WHAT!!!!!!!

So I set out for another mile repeat workout this morning. I had decided to take it slow but decrease the recovery time from 2 min to 1.5 min, to more closely immolate race conditions.. I had also decided to only run 5 of them and was going for a pace of about 7 flat.

The first half of each mile was in the wind so the second half felt amazing. After the first mile I looked down and my watch read 6:47. It felt really good so I decided to shoot for that pace. The next mile was 6:46. I was starting to loosen up and I was feeling good. The next mile was 6:29. Mile number 4 was 6:29 as well. With one mile to go I decided 5 was not enough. Since it was my seventh straight day of running I decided to celebrate with 7 mile repeats. Mile number 5 was 6:27, number 6 was 6:23, and number 7 was 6:03.

WHAT!! Where did that come from. This not taking a day off is going really well right now. My average pace was 6:29 and it felt really good. Needless to say I have completely gotten my motivation back. The hard part is going to be running easy tomorrow morning. I know I have a sub 3 hour marathon in me, its just a matter of time before it comes out.

Today's Run:
Mile Repeats with 1.5 min recovery
6:47
6:46
6:29
6:29
6:27
6:23
6:03

New milestone

Today was 7.3 miles easy at a little under 8 min pace. It was also my sixth straight day of running. Making it the 3rd time I have run six straight days in the last few months. However, I have yet to run more than six. Tomorrow will be that day, and I still have no plans of taking a day off.

Ups and downs

I feel like I have been up and down a lot lately and am really striving for some consistency. Today was my 5th straight day of running and I have no plans to take a day off anytime soon. There are times when the running is just not going like you think it should and it can become such a mental disappointment. My running means a lot to me, so when it is not going well it is tough to handle. I have spent many commutes back and forth to work pondering my lack of motivation when I know I love to run. Sometimes it just does not make sense. To make it even more confusing, it seems that I struggle with motivation when things are going well, then it is compounded when I take a few days off and then have a couple of bad days to boot. I had about a 10 day struggle that I finally broke through on Saturday. I am too embarrassed to share some of those bad days with you but would be happy to share what broke me through it.

As you may have gathered, my long runs are slated for Saturday's and yesterday was to be a shorter long run at 15 miles. My plan was to run a little under 8 min per mile. My record for a long run was a pace of 7:52. I looked down at my watch after the first mile and it read 8:30. Pretty far off the pace, but I was excited. It seems like most of my disappointing runs start with an over ambitious first mile. Not yesterday, I was taking it easy and it felt easy. I have discovered my body needs to get into a rhythm and I will naturally speed up. It truly is a natural and slow progression. It is not anything I need to plan or work on I just start running faster.

I would not know my pace until 4.5 miles in and was hoping to be close to the 8 min at that point making it 36 min. I came to the marker in about 35:30. I could not believe it I had already made up that first 30 second lag and then some, and felt great. It was not pressured, just fun and easy. The next time I would know my pace would be at 9 miles, so with my mind off of that for now I just enjoyed the run.

1:12 would be 8 min and I came in at around 1:09:30. I was now pacing around 7:43. I decided at this point to start pushing it a little. I would know my mile splits from here on out. I did not make it the entire 15 but stopped short at 14. However it still goes in the books as one of my best distance runs ever. The last 5 miles were as follows. 7:15,7:30,7:05,6:52,7:00. So the final 5 mile pace was 7:08. The pace for the entire run was 7:34 and I was really proud. That pace would deliver a marathon time of 3:18 and I am shooting for under 3:30. I still think I have a chance even after those 10 hard days.

Busy but doing great

I have been really busy and have really neglected my blog. Fortunately I have not neglected my running. Last week got off to a rough start but I ended up running 51.6 miles, and had 5 strait days of really good running. Two of the runs were particular highlights for me. Thursday I ran 6 mile splits averaging 6:43 with 2 minutes of rest between each mile. 6 is the most mile splits I have ever done. Saturday I ran 20 miles making that the longest run of my life. It felt really good and was a lot of fun. I actually looked at my watch 27 minutes into the run and thought it was going to be really tough to make it for 15 miles, fortunately it got easier and I made it for 20.

Today I ran 10 hard miles at a pace of 7:30. Things are going really well right now and I am hoping to keep it up. I also hope to be back on the blog again soon.

Oh and it was 43 degrees this morning...I am loving this warm weather.

Today's Run:
10 Miles
1:14:53
Pace 7:30

Are you kidding?

Well, I just can't seem to catch a break. Tuesday night I started to feel sick. I woke up Wednesday with a sore throat but ran anyway. That took me out for most of the day. I took Thursday and today off, which I am really upset about. I am not struggling with any pain or motivation and I got sick. To top it all off, it is going to be 55 degrees in the morning. That's right. I still don't feel great, but I am hopeful to get out there. I woke up the last two nights at 4am feeling like crap, so hopefully that won't happen tonight. I keep thinking, this is it, nothing else can get in the way of my running. I JUST WANT TO RUN.

I am still here

Well, last week was a tough one. I was dealing with some achilles pain and that led to low motivation. I only ran about 25 miles. This week is off to a much better start. My pain level is way down and I feel like I continue to dodge potential injuries. I must say that I am really tired of running in the cold however. Today it was 11 with a wind chill of -2. It is March and that is just way to cold. I think I would be running much faster if I could actually breath.

I do have one thing I need to get off my chest. As I was struggling to stay motivated I realized that part of the reason was a fear that I was not going to make my goal of sub 3:10. It just does not seem to be coming together fast enough for that. I have lowered my expectations drastically and will shoot for 3:30. It is my first marathon. For this one I just need to finish and have fun. I am already thinking about my second one and perhaps that one can be sub 3:10.

Today's run:
8.3 miles
1:05:08