain that would go away but it never did. I was having a harder and harder time walking on it. I took a shower, got ready, and out the door we went. After a while of not being able to walk on it at all, I had Kristi take me home. I immediately hopped into bed, grabbed the frozen veggie bag out of the freezer and started icing it. I was really bummed. I didn't want to miss any of my upcoming training runs.
So after ice, a wrap, and sleeping with it elevated, I woke feeling great. It was a little tender but I think I can manage my run for Tuesday. I wrapped it before I came to work for extra stability and when I get home, I may just hop in my chair and ice it again.
The race starts by the visitor center (high ground). About .25 miles into the race, you head down a hill toward the river flats. The course was extremely muddy on the flats. I knew I was in for a long, wet, and muddy run when at about mile .5, there was a little creek that you had to go through with both feet. The rain the previous days had caused some minor flooding. It stayed pretty flat with some slight hills until the big one. I guess it was a .5 mile pretty steep up hill to the Sun god statue. After a brief round-about, we headed back down the hill with a quick left at the bottom. This next section is where we encountered most of the hills that was taking us back to the upper ground to the finish line and this is where I encountered my worst fear. Somewhere between mile 4 and 5 I rolled my ankle... BAD. I had rolled it earlier in the race but nothing too crazy. Initially, it hurt but that quickly went away and all felt ok until I got home. After 3 sets of stairs (about 8 each) and a little run through the Chinese Garden, we had about .5 miles left. You hit the meadow and in front of you are 2 steep uphills. I got passed by 3 people on this section of the course.
I crossed the finish line in 41.58.6 (7:38 pace). I finished 30th overall, 5th in my age group. No quite what I had expected time wise but I'll chalk this race up to experience. I will definately do this and other trail runs, just not while I'm in marathon training.
So I got home, unpacked my bags, cleaned my shoes and talked to Kristi about what the plan for the afternoon was. After much discussion, we decided to run some errands and head to the grocery store. While she was getting ready, I stretched for a bit. This is when I noticed my ankle beginning to throb. I thought, "Scott is going to kill me if I injured myself and would need to miss some running". I thought that maybe it was a little pain that would go away but it never did. I was having a harder and harder time walking on it. I took a shower, got ready, and out the door we went. After a while of not being able to walk on it at all, I had Kristi take me home. I immediately hopped into bed, grabbed the frozen veggie bag out of the freezer and started icing it. I was really bummed. I didn't want to miss any of my upcoming training runs.
So after ice, a wrap, and sleeping with it elevated, I woke feeling great. It was a little tender but I think I can manage my run for Tuesday. I wrapped it before I came to work for extra stability and when I get home, I may just hop in my chair and ice it again.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Tempo Training
Up until about 6 month ago, I didn't include any temp training into my weekly mileage. I thought that if I just did 400's or 800's that it would be good enough. Boy was I wrong. When I started adding tempo training, my times really went down. It is definately a harder workout but if you want to run fast, you have to train fast. From what I have gathered, my tempo run should be a little slower than my 10K pace for marathon training. My last 10K was run at 7:00 pace so my tempo runs are going to be a 7:13 pace.
Tempo runs can be accomplished n a number of different way. I have chosen to do a steady state tempo run where I keep the same pace for a longer period of time.
Last night I was to run 4.5 miles at tempo pace. I listened to an episode of "This American Life" podcast while running. This seemed to make the time go by faster on the treadmill. I started with a nice slow .5 mile warm up and finished with the same cool down. I totaled 5.5 miles. I don't recall the time but I felt really good after the run.
Tempo runs can be accomplished n a number of different way. I have chosen to do a steady state tempo run where I keep the same pace for a longer period of time.
Last night I was to run 4.5 miles at tempo pace. I listened to an episode of "This American Life" podcast while running. This seemed to make the time go by faster on the treadmill. I started with a nice slow .5 mile warm up and finished with the same cool down. I totaled 5.5 miles. I don't recall the time but I felt really good after the run.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Recovery Run
Last night was recovery night. I headed for the treadmill for my 3 mile EASY run. I set the pace at 9:13 and was off. After the run, I hit the weights for a quick set and did 2 sets of my core work. Nothing crazy to report.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
What was I thinking...
That was the question I was asking myself at 0355 when my alarm went off. Kristi and I are taking her mom to dinner tonight for her birthday so I needed to get my run in this morning. Because I have my kids, I needed to be home around 0530.
I headed out the door at 0420 for an 8 mile run. It was real dark, real foggy, and real quiet. Kind of an erie feeling when Halloween is right around the corner. I ran through the streets of Chatham. I might of encountered a half dozen cars along my route. I hadn't researched an 8 mile route so I was winging it. I finished in 1:10 and hit my driveway right at 8 miles.
Last night I did my normal Monday after work routine. Weights, bike, and core.
I headed out the door at 0420 for an 8 mile run. It was real dark, real foggy, and real quiet. Kind of an erie feeling when Halloween is right around the corner. I ran through the streets of Chatham. I might of encountered a half dozen cars along my route. I hadn't researched an 8 mile route so I was winging it. I finished in 1:10 and hit my driveway right at 8 miles.
Last night I did my normal Monday after work routine. Weights, bike, and core.
Monday, October 20, 2008
What a week-end!
The week-end started at 0500 on Saturday morning. I was to meet Scott, Chris, and Mike at the Y for our 16 miler. I was feeling a little nervous because this was going to be my longest run... EVER. I fueled up with some coffee and toast with Jelly, stretched a bit and was off to the Y. All week I tried to make sure I fueled correctly so I wouldn't crash.
Our plan to run the "Big Loop" (13 miles) and incorporate the "Art Run" (3 miles). It was a bit chilly when we started but I warmed up after the first couple miles. The run went real well for me. I felt pretty strong most of the run... Hungry but strong. I took 2 gels, 1 at around mile 7 or 8 and 1 at mile 12. Those helped with the hunger for a bit. I was feeling a little "weird" around mile 16 but we only had .5 miles to go. We finished in a time of roughly 2:30 averaging 9:08 pace. I was stoked at the conclusion of the run and am looking forward to that feeling after our 18 miler in 3 weeks.
On Sunday, I slept in a bit until 0830. I made some coffee, had some toast, and read the paper till 1000. I set out for a 7 miler. It was not scheduled to be a pace run. I ran the first 3.5 miles at around 9:30 pace but finished averaging 8:43 and feeling strong.
For the week-end, I totaled 23.5 miles and ended up with 39.5 miles for the week. This week is a cut-back week and I will be cutting back a lot. I have the Allerton Trail 5.5 mile race scheduled for Sunday so I am going to rest Friday and Saturday which means no real long run this week-end.
Our plan to run the "Big Loop" (13 miles) and incorporate the "Art Run" (3 miles). It was a bit chilly when we started but I warmed up after the first couple miles. The run went real well for me. I felt pretty strong most of the run... Hungry but strong. I took 2 gels, 1 at around mile 7 or 8 and 1 at mile 12. Those helped with the hunger for a bit. I was feeling a little "weird" around mile 16 but we only had .5 miles to go. We finished in a time of roughly 2:30 averaging 9:08 pace. I was stoked at the conclusion of the run and am looking forward to that feeling after our 18 miler in 3 weeks.
On Sunday, I slept in a bit until 0830. I made some coffee, had some toast, and read the paper till 1000. I set out for a 7 miler. It was not scheduled to be a pace run. I ran the first 3.5 miles at around 9:30 pace but finished averaging 8:43 and feeling strong.
For the week-end, I totaled 23.5 miles and ended up with 39.5 miles for the week. This week is a cut-back week and I will be cutting back a lot. I have the Allerton Trail 5.5 mile race scheduled for Sunday so I am going to rest Friday and Saturday which means no real long run this week-end.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Speed Day
Yesterday was a speed day and the plan was do 5 x 800 woth a 400 recovery. I had zero motivation for some reason so it was chore just to hop on the treadmill.
I started with a 1 mile warm-up. After the 1st lap, I was feeling pretty good and was getting psyched for the 800's. The plan for the 800's was to run them at a 3:20 pace and if I needed to, lower the speed to how I felt. I ended up running all 5 at 3:20 and finished up with a .5 mile cool down for a total of 5 miles. Not bad considering how I initially felt.
Friday will be a rest day in preparation for my first ever 16 miler. Wish me luck!!!
I started with a 1 mile warm-up. After the 1st lap, I was feeling pretty good and was getting psyched for the 800's. The plan for the 800's was to run them at a 3:20 pace and if I needed to, lower the speed to how I felt. I ended up running all 5 at 3:20 and finished up with a .5 mile cool down for a total of 5 miles. Not bad considering how I initially felt.
Friday will be a rest day in preparation for my first ever 16 miler. Wish me luck!!!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
An easy 3
Nothing crazy this morning as I woke at 0530 to get 3 easy miles in. We have plans after work tonight so I thought I better get it in because who knows what is going to happen.
I hopped on the treadmill at 0540 and set the speed at 6 MPH (10:00 pace).
I'm glad I kicked myself out of bed this morning after hitting snooze twice. Although slow, the recovery runs I have found to be very beneficial.
I hopped on the treadmill at 0540 and set the speed at 6 MPH (10:00 pace).
I'm glad I kicked myself out of bed this morning after hitting snooze twice. Although slow, the recovery runs I have found to be very beneficial.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
A Hilly 8
Today, we increased our mid week long run to 8 miles. I believe that is mileage for the next 3 weeks. As the distance gets longer, our start times will be earlier. The plan was to meet at the Y at 0555. I was early (0545) and I was walking up to do some stretching and wait for Scott, he appeared from out of the Y. Scott did some light stretching and we were off... early.
I came up with the run for today and it is one of my favorites. The middle 3 miles are hills, hills, and more hills. Nothing crazy but you do get kind of tired of them. We headed to the park from the Y. After a half loop, we caught Wiggins and ran the "Art Course" (hills). The Art Course is about a 3 mile loop from the picnic shelter at Washington Park. You head out Wiggins, cross Outer Park, run around the neighborhood, take Outer Park to Illini to Leland to Wiggins and back into the park. It is a GREAT run and will definately build strength.
We totalled 8 miles for the morning pushing about an 8:20 pace. After we finished, Scott ran off the splits and we were almost negative with the exception of 2 of the miles and those were only off by a couple seconds.
Last night was cross training where I completed 45 minutes on the recumbent bike, 2 sets of my weights routine, and some stomach work.
I came up with the run for today and it is one of my favorites. The middle 3 miles are hills, hills, and more hills. Nothing crazy but you do get kind of tired of them. We headed to the park from the Y. After a half loop, we caught Wiggins and ran the "Art Course" (hills). The Art Course is about a 3 mile loop from the picnic shelter at Washington Park. You head out Wiggins, cross Outer Park, run around the neighborhood, take Outer Park to Illini to Leland to Wiggins and back into the park. It is a GREAT run and will definately build strength.
We totalled 8 miles for the morning pushing about an 8:20 pace. After we finished, Scott ran off the splits and we were almost negative with the exception of 2 of the miles and those were only off by a couple seconds.
Last night was cross training where I completed 45 minutes on the recumbent bike, 2 sets of my weights routine, and some stomach work.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Koke Mill Trail
I headed out about 1030 to the Koke Mill Trail for what I thought would be an easy 6 miles. Boy was I wrong. This was my first attempt at running a trail but it won't be my last. It was really cool. It's about a single file trail that winds and weaves with plenty of ups and downs. It was not an easy run for me after coming off of 14 miles the previous day.
I am planning on running Allerton Park Trail race so I wanted to get a feel for trail running. I think there are a few general rules you should know before attempting to run any trail for the first time.
1. You have to balance the looking up and looking down.
2. You have to be decisive when approaching 2 paths.
3. If you can, run 1 lap clockwise and the next counter clockwise
4. Wear a hat
5. Be extremely careful. This a lot of debris that can cause some major damage if you're not careful.
I was a little uneasy on the first lap because I wasn't sure what to expect, where the trail went, if my shoes had enough traction, etc. After lap one, I kind of got into a groove. I had a good idea of how the course ran so I sped up a bit. After lap two, I headed to the water fountain just up from the entrance to quench my thirst. I headed back in for 2 more laps and finished up with a sprint from the entrance to the far end parking lot.
I had plans of running 5 laps but it was extremely warm running under the cover of the trees so after 4 laps and a total distance of 5.75 miles, I called it quits. My legged were completely drained.
I will definately run this trail again.
I am planning on running Allerton Park Trail race so I wanted to get a feel for trail running. I think there are a few general rules you should know before attempting to run any trail for the first time.
1. You have to balance the looking up and looking down.
2. You have to be decisive when approaching 2 paths.
3. If you can, run 1 lap clockwise and the next counter clockwise
4. Wear a hat
5. Be extremely careful. This a lot of debris that can cause some major damage if you're not careful.
I was a little uneasy on the first lap because I wasn't sure what to expect, where the trail went, if my shoes had enough traction, etc. After lap one, I kind of got into a groove. I had a good idea of how the course ran so I sped up a bit. After lap two, I headed to the water fountain just up from the entrance to quench my thirst. I headed back in for 2 more laps and finished up with a sprint from the entrance to the far end parking lot.
I had plans of running 5 laps but it was extremely warm running under the cover of the trees so after 4 laps and a total distance of 5.75 miles, I called it quits. My legged were completely drained.
I will definately run this trail again.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Lincoln Memorial Half...and 1
The alarm went off at 0415 and after 1 snooze, I rolled out of bed. I fixed a small breakfats consisting of oatmeal, a banana, and a cup of coffee. The plan for our 14 mile long run today was to meet at the Y and run the Lincoln Memorial Half Marathon course with an extra mile.
We were joined on our run today by one of Scott's friends, Chris. He is typically much faster than us but Scott told him we were going to be running at around a 9:15 and he was ok with that.
It was a WONDERFUL morning for a run. The weather was perfect. Maybe that's why the run seemed to go as fast and as well as it did. This was my 2nd time running the Lincoln Memorial course. It is a challenging course but VERY nice.
We finished the run averaging a pace of 9:05...just about where we wanted to be at. We ran the last 4 miles somewhere between 8:45-9:00. It is always nice to finish a run strong like that.
We were joined on our run today by one of Scott's friends, Chris. He is typically much faster than us but Scott told him we were going to be running at around a 9:15 and he was ok with that.
It was a WONDERFUL morning for a run. The weather was perfect. Maybe that's why the run seemed to go as fast and as well as it did. This was my 2nd time running the Lincoln Memorial course. It is a challenging course but VERY nice.
We finished the run averaging a pace of 9:05...just about where we wanted to be at. We ran the last 4 miles somewhere between 8:45-9:00. It is always nice to finish a run strong like that.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Good Bye 7
Last night after work I drove to Lincoln Park for my last 7 miler. Next week, the mid-week Tuesday run increases to 8 miles.
I arrived at Lincoln Park @ 1730 to a temp of 65 with a nice breeze. What a GREAT night for running. If the weather sounds good, my run was even better. I wanted to get some hills into my run so I decided to run Abe's Amble course and add a little extra for a total of 7. I started at Nelson Center and headed to the cemetary. The leaves are starting to change and the cementary was beautiful. I must have gotten lost in the moment because I looked at my Garmin at mile 2 and it said I was averaging 8:00 miles. I felt AWESOME!!! I did slow down a bit the next couple (8:15 -8:22 pace) before picking it back up the last 3. It was funny as I approached the fairgrounds. I'm so used to seeing it during fair season, that it felt kind of wierd running with nothing around. I finished the run up in Lincoln Park by going down the hill to the lagoon and back up the big hill. My last mile was 7:42. I felt like I could have ran forever but then quickly thought I should save it for our 14 miler this week-end.
I ended the run with 7 miles at a pace of 8:06 and 7 hills.
I arrived at Lincoln Park @ 1730 to a temp of 65 with a nice breeze. What a GREAT night for running. If the weather sounds good, my run was even better. I wanted to get some hills into my run so I decided to run Abe's Amble course and add a little extra for a total of 7. I started at Nelson Center and headed to the cemetary. The leaves are starting to change and the cementary was beautiful. I must have gotten lost in the moment because I looked at my Garmin at mile 2 and it said I was averaging 8:00 miles. I felt AWESOME!!! I did slow down a bit the next couple (8:15 -8:22 pace) before picking it back up the last 3. It was funny as I approached the fairgrounds. I'm so used to seeing it during fair season, that it felt kind of wierd running with nothing around. I finished the run up in Lincoln Park by going down the hill to the lagoon and back up the big hill. My last mile was 7:42. I felt like I could have ran forever but then quickly thought I should save it for our 14 miler this week-end.
I ended the run with 7 miles at a pace of 8:06 and 7 hills.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Decisions, Decisions
I was scheduled for a 7 miler after work but as I walked out the door from work it was raining. Not hard...yet. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do. Would I brave the elements and try to run outside or do I hop on the treadmill and do either a tempo, interval, or hill work-out. The rain was only supposed to last 1 day so I would get my 7 miler in on Thursday.
As I entered my subdivision, 2 women were dressed in there raini attire running outside (You go girls!!!). THIS was not going to make my decision any easier. If they were braving the elements, then I could too. After much thought, I didn't want to risk getting sick by running outside so now I was left to decide on which work-out I was going to do on the treadmill.
I resorted to a tempo run. I started with a .5 mile warm-up, 4 miles at tempo pace (7:13 pace), and a .5 mile cool down. My average over the 5 miles was 7:48/ mile.
I'm glad I decided to stay in and do some speed work. I have a race scheduled for October 26th that I need to get ready for.
As I entered my subdivision, 2 women were dressed in there raini attire running outside (You go girls!!!). THIS was not going to make my decision any easier. If they were braving the elements, then I could too. After much thought, I didn't want to risk getting sick by running outside so now I was left to decide on which work-out I was going to do on the treadmill.
I resorted to a tempo run. I started with a .5 mile warm-up, 4 miles at tempo pace (7:13 pace), and a .5 mile cool down. My average over the 5 miles was 7:48/ mile.
I'm glad I decided to stay in and do some speed work. I have a race scheduled for October 26th that I need to get ready for.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Cross Train Mondays
Mondays are becoming monotonous. After dinner, I did some stretching and headed to the recumbent bike for 45 minutes of cross training. While riding, I listened to an episode of This American Life podcast. This is a great podcast. They have a title and then the stories relate to the title. The title of the one I was listening to was "Something for Nothing" and it was probably the best I have listened to.
I hit the weights after biking. I did a couple of sets of 20 reps each, worked the core a bit, and hit the sack.
Tonight I have a 7 miler to do after work. I didn't sleep well last night so tonight might be a pretty easy run.
I hit the weights after biking. I did a couple of sets of 20 reps each, worked the core a bit, and hit the sack.
Tonight I have a 7 miler to do after work. I didn't sleep well last night so tonight might be a pretty easy run.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
End of Week 3
Today I concluded week 3 with a 6 mile run. I was feeling really good considering yesterday Scott and I ran 8 miles for our LSD for the week. It was our first cut-back week which means our long miles were dropped back a bit.
Scott met me for a run around Chatham. We totalled a little over 8 miles in 1:12. Our pace was probably a little faster than our typical long run pace but I think we were both feeling pretty good.
For my 6 miles today, I averaged an 8:36 pace in 51:41 running the last mile at a faster pace to work on my finishing. I know that probably sounds a bit faster than I should be running but I have decided to run the Allerton Park 5.5 mile trail run in 3 weeks. I know my competetive side will show up and I want this to be a quality race for me.
The next couple of week, our long runs will be 14 and 16 and this is where we need to watch our pace a little more closely.
As of today, I'm still feeling pretty good and am taking each day in stride (no pun intended) and trying not to look too far in advance.
Scott met me for a run around Chatham. We totalled a little over 8 miles in 1:12. Our pace was probably a little faster than our typical long run pace but I think we were both feeling pretty good.
For my 6 miles today, I averaged an 8:36 pace in 51:41 running the last mile at a faster pace to work on my finishing. I know that probably sounds a bit faster than I should be running but I have decided to run the Allerton Park 5.5 mile trail run in 3 weeks. I know my competetive side will show up and I want this to be a quality race for me.
The next couple of week, our long runs will be 14 and 16 and this is where we need to watch our pace a little more closely.
As of today, I'm still feeling pretty good and am taking each day in stride (no pun intended) and trying not to look too far in advance.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Same routine (almost)... Different day
I headed to the treadmill again last night for some running and the Brewers/ Phillies game but it wasn't for an easy run. I was scheduled for a speed workout of 4 x 800's. I wasn't quite sure what pace I was going to run them so I thought I would start at a higher pace and work down if needed. My speed work in the Summer had me at a 6:18 pace for my 400's. After a mile warmup, I set the pace at 6:40 (3:20 800's) and I was off. The first one always kills me but the pace was spot on. I didn't start feeling them until I was on my last 800. I completed the workout with a .75 mile cooldown and that gave me a total of 4.5 miles for the evening.
All-in-all this workout felt REALLY good.
All-in-all this workout felt REALLY good.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Running and Baseball
Does it get any better than that on a chilly early October evening... Running and the MLB Playoffs. Although my team (Cardinals) are not in the playoffs, I will be watching as many games as possible.
I passed on running 3 miles outside last night to run on the treadmill. I turned on the Cubs/ Dodgers game, set the pace to 9:13, and I was off. The Cubs went up early 2-0 but that was short lived. The final score... Dodgers 7 and the Cubs 2. I hope (for my girlfriend's sake) that the Cubs pull through this and end the 100 year drought. She is a die hard fan and definately bleeds blue. They have an excellent team (although I wouldn't admit that to her) and I think this is a great chance for them to win it all.
I had promised Addison, our Black Lab, that I would take her for some exercise as well after my run and I didn't let her down. We did about a 30 minute walk and called it a night.
I passed on running 3 miles outside last night to run on the treadmill. I turned on the Cubs/ Dodgers game, set the pace to 9:13, and I was off. The Cubs went up early 2-0 but that was short lived. The final score... Dodgers 7 and the Cubs 2. I hope (for my girlfriend's sake) that the Cubs pull through this and end the 100 year drought. She is a die hard fan and definately bleeds blue. They have an excellent team (although I wouldn't admit that to her) and I think this is a great chance for them to win it all.
I had promised Addison, our Black Lab, that I would take her for some exercise as well after my run and I didn't let her down. We did about a 30 minute walk and called it a night.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
