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.

Back to Back

Yesterday and today were back to back all around bad runs. Yesterday it was raining pretty hard and I set out to run between 6 to 10 miles. After just over 4 miles I stopped. I was running slower then I have been and did not understand why it felt so hard. I did start back up again and run 4 more miles after about 8 minutes of walking but it still just felt like a bad workout. Today was no better. I set out to run just 6 miles and after about 3.5 I stopped. Again, I was running slowly and it just seemed so labored. After walking for a few minutes I ran about another 1/2 mile. The humidity when I got back was 98% so I am hoping it had something to do with the bad run. It just seems like there are days when I am in horrible shape and others when I could run forever. Perhaps the most puzzling is that I have been running far better after being on my bike for 20 to 30 miles. Tomorrow I think I am going to ride my bike to work again. I think it will be good to have a day off of running. Hopefully my next day back running will be better.

I am so excited

Well, I just registered for a fall marathon. The Columbus marathon in Columbus, OH. I am really excited that I am healthy again and back on track to run another marathon. I am very confident that I will do far better then the last. I am trying to have very realistic expectations and will be happy with anything under 3:45. I have mapped out a new training schedule and it is much less grueling than what I was trying to do before I became injured. It also involves some cross training/cycling.

Riding Blind

If you read my post yesterday then you know that I missed my long ride/run because of the weather. I could not bear the thought of missing it for the entire week so I decided to squeeze it in today. Saturday is my long day because I don't work and there is no church. In order to get in the long effort today I knew it meant an early start. Church starts at 9:00 and we live about 15 minutes away. I also wanted to be back in time to eat something, shower, and help Tiffany with the kids.

With the bad weather out of the way the next obstacle would be the morning darkness. The sun does not rise until 6:30, and I set the alarm for 5:00. Running in the dark is not a problem but I was planning to ride first. Fortunately I live right next to a 73 mile bike trail. Therefore, I only have to worry about being able to see and don't have to worry about people being able to see me. I have a head lamp my dad got me for one of our hiking trips and decided to attach it to my bike with some zip ties. I took it for a spin and it worked perfectly.

At 5:00 I awoke and set the snooze for 5:14. At 5:14 I got up and went downstairs where everything was ready for me. I ate a bagel, chugged some water, and got dressed. By 5:25 I was on the road. One thing I had not planned for was thick fog. As I turned onto the bike trail I realized I could only see a few feet in front of me. The trail is straight and flat so it really was not much concern just extremely creepy. It is through the middle of the woods so it was really dark and there were plenty of rabbit and deer that I stirred up along the way. After being on the bike for about 45 minutes it slowly started to become light.

I rode my bike for 1:36:00, and covered just over 30 miles. Then I parked at my house and transitioned for about 2 minutes. Would have been faster but Tiffany and the kids saw me and came out to talk for a second. About 3/4 mile into the run both of my sides started hurting and I was beginning to think I would have to stop. Immediately I thought to myself, "you did not get up at 5:14 to only run 3/4 of a mile, pull it together." That is exactly what I did. I focused on my breathing and was quickly running very comfortably. I ended up running 7.3 miles at a pace of 7:39.

I also included a picture of my new tri shorts because I am excited about them. They were much more comfortable than running shorts while riding the bike and I really like the compression aspect of them while running.

Today's workout
Ride 30 Miles
1:36:00
18.8 MPH

Run 7.3 Miles
55:53
7:39 Pace

Rain Rain Go Away

I awoke this morning at 6:00 ready for a 3 hour brick. I purchased some new tri shorts and was really excited to try them out. I went down to the basement to change and heard a loud sound that sounded like thunder. I had looked at the hour by hour forecast before going to bed and it did not call for rain until the afternoon, so I just figured I was crazy. Arriving back on the ground level of our house I heard it again, this time there was no mistaking it. I went quickly to the front door, swung it open and found the beginnings of a rain storm on display. Still unwilling to except what my eyes had just seen I turned to a more reliable source, the internet. Sure enough 90% chance of rain. (perhaps about 10% low). The hour by hour showed thunder storms all day. I don't mind running in the rain, but I am not brave enough to bike in the rain yet. However, today is not just rain, there has been plenty of lightning. So my once a week opportunity to get a really long brink in has been dashed. Guess I will wait until next week.

Feeling Great

This morning I set out to run 9 miles. The 9 mile route I ran is somewhat daunting. It is an out and back course, which means if you stop somewhere in the middle you have a very long discouraging walk back home. It also has a couple of pretty serious hills in it. Leading up to the marathon I set out to run that route a few different times and was not able to accomplish it. It was really turning into a mind game. So any time I think about that route I get a little nervous.

I felt I was up to the challenge. I started out slow and finished the first half in 37:00 (8:13 pace). It was perfectly comfortable, no pain at all. Then I decided to slowly pick up the pace, and finished the second half in 33:29 (7:26 pace). The best part was I still had a lot left at the end. I could have easily run 13 to 15 today, which does a lot for me mentally. Tomorrow I will be riding instead of running. I am trying to take it slow but feel I am already ready to better my last marathon time.

Today's Run:
9 Miles
1:10:29
7:50 pace

I love Bricks

Today I set out for my first real brick workout. I have done a couple of pretty easy ones where I got off and ran a mile or two but today I wanted to take it up a notch. I started out by riding my bike 28.1 miles. I choose a really hilly course so my time was not great, I think an average speed of 17.4 or so. Then I got off the bike, took about a minute to take my helmet and gloves off and gulp down a little water.

I took off for a 10K. It is a really weird feeling running after being on the bike for an hour and a half. At first it feels like your legs are going to give out. It also feels like you are barely moving. I knew from a previous run off the bike that you totally loose the ability to know your pace. I would have said I was running a 9 minute mile, instead my first mile was 7:20. I knew I needed to slow down a little bit but still managed to maintain a pace of 7:39 for the 10K.

The entire workout took about 2:25 minutes. That was my first workout that long since the marathon. It felt great, and I have felt a since of accomplishment all day because of it.

If only I could have swam .93 miles to start the workout I could have gotten an Olympic distance triathlon in this morning.