Solid 5 Miles

The humidity was down to 90% and the temp was way down to 49 this morning. I set out to run 5 miles easy. Well, as I typically do I started to speed up, it was feeling way too good this morning. I just love running in the cool air, I had my tights on (love running in tights) and it was just working. I don't know my exact mile times but they were about 7:20, 7:12, 7:04, 7:02, 6:04. As you can tell by the last mile time I had a lot left at the end. I think I could have run close to my 5 mile PR this morning, but I was happy with a 34:42.

I want to say thank you so much to those of you who leave comments about my posts, I love reading them and they help keep me going.

5 Miles
34:42
6:57 Pace

Another Long Run...Successful

Yesterday I set out to run 15 miles as a part of ramping up my weekly long run for the marathon. Today marks 7 weeks until the big day so I really don't have a lot of time left. It was in the low 60's but the humidity was about 100%. I have discovered that high humidity is harder for me to run in than heat. I was not 3 miles into the run when thoughts of quiting started to enter my head. I had weighed myself before I left and then again upon my return to discover that I lost 4 lbs during the run. I took water along and drank all 20 oz. My clothes have never been so wet. My shorts were completely soaked and I felt like I was running in a pair of swimming trunks.

Instead of focusing on miles I decided to go until I hit 2:07:30, or 15 miles, if I were running at a 8:30 pace. Well, I made it. I think I might have actually run a little slower then 8:30 but I was out in the humidity and I endured. That was the first time I had run over 2 hours without stopping since the marathon in May. Next week will be 17 miles. I think I will run for 2:27:30, hopefully that is over 17.

Ramping up

I am in a very slow progression of adding to my long run. Caution has become my new matto, and I want to make sure I do everything I can to stay healthy this time. Today, I was hoping for 13. I had not measured the route before hand and ended up only running 12.54. It was in the upper 50's when I started and it was amazing. Since route plans had not been made I just set out to see what happened. I am surrounded by a lot of pretty big hills and I wanted a pretty flat run. A wrong turn early in the run meant that I ran 4 big hills and a number of smaller ones. A couple of the big hills have an extremely steep grade, I am not sure but I would say between 4% to 6%. So the hills alone made it a very good workout. It was very relaxed the entire time. There was never a time when I thought I needed to stop or even considered it. The first 8 or 9 miles must have been pretty slow because I ran the last 3 or 4 pretty fast and still only averaged 8:22. Overall I fell very good about the workout. Next weekend will be 15 miles.

12.54 miles
1:44:05
8:22 pace

Active Recovery Run

Today was another active recovery run. It is amazing how much more fresh you can feel the next day after a truly easy run. I ran just over 6 miles at about a 8:30 pace. With just over 8 weeks to go until the marathon I am far from where I would like to be but am trying not to think about that too much. I am definitely not running pain free but it is not bad enough to hold me back either. I am trying to run smart and am hoping to peak at just the right time. I am still very confident that I will smash my last marathon time and that is what I really want to do. Something I am definitely realizing with distance running is that the longer you do it the easier it gets. It is amazing how easy it is for me to just go out and run 6 to 10 miles now, even if I have not been logging a lot of miles each week. I think I have several more years of continuing to get better and I am trying to focus on that.

Why I Love Running

This week I have been on vacation. Tiffany and I went away for a couple of nights and the rest of the time we have just been staying at home with the kids doing lots of fun stuff. We have been having so much fun that I have not been running because I don't want to miss out.

Last night Tiffany got tired at 10:00 and said she had to go on to bed. I decided it was an opportunity to get a run in. So I laced up and set out for a run, having no idea what kind of mileage or time I was shooting for. After running about 1/2 mile, I knew I was going to run my 9 mile out and back. I was feeling really good after the first mile that clocked about 7:45. I began to pick up the pace a little and was feeling great. Just after 2 miles there is a big hill that I just seemed to float up. If you can get into a good rhythm going up a hill then when you get to the top it feels so easy. I reached the halfway point in 33:15, or just under a 7:30 pace. I knew at this point that I would be breaking my 9 mile record of 1:07:30. I did not really push it, but just ran what was comfortable. That made it more enjoyable, but I am pretty sure I could have put the hammer down and shaved some more time. My final time was 1:05:12, or about 7:15 pace. I think that is the fastest pace I have run anything over about 6 miles. It is so much fun to run at a pace like that, especially when it is that easy. I have no idea where that run came from, but I am not questioning it for now.

Heeding Your Advice

I have had several people suggest that I slow down my easy and long runs. It is very true that I tend to only have one speed and because of that I don't get the most out of all my runs. I am sure that has also played a part in some of my injuries. So today I set out for 10 miles and decided to take it easy. I started out with about an 8:45 mile. Despite feeling like I needed to speed up several times, I stayed pretty close to that pace and ran at an average of 8:30. I must admit that I felt like I should be going faster and it is hard for me mentally to run that slow when I know I can run faster. I just have to realize that in the long run it is not about today's workout it is about the my overall fitness and peaking for the marathon.