That's how many hours of running I have logged this year - 69 hours, 8 minutes to be a bit more precise. In that time I have covered 356.2 miles. That is just over 5 miles for every hour I have put in.
I like numbers. I track my running on an excel spreadsheet that I found on the internet that has all kinds of calculations and stuff built in. That may be why I majored in Math while in college, and then majored in Math again for my master's degree. I don't ever use what I spent all that time learning, but in conversation it sounds impressive anyway.
This morning was another day with a 5 mile run planned. My body was NOT in the mood to run - although I did not feel as bad as I did on Wed (when I didn't run) I still felt a bit crappy (I still feel crappy after having completed the run). But I bravely pushed myself out the front door and logged another 5 miles and nearly another hour of running. This was in such contrast to yesterday when I got up and ran 6 miles in an hour and 10 minutes, and felt great during the run and afterwards. Good days and bad days...At least I have my podcast buddies to keep me company while I run.
Now it's time to get on with the every day once more. If I can only get out of this chair....
Friday, September 08, 2006
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Racing a storm
It was just yesterday when I read a story about a runner, running in a storm with lightning, thinking things would be ok, then getting hit by lightning. Today, as I stepped out late in the afternoon to run a quick (by my standards anyway) 4 miles, the clouds to the north and west looked a bit dark, but appeared to be headed away from me. It was clearer in the direction I was going, so I headed out, figuring I would be ok.
About a mile and a half into the run, I felt a drop on my shoulder, shortly followed by another one. As I looked behind me (toward the north) an angry dark sky was bearing down, and it appeared I needed to hurry a bit. I ran a little further to make my total run about 3.4 miles, turned and headed home, the dark clouds seemed closer and not only ahead of me to the north but also to the west. Lightning flashed and a few more drops came down as I approach the mark where I would be 1 mile from home. I picked up my pace, still taking my walking breaks, but pushing the running. "I better have a pace under 11 minutes or I am going to be disappointed" I thought to myself.
I got home before the storm hit (and it was a pretty good one) having achieved a pace of 10:43, one of my fastest paces for that particular run. No lightning strikes that day, but Jim getting a bit worried and was about to come out and find me when I got home.
I am excited that my heel does not hurt at all - a good sign!
Tomorrow morning I will roll out of bed early and do 6 miles. Time to pick up the mileage now that I am just over 17 weeks away from the marathon. This is when many of the marathon training programs really kick in.
Hopefully the weather will be a little clearer in the morning! :-)
About a mile and a half into the run, I felt a drop on my shoulder, shortly followed by another one. As I looked behind me (toward the north) an angry dark sky was bearing down, and it appeared I needed to hurry a bit. I ran a little further to make my total run about 3.4 miles, turned and headed home, the dark clouds seemed closer and not only ahead of me to the north but also to the west. Lightning flashed and a few more drops came down as I approach the mark where I would be 1 mile from home. I picked up my pace, still taking my walking breaks, but pushing the running. "I better have a pace under 11 minutes or I am going to be disappointed" I thought to myself.
I got home before the storm hit (and it was a pretty good one) having achieved a pace of 10:43, one of my fastest paces for that particular run. No lightning strikes that day, but Jim getting a bit worried and was about to come out and find me when I got home.
I am excited that my heel does not hurt at all - a good sign!
Tomorrow morning I will roll out of bed early and do 6 miles. Time to pick up the mileage now that I am just over 17 weeks away from the marathon. This is when many of the marathon training programs really kick in.
Hopefully the weather will be a little clearer in the morning! :-)
Monday, September 04, 2006
Even a bad run is better than not running
After the 15K on Sat, I gave my heel a rest Sun. It ached the day of the race and I iced it on and off all day. That seemed to do the trick because the next day, it hardly ached at all and I didn't have to ice it. But I gave it a day off for recovery and figured I would try a run the following day (today), maybe just 4 miles to take it easy.
The alarm seemed to go off much too early once again this morning, but knowing what I know about how I would feel if I didn't run, I got myself up and out the door. That is the hardest part. I felt a bit on the crappy side this morning, so I knew the first couple of miles would probably be hardest. This run was no different. I almost felt like my legs couldn't remember how to relax and run, at least for the beginning. But as I approached the 2 mile mark, I felt good enough to push it out to 2.5 and make it a 5 miler this morning. I got my last mile under 11 min, as usual and finished out at 57:28, an 11:30 pace. Not too bad. In the end, I felt pretty good, still a bit crappy, but good after the run.
So I guess the title of this blog is not exactly right. I didn't have a bad run this morning. But on a scale of 1-10 for how I feel, 1 for really bad and 10 for great, this morning I am a 6 or 7. But I am glad I ran. Glad I got that mileage in to log. That makes 342 miles to date this year, with 5 of my planned 29 miles done for this week. That is better than not running!
The alarm seemed to go off much too early once again this morning, but knowing what I know about how I would feel if I didn't run, I got myself up and out the door. That is the hardest part. I felt a bit on the crappy side this morning, so I knew the first couple of miles would probably be hardest. This run was no different. I almost felt like my legs couldn't remember how to relax and run, at least for the beginning. But as I approached the 2 mile mark, I felt good enough to push it out to 2.5 and make it a 5 miler this morning. I got my last mile under 11 min, as usual and finished out at 57:28, an 11:30 pace. Not too bad. In the end, I felt pretty good, still a bit crappy, but good after the run.
So I guess the title of this blog is not exactly right. I didn't have a bad run this morning. But on a scale of 1-10 for how I feel, 1 for really bad and 10 for great, this morning I am a 6 or 7. But I am glad I ran. Glad I got that mileage in to log. That makes 342 miles to date this year, with 5 of my planned 29 miles done for this week. That is better than not running!
Saturday, September 02, 2006
It's only 15K, it can't be that bad....
Besides, I ran 10 miles last weekend. I should be able to do 9.3 miles ok. I knew that since it was a long run distance for me, I would need to conserve to make the entire distance.
The weather was, well, typical for Central Florida in early September. It was about 78 degrees at 80% humidity. By the end of the race it was over 80 degrees - with the humidity it was forecast to feel like 87. Not a great temperature for running. Now I know why I like getting up in the dark to run. On my own long runs, if I got home after 8 or 8:30 am, I was whipped. This was no different. The race started a little after 7 am. I finished officially in 1:52:27 (net) - that would put me at the finish around 9 am - and those last 2 miles were in the sun and HOT! I finished with an average pace of 12:04, which is pretty good considering the heat. My first mile was about 10:30 but lengthened to over 12 min/mile in the second half of the race. 12 min/mile is really my long distance pace, as it turns out, so I did ok.
Jim ran with me for the first 4 or 5 miles, but I go too slow for his long, running legs. I hate the fact that I train and train, and he runs every now and then, and he beats me! But I am happy that he is out there and feeling good. He had a really good race, coming in around 5 minutes ahead of me. After Jim sped on ahead of me, I tuned into one of my favorite podcasts, Phelipidations, where Steve Runner was talking on the topic of the Long Slow Run....just what I needed :-). it did take my mind off the race for a good 40 minutes. Then I put some 155 bpm music and tried to cruise the last 2 or 3 miles. Sounds good anyway!
So now I am home, blogging with an ice pack under my heel. I am hoping that the heal pain will diminish as my body adjusts to the new lift in my left shoe. If not, I will need to find another solution. I am getting to a critical point in my training and can't afford to lose time off for heel pain! :-)
Later folks!
So a good race - another one under my belt! Now a few weeks of focused training until the next 5K.
The weather was, well, typical for Central Florida in early September. It was about 78 degrees at 80% humidity. By the end of the race it was over 80 degrees - with the humidity it was forecast to feel like 87. Not a great temperature for running. Now I know why I like getting up in the dark to run. On my own long runs, if I got home after 8 or 8:30 am, I was whipped. This was no different. The race started a little after 7 am. I finished officially in 1:52:27 (net) - that would put me at the finish around 9 am - and those last 2 miles were in the sun and HOT! I finished with an average pace of 12:04, which is pretty good considering the heat. My first mile was about 10:30 but lengthened to over 12 min/mile in the second half of the race. 12 min/mile is really my long distance pace, as it turns out, so I did ok.
Jim ran with me for the first 4 or 5 miles, but I go too slow for his long, running legs. I hate the fact that I train and train, and he runs every now and then, and he beats me! But I am happy that he is out there and feeling good. He had a really good race, coming in around 5 minutes ahead of me. After Jim sped on ahead of me, I tuned into one of my favorite podcasts, Phelipidations, where Steve Runner was talking on the topic of the Long Slow Run....just what I needed :-). it did take my mind off the race for a good 40 minutes. Then I put some 155 bpm music and tried to cruise the last 2 or 3 miles. Sounds good anyway!
So now I am home, blogging with an ice pack under my heel. I am hoping that the heal pain will diminish as my body adjusts to the new lift in my left shoe. If not, I will need to find another solution. I am getting to a critical point in my training and can't afford to lose time off for heel pain! :-)
Later folks!
So a good race - another one under my belt! Now a few weeks of focused training until the next 5K.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
I feel good!
Ernesto interfered with my running routine this week - silly tropical depression - hardly blew here at all. I suppose that is a good thing. On Tuesday I ran on the treadmill at work - too hot to run outside in the afternoon. A fast 5K (3.1 miles) at 32:33 (fast for me anyway). Now if I can only run it that fast on the ground! It was a good work out, and though my calf was still a little sore from Sunday, the Tuesday run helped to loosen it up, and by Wed (Ernesto storm day) I felt great. However, I didn't get the chance to hit the treadmill on Wed and the weather was not cooperating for an outside run (sorry, I don't run in the rain - with my glasses I can't see).
As I went to bed last night I felt so good and wished I could run - but the weather was calling for continued rain through this morning. As I set the alarm for 7 am, I decided that if I woke up on my own at 6 am, and it wasn't raining, I would go running. Sure enough, I woke up at 6:15, not a drop of rain outside, so out the door I went.
I decided to go for 4 miles since I didn't have much time and I didn't want to push it. It was a good feeling 4 miles, though. My last mile was 10:49 (I like to finish up under 11 if I can) compared to my first mile of 11:26. Total time was 46:25 - not my best 4 miles but probably my best feeling 4 miles, if that makes any sense.
So I feel really good this morning. Heel is feeling good but I iced it anyway to be sure. Calf is all but better now, but I have been using Icy Hot before my run to get a good stretch in. I am excited about Saturday's race - 15K is a distance I have never raced...so it should be interesting. Actually all I have ever raced is 5K and Half Marathon distances. I feel really ready for the race.
I feel good!!! :-)
As I went to bed last night I felt so good and wished I could run - but the weather was calling for continued rain through this morning. As I set the alarm for 7 am, I decided that if I woke up on my own at 6 am, and it wasn't raining, I would go running. Sure enough, I woke up at 6:15, not a drop of rain outside, so out the door I went.
I decided to go for 4 miles since I didn't have much time and I didn't want to push it. It was a good feeling 4 miles, though. My last mile was 10:49 (I like to finish up under 11 if I can) compared to my first mile of 11:26. Total time was 46:25 - not my best 4 miles but probably my best feeling 4 miles, if that makes any sense.
So I feel really good this morning. Heel is feeling good but I iced it anyway to be sure. Calf is all but better now, but I have been using Icy Hot before my run to get a good stretch in. I am excited about Saturday's race - 15K is a distance I have never raced...so it should be interesting. Actually all I have ever raced is 5K and Half Marathon distances. I feel really ready for the race.
I feel good!!! :-)
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