well, this week was a mixed bag. on the plus side - i had a really great workout on thursday and some other exciting things happened life-wise. on the minus side - those exciting things made my mileage and long run suffer (read: non-existent).
monday: easy 6 miles. arb was still pretty wet from last weekend's rains, so i went a different way to the end. a bit of a side stitch again.
tuesday: easy 5.5 in the arb - major side stitch that required some walking on the way home.
wednesday: off. decided that since i just keep getting these side stitches, maybe i need a day off to let it chill out.
thursday: 8 miles, 6 miles at half marathon pace. this workout went great. i was trying to simulate the hills in the middle of the half marathon, but i knew i was making it harder than the race actually would be. in spite of that, i still kept all of my miles between 6:45 and 6:55, even the most hilly ones. by the end, my legs felt tired muscularly, but other than that, i felt great. i clearly still need to keep working on my hill strength, but this was a very encouraging workout. i did get some slight pain in my side, but it never fully materialized as a side stitch, so that was good.
friday: 7.5 miles along the river road in the cities. this is a pretty approximate mileage, since i didn't measure it and went on time. also, my legs felt really good, so i kept having to make myself slow down. i was almost tempted to do my long run this day when i got to the 3 mile turnaround. by the time i got to around the 3.5 mile turnaround, i realized that was probably not the smartest plan. feeling good at 3.5 miles is not quite the same as feeling good at 11 or 12. also, it was relatively flat and i still had hopes of getting in a hilly long run. in hindsight, i probably should have just gone with it. absolutely no side stitch pain. woot!
sat and sun: OFF - sitting next to my cell phone, waiting on it to ring. not a good use of my weekend days, but that's what happened.
total: 27 miles in 4 days, no long run.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Monday, June 18, 2012
this week
i need to chat with dave about what i should do workout-wise this week, but here's my mileage plan:
6-8-8-6-11-6-5 = 50 if for some reason, my legs are feeling terrible and i really need to, i could take sunday off and make it 45 in 6 days, but otherwise, i'm going to try to make this happen.
6-8-8-6-11-6-5 = 50 if for some reason, my legs are feeling terrible and i really need to, i could take sunday off and make it 45 in 6 days, but otherwise, i'm going to try to make this happen.
oh brother
it has been almost three weeks since i last updated. i probably had better do this in backward order, but for clarity sake, i'll try to still make the end product flow in chronological order. the first (oldest) updates might be kind of shaky, though.
week of may 28th:
monday-wednesday on last post. mileage was 6-0-8
thursday-saturday... can't really remember... but definitely one day off and probably two 6 mile runs. i vaguely know the weekly mileage.
sunday: 11 mile, hilly long run. this went really well, though my legs were really wiped by the end. went out wall street to kane to woodley, took the first left up a crazy hill and then turned right and came back on spring creek to the house. by the end it was hard to keep my pace around 7:40 because my legs were tired from the hills. it felt like a really good effort.
total: 37 miles in 5 days.
week of june 4th:
monday: 7 miles easy. legs tired from sunday's long run, but generally pretty good.
tuesday: off
wednesday: 5 miles easy. ran over to d&d's house to discuss training and it was quite hot...didn't end up getting in quite as much mileage as i had planned because we ended up talking quite a bit more, which was okay.
thursday: 6-7? not sure...
friday: off. at the state meet.
saturday: 6 miles easy in the arb before graduation
sunday: 10 miles. this was a comically awful run. in the first 1/2 mile, i could tell my legs were heavy in a dead way, not an "i'm going to perk up eventually and feel much better" way. about 1 mile in, i almost turned around to change shorts because i could tell that mine were chafing, but decided to go with it. meanwhile, my stomach was kind of intermittently hurting - nothing threatening, but just a little hurty. then, about 4 miles in, i got a side stitch of the major, not going away, nothing you can do about it variety. i'd run for a while and then stop and try to stretch it out and it would feel better for a bit and then come right back. i'm not sure i should really get credit for this run, but i suppose i did cover the distance, which is worth at least something.
total: ~34-5 miles in 5 days.
last week:
monday: 6 in the arb. decent pace, probably around 8:00 or a little over, but my legs did not feel good. this had me a little nervous to be doing a workout the next day with dave, but i figured we'd just see what happened. i also got the side stitch again that had plagued me during sunday's long run, so that was a bit concerning.
tuesday: 8 miles. best workout in a really really long time. we went back out to the end of the arb and headed up the hill to sciota. i did the first mile as just a warm up and then stretched a bit before starting. my instructions were to get my heartrate around 170-180, erring on the lower side earlier, and roughly that should translate to 7:00 pace. My HRs ended up staring around 170, and then gradually creeping up to 191 for the last mile, but my paces were crazy! 6:48, 6:54, 6:55, 6:48, 6:31, 6:40. During the 6:31, I had to stop and tie my shoe, so it was actually a 6:41. As a reminder, the first mile is downhill, the second mile is a bit rolly, and then after that, it's pretty much completely flat. I felt good the whole time and like I could have possibly done a 7th mile, but I could feel my form starting to fall apart a bit, which for me, tends to mean sitting. I tried to max my HR after the workout, but I could only get it up to 196, which was weird. Oh well. It did help that the weather was finally good - 53 at workout time. All in all, a great day!
wednesay: off - traveling
thursday: off - traveling
friday: off - traveling
saturday: 6 with kelsey in the arb. very nice to have someone to run with, but legs felt stiff from 2 long flights in 3 days and a day on my feet for 6 hours.
sunday: 10 at around 7:45. dundas, baby, dundas. this went really well until the very end when i started to get a side stitch again...this is getting crazy. i'm wondering if my back is tight and this is what is causing me to get more side stitches than normal. i may have to get the hubs to give me a backrub!
total: 30 in 4 days. not ideal, but this was a bit of a crazy week with the last minute travel.
week of may 28th:
monday-wednesday on last post. mileage was 6-0-8
thursday-saturday... can't really remember... but definitely one day off and probably two 6 mile runs. i vaguely know the weekly mileage.
sunday: 11 mile, hilly long run. this went really well, though my legs were really wiped by the end. went out wall street to kane to woodley, took the first left up a crazy hill and then turned right and came back on spring creek to the house. by the end it was hard to keep my pace around 7:40 because my legs were tired from the hills. it felt like a really good effort.
total: 37 miles in 5 days.
week of june 4th:
monday: 7 miles easy. legs tired from sunday's long run, but generally pretty good.
tuesday: off
wednesday: 5 miles easy. ran over to d&d's house to discuss training and it was quite hot...didn't end up getting in quite as much mileage as i had planned because we ended up talking quite a bit more, which was okay.
thursday: 6-7? not sure...
friday: off. at the state meet.
saturday: 6 miles easy in the arb before graduation
sunday: 10 miles. this was a comically awful run. in the first 1/2 mile, i could tell my legs were heavy in a dead way, not an "i'm going to perk up eventually and feel much better" way. about 1 mile in, i almost turned around to change shorts because i could tell that mine were chafing, but decided to go with it. meanwhile, my stomach was kind of intermittently hurting - nothing threatening, but just a little hurty. then, about 4 miles in, i got a side stitch of the major, not going away, nothing you can do about it variety. i'd run for a while and then stop and try to stretch it out and it would feel better for a bit and then come right back. i'm not sure i should really get credit for this run, but i suppose i did cover the distance, which is worth at least something.
total: ~34-5 miles in 5 days.
last week:
monday: 6 in the arb. decent pace, probably around 8:00 or a little over, but my legs did not feel good. this had me a little nervous to be doing a workout the next day with dave, but i figured we'd just see what happened. i also got the side stitch again that had plagued me during sunday's long run, so that was a bit concerning.
tuesday: 8 miles. best workout in a really really long time. we went back out to the end of the arb and headed up the hill to sciota. i did the first mile as just a warm up and then stretched a bit before starting. my instructions were to get my heartrate around 170-180, erring on the lower side earlier, and roughly that should translate to 7:00 pace. My HRs ended up staring around 170, and then gradually creeping up to 191 for the last mile, but my paces were crazy! 6:48, 6:54, 6:55, 6:48, 6:31, 6:40. During the 6:31, I had to stop and tie my shoe, so it was actually a 6:41. As a reminder, the first mile is downhill, the second mile is a bit rolly, and then after that, it's pretty much completely flat. I felt good the whole time and like I could have possibly done a 7th mile, but I could feel my form starting to fall apart a bit, which for me, tends to mean sitting. I tried to max my HR after the workout, but I could only get it up to 196, which was weird. Oh well. It did help that the weather was finally good - 53 at workout time. All in all, a great day!
wednesay: off - traveling
thursday: off - traveling
friday: off - traveling
saturday: 6 with kelsey in the arb. very nice to have someone to run with, but legs felt stiff from 2 long flights in 3 days and a day on my feet for 6 hours.
sunday: 10 at around 7:45. dundas, baby, dundas. this went really well until the very end when i started to get a side stitch again...this is getting crazy. i'm wondering if my back is tight and this is what is causing me to get more side stitches than normal. i may have to get the hubs to give me a backrub!
total: 30 in 4 days. not ideal, but this was a bit of a crazy week with the last minute travel.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
i really need to post more often
luckily, i remember what i did last week, more or less, but i really should get better about updating more often. this time, i blame nationals, but i probably could have found internet somewhere other than my room since that was a bajillion dollars.
last week:
monday: 4 miles. i initially planned to go 6, but then i felt awful, so i kept it short.
tuesday: OFF given travel day to nationals
wednesday: 5 miles on a treadmill at around 8 min pace. this was by far the best treadmill run i have had in my entire life, and i didn't want to gouge my eyes out at the end thanks to headphones that plugged into the screen on my treadmill. the powers of television are amazing!
thursday: 6 miles with 3x1 mile at 6:32, with 1/4 mile recovery between. this workout was shockingly easy to do, in part because of the magic treadmills described above. i probably would have done another mile, but i was running out of time.
friday: 6 miles easy
saturday: 9 miles with 3 miles at 7:00 pace. a bit of gi distress toward the end of the 3 miles meant that i did 3 instead of 4 and 9 instead of 10 on the day. all in all, a very nice workout, though.
sunday: off. wiped after a late night return.
total: 30 miles in 5 days.
this week, so far:
monday: 6 miles easy. nothing too special to report about this run other than that my legs felt relatively good and i pushed the pace a bit on the first half and then i got a nasty side stitch at about the half way and the 2nd half was a slog (slow jog) home.
tuesday: OFF. i got started gardening and ended up taking the day off instead of running.
wednesday: 8 miles with some threshold mixed in. my original plan was to do 2x2 miles at 6:30 pace, but it became pretty obvious that my legs weren't quite up for that. then, my side stitch from monday came back with a vengeance at 1.5 miles. it stopped and stretched it out, which seemed to help but it kept coming back off and on throughout. the actual miles were something like 6:32, 6:40, 6:45. i ended up only doing 3.25 or something like that because when the side stitch came back for the last time, i decided it was time to bag it. i'd already been stopped by a train (i was out on the dundas path) on that rep, so stopping twice seemed a bit silly. not the workout i had hoped for, but i felt good that i had done it after. hopefully with a bit more consistency, these threshold workouts will just keep getting better.
my goal for this week is to hit 45 in 6 days. i can do it with mileage something like: 6-0-8-8-6-11-6
last week:
monday: 4 miles. i initially planned to go 6, but then i felt awful, so i kept it short.
tuesday: OFF given travel day to nationals
wednesday: 5 miles on a treadmill at around 8 min pace. this was by far the best treadmill run i have had in my entire life, and i didn't want to gouge my eyes out at the end thanks to headphones that plugged into the screen on my treadmill. the powers of television are amazing!
thursday: 6 miles with 3x1 mile at 6:32, with 1/4 mile recovery between. this workout was shockingly easy to do, in part because of the magic treadmills described above. i probably would have done another mile, but i was running out of time.
friday: 6 miles easy
saturday: 9 miles with 3 miles at 7:00 pace. a bit of gi distress toward the end of the 3 miles meant that i did 3 instead of 4 and 9 instead of 10 on the day. all in all, a very nice workout, though.
sunday: off. wiped after a late night return.
total: 30 miles in 5 days.
this week, so far:
monday: 6 miles easy. nothing too special to report about this run other than that my legs felt relatively good and i pushed the pace a bit on the first half and then i got a nasty side stitch at about the half way and the 2nd half was a slog (slow jog) home.
tuesday: OFF. i got started gardening and ended up taking the day off instead of running.
wednesday: 8 miles with some threshold mixed in. my original plan was to do 2x2 miles at 6:30 pace, but it became pretty obvious that my legs weren't quite up for that. then, my side stitch from monday came back with a vengeance at 1.5 miles. it stopped and stretched it out, which seemed to help but it kept coming back off and on throughout. the actual miles were something like 6:32, 6:40, 6:45. i ended up only doing 3.25 or something like that because when the side stitch came back for the last time, i decided it was time to bag it. i'd already been stopped by a train (i was out on the dundas path) on that rep, so stopping twice seemed a bit silly. not the workout i had hoped for, but i felt good that i had done it after. hopefully with a bit more consistency, these threshold workouts will just keep getting better.
my goal for this week is to hit 45 in 6 days. i can do it with mileage something like: 6-0-8-8-6-11-6
Friday, May 25, 2012
so i guess it's friday already...
ok - so this weekhasn't been quite as good as last week:
mon: off - all-around bad day, so i took the day off...
tues: 5 mi. easy
wed: off - cruisin' club and the cruise-a-palooza took precedence. i went to ho.bros. with weissenborn instead of running, but it was worth it. this day off killed the 6-day plan for this week.
thurs: 6.5 with kian, tolan, and bobby - went great, except for a gastro-intestinal difficulty that arose at about 6 mi. other than that, though, it was really good!
i guess the new plan is 25 mi. in 5 days instead of 30 mi. in 6 days...
mon: off - all-around bad day, so i took the day off...
tues: 5 mi. easy
wed: off - cruisin' club and the cruise-a-palooza took precedence. i went to ho.bros. with weissenborn instead of running, but it was worth it. this day off killed the 6-day plan for this week.
thurs: 6.5 with kian, tolan, and bobby - went great, except for a gastro-intestinal difficulty that arose at about 6 mi. other than that, though, it was really good!
i guess the new plan is 25 mi. in 5 days instead of 30 mi. in 6 days...
Monday, May 21, 2012
CATCH-UP, WRAP-UP, START-UP...
ok so i clearly wasn't very good about posting either, but as opposed to previous lapses in posting on my part, this one happily did not indicate a lack of running! what follows is a quick catch-up, a wrap-up of last week, and the a start-up geared toward the coming week:
friday: long run/workout! 5mi. (7:00 / 6:30 / 7:00 / 6:30 / 7:00) felt good if a little hard. i didn't feel like it wrecked me, but it wasn't easy either.
saturday: 4 mi. easy - recovery, i guess
sunday: 3.5 mi. easy
total for the week: 25(!) in 6 days. this week i am going for 28-30 mi. in 6 days... i am committed!
friday: long run/workout! 5mi. (7:00 / 6:30 / 7:00 / 6:30 / 7:00) felt good if a little hard. i didn't feel like it wrecked me, but it wasn't easy either.
saturday: 4 mi. easy - recovery, i guess
sunday: 3.5 mi. easy
total for the week: 25(!) in 6 days. this week i am going for 28-30 mi. in 6 days... i am committed!
Sunday, May 20, 2012
oh no!
i waited so long to post...i don't even really remember what all i did. this may not end up being exactly right, but it should be vaguely correct.
last week:
monday: OFF - didn't go running in the morning and then it was birthday evening, so we went out to dinner instead.
tuesday: 6 miles easy in the arb
wednesday: 6 miles easy in the arb - legs felt better than this, but i was initially planning to do my long run on thursday, so i took it easy mileage-wise.
thursday: 6 miles easy - i was going to do my long run this day and then my legs felt terrible...or i felt sick or something...i don't really remember, but i know i didn't end up going long for some reason.
friday: 10 mile long run. legs felt great! i probably would have gone farther, but i was a bit limited on time because i hadn't planned on going that far until i was already going.
saturday: 8 mile easy run. legs still felt surprisingly great. it helped that moorhead is totally flat, so it wasn't particularly challenging.
sunday: OFF -woke up really sick with a nasty cold, so i took the day off and took two naps with kittens instead.
total: 34 miles in 5 days. best week in a long time!
this week:
monday: OFF - still pretty sick.
tuesday: OFF - sick and hadn't slept well at all the night before
wednesday: OFF - i felt quite a bit better on wednesday and probably could have gone for a run, but decided that one last day of rest was a good idea.
thursday: 3 miles - really really terrible. i ran about 8:30 pace and felt like i had run way faster. also, the breathing made my throat hurt a lot.
friday: 4 miles - a little bit better, but not a ton. my throat felt better this time, but i still ran around 8:15 pace and it felt faster than it should have.
saturday: OFF - somewhat unintentionally, somewhat to let my body continue to catch up.
sunday: 6 miles - this felt better than friday, but not 100% yet. my pace was a little faster - probably around 8:00, but it felt physically harder than it should have. this cold is particularly hard to get rid of.
total: 13 in 3 days...not such a good week, but hopefully i'm on the mend and can get back on track next week.
last week:
monday: OFF - didn't go running in the morning and then it was birthday evening, so we went out to dinner instead.
tuesday: 6 miles easy in the arb
wednesday: 6 miles easy in the arb - legs felt better than this, but i was initially planning to do my long run on thursday, so i took it easy mileage-wise.
thursday: 6 miles easy - i was going to do my long run this day and then my legs felt terrible...or i felt sick or something...i don't really remember, but i know i didn't end up going long for some reason.
friday: 10 mile long run. legs felt great! i probably would have gone farther, but i was a bit limited on time because i hadn't planned on going that far until i was already going.
saturday: 8 mile easy run. legs still felt surprisingly great. it helped that moorhead is totally flat, so it wasn't particularly challenging.
sunday: OFF -woke up really sick with a nasty cold, so i took the day off and took two naps with kittens instead.
total: 34 miles in 5 days. best week in a long time!
this week:
monday: OFF - still pretty sick.
tuesday: OFF - sick and hadn't slept well at all the night before
wednesday: OFF - i felt quite a bit better on wednesday and probably could have gone for a run, but decided that one last day of rest was a good idea.
thursday: 3 miles - really really terrible. i ran about 8:30 pace and felt like i had run way faster. also, the breathing made my throat hurt a lot.
friday: 4 miles - a little bit better, but not a ton. my throat felt better this time, but i still ran around 8:15 pace and it felt faster than it should have.
saturday: OFF - somewhat unintentionally, somewhat to let my body continue to catch up.
sunday: 6 miles - this felt better than friday, but not 100% yet. my pace was a little faster - probably around 8:00, but it felt physically harder than it should have. this cold is particularly hard to get rid of.
total: 13 in 3 days...not such a good week, but hopefully i'm on the mend and can get back on track next week.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
TUESDAY
4.5 mi. easy with tom on the river road. felt pretty good, but i was distracted byt having someone to talk to... seemed like it was pretty fast, so that's good... 2-for-2 on the week!
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
MONDAY
4 mi. easy - although 'easy' was definitely a misnomer... it felt harder than it was and i was just genereally tired. i still did it though... 1 down, (5 or) 6 to go!
Sunday, May 13, 2012
long time, no post...
unfortunately, no post also indicates (almost) no run. this past week, though, i realized that i am only a month out from my birthday, and if i intend to hit my goal by then i had better get on my horse.
this week i ran 16 miles in 4 days. not great, but if i eat better and run more for the next 3 weeks i could get there...
hopefully next week 6 days and 20-24 miles... as my mug says, "make it happen." here we go.
this week i ran 16 miles in 4 days. not great, but if i eat better and run more for the next 3 weeks i could get there...
hopefully next week 6 days and 20-24 miles... as my mug says, "make it happen." here we go.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
last week
last week was good and bad. first, the bad. i only ran twice. there's not much else to say about that.
the good?
the two runs that i did have were great. i went for 7 on monday and then did an 11 mile long run on wednesday where no mile was slower than 8:00, despite a fair number of hills and a relatively warm day with temps in the mid to high 70s when i was running and with no shade. i felt good about that run, but then i wasn't good about making time the rest of the week when we were hosting meets to get out the door. as the temperatures keep rising, i need to get better about getting out the door first thing in the morning. one thing that would probably help is to hydrate better before i go to bed. i've gotten worse about that, i think.
the good?
the two runs that i did have were great. i went for 7 on monday and then did an 11 mile long run on wednesday where no mile was slower than 8:00, despite a fair number of hills and a relatively warm day with temps in the mid to high 70s when i was running and with no shade. i felt good about that run, but then i wasn't good about making time the rest of the week when we were hosting meets to get out the door. as the temperatures keep rising, i need to get better about getting out the door first thing in the morning. one thing that would probably help is to hydrate better before i go to bed. i've gotten worse about that, i think.
dear running
dear running,
lately, i haven't been a very good partner. i haven't made time for you the way that i used to. it isn't that you aren't a priority; it has just been too easy for me to use other things - work especially - as an excuse for not getting out the door. you've been so good about it, though, and it's reassuring to know that you'll still be there for me when i come back. our runs the last couple of days have been awesome, highlighting your unwavering commitment. as of now, i'm recommitting myself. the next month won't be easy, as i'll still have that pesky work hanging around, but i'll do my best to make time for you each day. i know that even though you're always there when i come around, it's still a two-way street and you can't do it without me. i'm going to try to get out the door each day with you, even if it's only for a very short run, because in fact, i really like you and like spending time with you. we're a good match for each other.
yours,
cassie
lately, i haven't been a very good partner. i haven't made time for you the way that i used to. it isn't that you aren't a priority; it has just been too easy for me to use other things - work especially - as an excuse for not getting out the door. you've been so good about it, though, and it's reassuring to know that you'll still be there for me when i come back. our runs the last couple of days have been awesome, highlighting your unwavering commitment. as of now, i'm recommitting myself. the next month won't be easy, as i'll still have that pesky work hanging around, but i'll do my best to make time for you each day. i know that even though you're always there when i come around, it's still a two-way street and you can't do it without me. i'm going to try to get out the door each day with you, even if it's only for a very short run, because in fact, i really like you and like spending time with you. we're a good match for each other.
yours,
cassie
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
great expectations
good start. bad finish. that's becoming a theme for me. i talked with dave a little bit the other day and we agreed that until the track season is over, i just need to focus on getting out the door as much as i can and not stress about hitting specific mileage or trying to get in workouts. those things are bonuses right now, but it stressed me out when i have an off day or two, and then it's too easy to throw in the towel for the rest of the week.
last week:
wednesday: 5 miles - legs felt not great, but i was glad to have gotten out the door.
thursday: 6 miles
fri-sunday - 0.
overall, 25 miles in 4 days.
so far this week:
monday: 7 miles easy in the arb. legs felt pretty stiff, but i ran this at a decent pace - roughly 8:10 pace for the first half and probably just under 8 for the second half - through the hilliest parts of the arb.
i think that my goal is going to be to get out the door each day even if only for 3 miles, but i'm not going to stress about a specific mileage for the day or for the week. even if i only ran 3-4 miles each day, i'd still run 25 miles which is as much as i ran last week anyway (and obviously, i won't run only 3-4 miles each day).
also, i signed up for a half marathon in july. that should help me stay motivated. i think that as long as i keep being consistent about getting in the miles for the next little bit here, having that race to gear up for during june and july will really get me going on workouts. i'm thinking that it would also be good to do a 10k during the last week of june or early july. then, i can do city of lakes 25k in september and the twin cities 10 miler in october. that should be a really fun race schedule between now and cim.
last week:
wednesday: 5 miles - legs felt not great, but i was glad to have gotten out the door.
thursday: 6 miles
fri-sunday - 0.
overall, 25 miles in 4 days.
so far this week:
monday: 7 miles easy in the arb. legs felt pretty stiff, but i ran this at a decent pace - roughly 8:10 pace for the first half and probably just under 8 for the second half - through the hilliest parts of the arb.
i think that my goal is going to be to get out the door each day even if only for 3 miles, but i'm not going to stress about a specific mileage for the day or for the week. even if i only ran 3-4 miles each day, i'd still run 25 miles which is as much as i ran last week anyway (and obviously, i won't run only 3-4 miles each day).
also, i signed up for a half marathon in july. that should help me stay motivated. i think that as long as i keep being consistent about getting in the miles for the next little bit here, having that race to gear up for during june and july will really get me going on workouts. i'm thinking that it would also be good to do a 10k during the last week of june or early july. then, i can do city of lakes 25k in september and the twin cities 10 miler in october. that should be a really fun race schedule between now and cim.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
getting my head back in the game
soooo.... last week was not good. in fact, it was pretty bad. i've resolved to be better this week and not let the busyness of this time of year be an excuse to not get the miles in. that's what happened last week. i ran 6 or so on monday and 7 or 8 or something on thursday, and i think that was it.
steps i'm going to take to get through the end of the school year on track:
1. mon/wed/fri - get up at the same time as steve and go running first thing before work. this just has to happen.
2. make those days my longer easy days so that tues/thurs don't seem as daunting in the middle of the day or evening.
3. long runs...still haven't quite figured out the best day to do them, but i think i'm going to see whether wednesday ends up being a good day. i know d comes in to the office a little later because of k's late start, so that would be awesome if it works.
4. for the short term (this week and next week) anyway, top priority is just getting in the mileage. if i can also get in a workout or two each week, great, but if nothing else, i absolutely have to get in the miles.
so far, so good, for this week, though!
monday: 8 miles easy out woodley and back. my legs felt unbelievably awful given how many days they had off, but i did it anyway, and they did feel slightly better on the way back.
tuesday: 6 easy miles in the arb. legs felt much better than yesterday and until the last mile of the run, i averaged just under 7:30, which is really good for me in the arb.
steps i'm going to take to get through the end of the school year on track:
1. mon/wed/fri - get up at the same time as steve and go running first thing before work. this just has to happen.
2. make those days my longer easy days so that tues/thurs don't seem as daunting in the middle of the day or evening.
3. long runs...still haven't quite figured out the best day to do them, but i think i'm going to see whether wednesday ends up being a good day. i know d comes in to the office a little later because of k's late start, so that would be awesome if it works.
4. for the short term (this week and next week) anyway, top priority is just getting in the mileage. if i can also get in a workout or two each week, great, but if nothing else, i absolutely have to get in the miles.
so far, so good, for this week, though!
monday: 8 miles easy out woodley and back. my legs felt unbelievably awful given how many days they had off, but i did it anyway, and they did feel slightly better on the way back.
tuesday: 6 easy miles in the arb. legs felt much better than yesterday and until the last mile of the run, i averaged just under 7:30, which is really good for me in the arb.
Monday, April 16, 2012
the last week
yikes! i haven't updated in a week! this week went pretty well; i would have liked to have gotten in 6 days and 40 miles, but 35 mi in 5 days was pretty good.
monday: 5 miles easy in the arb
tuesday: OFF. a long day in the office and a hs track meet i was recruiting at conspired to keep me from running this day. i thought i might have time after the track meet, but then a second recruit that i hadn't planned on seeing was there and i stayed later. it was great to see her, but it meant no run.
wednesday: 6 mile progressive run. this was sort of an impromptu workout. 43:28 total (7:22 pace) first 2.45 miles were 7:45 pace and last 3.45 were 7:05. my guess is that i was probably under 7:00 for at least a bit of that, but unsure exactly.
thursday: 7 miles easy with the team during morning practice. legs felt pretty tired, probably from the workout the day before. they felt especially tired toward the end of the run.
friday: 7 mile easy run over some hills - out spring creek, east, looping back to woodley. felt great and ran around 7:30 pace.
saturday: OFF. Track meet all day.
sunday: this was a great out and back run on wall st. tried to go quicker on the way back than on the way out. legs felt pretty bad - heavy/tired - until about mile 6, and then they felt really good by the end. probably just tired from standing around at the meet all day saturday. started off around 8:00 pace and progressed down to 7:00 pace for last mile.
overall: 35 miles in 5 days, 2 great workouts.
i talked with dave for a bit this week about races to train for and workouts/mileage for the next month. i'm excited to have a plan and to start getting signed up for races!
monday: 5 miles easy in the arb
tuesday: OFF. a long day in the office and a hs track meet i was recruiting at conspired to keep me from running this day. i thought i might have time after the track meet, but then a second recruit that i hadn't planned on seeing was there and i stayed later. it was great to see her, but it meant no run.
wednesday: 6 mile progressive run. this was sort of an impromptu workout. 43:28 total (7:22 pace) first 2.45 miles were 7:45 pace and last 3.45 were 7:05. my guess is that i was probably under 7:00 for at least a bit of that, but unsure exactly.
thursday: 7 miles easy with the team during morning practice. legs felt pretty tired, probably from the workout the day before. they felt especially tired toward the end of the run.
friday: 7 mile easy run over some hills - out spring creek, east, looping back to woodley. felt great and ran around 7:30 pace.
saturday: OFF. Track meet all day.
sunday: this was a great out and back run on wall st. tried to go quicker on the way back than on the way out. legs felt pretty bad - heavy/tired - until about mile 6, and then they felt really good by the end. probably just tired from standing around at the meet all day saturday. started off around 8:00 pace and progressed down to 7:00 pace for last mile.
overall: 35 miles in 5 days, 2 great workouts.
i talked with dave for a bit this week about races to train for and workouts/mileage for the next month. i'm excited to have a plan and to start getting signed up for races!
Monday, April 9, 2012
so far, so good...
6 mi @ 7:00 - i didn't feel my shin at all, and then i stretched a bunch. like the title says: so far, so good...
wrapping up the week...
last week started off well and then went completely off the rails, ending with 2 out of 3 days off and shin soreness...
fri: off (unintentional)
sat: off (intentional - sort of)
sun: 6 mi. @ 7:00
total: 28 in 4 days :(
running sunday felt ok, but i could feel my right shin a little... i can't tell if it is shin splints coming on, but i kind of think it might be. that's actually good news compared to the alternative, which starts with s and rhymes with press fracture!
this week i plan to be more cautious, staying on soft surfaces only, and only going for 35 mi. again.
fri: off (unintentional)
sat: off (intentional - sort of)
sun: 6 mi. @ 7:00
total: 28 in 4 days :(
running sunday felt ok, but i could feel my right shin a little... i can't tell if it is shin splints coming on, but i kind of think it might be. that's actually good news compared to the alternative, which starts with s and rhymes with press fracture!
this week i plan to be more cautious, staying on soft surfaces only, and only going for 35 mi. again.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
forty!
sunday: 8 miles, roughly 7:45 pace, in the arb. i had planned to go 5 on sat and 6 sun, but after the day off on sat, i decided that i could go 7 on sunday. once i got going, my legs felt astonishingly good for having felt so well-worked on friday, and i realized that if i ran 8 miles i'd get 40 for the week. that would be a nice milestone after a few weeks of goofing around in the low 30s. my legs were still feeling good in the middle, so i went ahead and did 4. the only thing that felt tired was my quads, which i felt increasingly on each hill. that was kind of funny, given that it seemed that the backs of my legs from hips to ankles were what was so weak during the workout. clearly it worked the quads too and they were still a little tired. tomorrow may be slow, but i'm bound and determined not to go short!
week recap:
40 miles, 10 mile long run, 2 workouts. booyah!
next week's goals: 40-48 miles, depending on number of days (6 vs 7), 10 mile long run, 1-2 workouts. saturday we have a meet at river falls that could be a long one, so it's quite possible i won't be able to get a run in that day, but i'll sure try!
week recap:
40 miles, 10 mile long run, 2 workouts. booyah!
next week's goals: 40-48 miles, depending on number of days (6 vs 7), 10 mile long run, 1-2 workouts. saturday we have a meet at river falls that could be a long one, so it's quite possible i won't be able to get a run in that day, but i'll sure try!
getting there!
wednesday: 5 easy in the arb. legs felt kind of dead, probably from doing the workout on monday and then lifting on tuesday, but other than that, i felt pretty good.
thursday: 6 easy in the arb. stopped by stadium and then hit the trails - legs felt decent, but lower legs especially still felt a little heavy.
friday: 10 with a workout. woof. this was a great workout, but pointed out how far i still have to go. it was a great first step, though, and i walked away feeling really good about how it had gone. i did it with nichole, brenden and brooke - n & bd running together and brooke and me together. we were planning to do 2 miles warm-up, 2x2 miles of threshold with 2 min between, and then possibly a 5th mile of workout. we did them on the dundas path, starting by qt, and the first mile was 6:34, followed by a 6:32 or something. the second mile was kind of uphill. i was starting to fall off brooke just a bit toward the end, but then i'd recatch her and i think i finished with her. she got going on the second one, though (probably since it was a little downhill), and i went through the first mile in around 6:22 and she had a few meters on me. i could tell that running her pace was forcing it for me, and i needed to go a little slower. the second, flat mile, was 6:37. by that second mile, everything from calves to hams to glutes was getting really tight and hurty. not like tying up, but i could tell that my muscular strength is not so great right now. those are going to be really good workouts for that, but i had never thought of threshold workouts as strength workouts before. maybe i was pushing my pace a little (very possible) but at the same time, i don't know that i could have stayed that close to target pace for that long with that little recovery if it wasn't pretty close to threshold. my guess is that the pace was right, but my muscles are weak right now. i need to start doing some hills and more workouts like that one. i could tell i had worked hard because i was having to work a little bit to run 8:20s on the way back for the cooldown. that was a good feeling and one i haven't had in a really long time.
saturday: OFF. kind of weak-willed, but also thought it wouldn't be the worst thing to keep taking a day off each week until my mileage gets a little higher and the track season is over.
thursday: 6 easy in the arb. stopped by stadium and then hit the trails - legs felt decent, but lower legs especially still felt a little heavy.
friday: 10 with a workout. woof. this was a great workout, but pointed out how far i still have to go. it was a great first step, though, and i walked away feeling really good about how it had gone. i did it with nichole, brenden and brooke - n & bd running together and brooke and me together. we were planning to do 2 miles warm-up, 2x2 miles of threshold with 2 min between, and then possibly a 5th mile of workout. we did them on the dundas path, starting by qt, and the first mile was 6:34, followed by a 6:32 or something. the second mile was kind of uphill. i was starting to fall off brooke just a bit toward the end, but then i'd recatch her and i think i finished with her. she got going on the second one, though (probably since it was a little downhill), and i went through the first mile in around 6:22 and she had a few meters on me. i could tell that running her pace was forcing it for me, and i needed to go a little slower. the second, flat mile, was 6:37. by that second mile, everything from calves to hams to glutes was getting really tight and hurty. not like tying up, but i could tell that my muscular strength is not so great right now. those are going to be really good workouts for that, but i had never thought of threshold workouts as strength workouts before. maybe i was pushing my pace a little (very possible) but at the same time, i don't know that i could have stayed that close to target pace for that long with that little recovery if it wasn't pretty close to threshold. my guess is that the pace was right, but my muscles are weak right now. i need to start doing some hills and more workouts like that one. i could tell i had worked hard because i was having to work a little bit to run 8:20s on the way back for the cooldown. that was a good feeling and one i haven't had in a really long time.
saturday: OFF. kind of weak-willed, but also thought it wouldn't be the worst thing to keep taking a day off each week until my mileage gets a little higher and the track season is over.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
oh boy ... way behind!
ok, so apparently it has been about a week since i posted anything... oops! ok - here it goes:
last week:
fri: off (intentionally)
sat: 6 in the arb! (iron gate - actually 5.8 or 5.9)
sun: 6.5 in the arb with the current Fellahs! (iron bridge via stadium)
total last week: a whopping 34! i got a few bonus miles in on the weekend and with metz.
this week:
mon: 6.25 - not easy, but ok. felt good.
tues: off (grumpy / quasi-unintentional)
wed: 8.75 (!) long run along the rver down to the U - felt amazing!
so far so good the last two weeks, so hopefully i will get to about 37 this week!
last week:
fri: off (intentionally)
sat: 6 in the arb! (iron gate - actually 5.8 or 5.9)
sun: 6.5 in the arb with the current Fellahs! (iron bridge via stadium)
total last week: a whopping 34! i got a few bonus miles in on the weekend and with metz.
this week:
mon: 6.25 - not easy, but ok. felt good.
tues: off (grumpy / quasi-unintentional)
wed: 8.75 (!) long run along the rver down to the U - felt amazing!
so far so good the last two weeks, so hopefully i will get to about 37 this week!
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
awkward
tuesday: 5 miles, easy, ~8:15 pace. I was really proud of myself for doing this run. I didn't really feel like going, and once I started, my legs felt kind of crappy. It was probably the result of Monday's workout and lifting with the team that morning, both good things, but it would have been easy to just do the typical out and back 4 miles. Instead, I told myself that my legs didn't really feel that bad and that I should just keep going another 1/2 mile out and then it would be just as easy coming back as ever. Right after the 4 mile turn-around, though, I bumped into my creepy ex-landlord out for a bike ride. We both instantly recognized each other when he was about 10 ft away (biking toward me), and I heard him say my name in the second that he passed me. Actually, he called me Casey, which he always did...infuriating. I refused to turn around and picked it up a bit so that I could take a right on the dirt road instead of continuing up the paved road, just in case he decided to turn around and chat. I think he's actually a nice guy with good intentions, but he comes off like a major creeper. Always better safe than sorry, especially when you're running by yourself in the middle of nowhere.
It did not escape me that if I had turned around at 4 instead of going for 5, we would have been going in the same direction on opposite sides of the road, which either would have meant we didn't make eye contact and wouldn't have had any reaction...or he would have recognized me and then we'd be going in the same direction and I wouldn't be able to avoid him. I suppose that things worked out about as well as possible, but in any case, I'm avoiding that route in the evenings for a while.
It did not escape me that if I had turned around at 4 instead of going for 5, we would have been going in the same direction on opposite sides of the road, which either would have meant we didn't make eye contact and wouldn't have had any reaction...or he would have recognized me and then we'd be going in the same direction and I wouldn't be able to avoid him. I suppose that things worked out about as well as possible, but in any case, I'm avoiding that route in the evenings for a while.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
back on track
monday: 6 miles, track workout. today, tori was practicing in the morning, so i told her that i would do her workout with her. this was awesome. we warmed up, stretched, did drills and then did a mile pace, over under workout with at least double time recovery after each repeat. we started with 2x600 at 2:22, 2:24 (shooting for 2:21), 3x400 at 92, 92, 91 (shooting for 92), 3x300 at 64, 64, 62 (shooting for 67, but she was feeling really good after the 400s, so i let her bring it down some). she did some 200s after, but i didn't do those with her because i really wanted to watch her form.
this workout was great for a couple of reasons. 1- i hadn't done a workout on the outdoor track in a really long time, so it was nice to get going on there again. 2- i was really pleasantly surprised how easy the 600s felt. even though i took her through a little slower than she was shooting for, it was more a problem of figuring out that pace than it was the pace being too difficult. i think i could have done 800s at that pace and done a few of them. my guess is that it was somewhere between 5k pace and threshold pace for me. the mile pace works out to about 6:24 for the 2:24 600. my estimate is that it's closer to the 5k end of the spectrum, but regardless, it has me fired up about where my fitness may be at right now. i should talk with dave, but doing something on the track each week or every other week might be a good way to keep myself fired up about training.
this workout was great for a couple of reasons. 1- i hadn't done a workout on the outdoor track in a really long time, so it was nice to get going on there again. 2- i was really pleasantly surprised how easy the 600s felt. even though i took her through a little slower than she was shooting for, it was more a problem of figuring out that pace than it was the pace being too difficult. i think i could have done 800s at that pace and done a few of them. my guess is that it was somewhere between 5k pace and threshold pace for me. the mile pace works out to about 6:24 for the 2:24 600. my estimate is that it's closer to the 5k end of the spectrum, but regardless, it has me fired up about where my fitness may be at right now. i should talk with dave, but doing something on the track each week or every other week might be a good way to keep myself fired up about training.
yikes
i'm so far behind! here's a major recap:
wednesday: really didn't want to go running, but got myself out the door and got in 4 miles, easy.
thursday: 5 miles in the arb. mylegs felt pretty tired, but the pace was decent - probably around 8:15.
friday: OFF. this was kind of unintentional, but welcome.
saturday: 5 miles. without going into too much detail, this run was pretty terrible. my legs didn't feel very good, and i had the worst GI situation that I have had on a run to date. bottom line (ha), not a great run.
sunday: OFF. unintentional, and kind of weak-willed. i delayed my long run from the morning because my tummy was still a little bit rumbly from the night before. i convinced myself that i'd go later, which, of course, didn't happen because i got busy and had work that had to get done that night. we also decided that since ku was playing in the national championships, we needed to make jersey's for the 5 10k runners to wear for monday's practice. they were awesome, but my lack of a run was not so awesome.
weekly total: not enough. 24 miles, no long run
goals for next week. no runs less than 5 miles unless legs are just totally wrecked. 10 mile long run. try for 7 days, but okay with 6 if there is a good reason. if only 6 days, shoot for 37 miles and if 7 days, shoot for 42.
wednesday: really didn't want to go running, but got myself out the door and got in 4 miles, easy.
thursday: 5 miles in the arb. mylegs felt pretty tired, but the pace was decent - probably around 8:15.
friday: OFF. this was kind of unintentional, but welcome.
saturday: 5 miles. without going into too much detail, this run was pretty terrible. my legs didn't feel very good, and i had the worst GI situation that I have had on a run to date. bottom line (ha), not a great run.
sunday: OFF. unintentional, and kind of weak-willed. i delayed my long run from the morning because my tummy was still a little bit rumbly from the night before. i convinced myself that i'd go later, which, of course, didn't happen because i got busy and had work that had to get done that night. we also decided that since ku was playing in the national championships, we needed to make jersey's for the 5 10k runners to wear for monday's practice. they were awesome, but my lack of a run was not so awesome.
weekly total: not enough. 24 miles, no long run
goals for next week. no runs less than 5 miles unless legs are just totally wrecked. 10 mile long run. try for 7 days, but okay with 6 if there is a good reason. if only 6 days, shoot for 37 miles and if 7 days, shoot for 42.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
tuesday / wednesday...
tues. - good 6 mi. @ 7:00 at the rec because i am kind of a wuss, and it was kind of a gale outside... felt good in general.
wed. - great 4.25 along the river @ (a little under) 6:30! with a stop to stretch. felt pretty good, especially afterwards.
tonight - long run with metz at the lakes! should be fun, if cold and rainy... i am going for 7-ish...
wed. - great 4.25 along the river @ (a little under) 6:30! with a stop to stretch. felt pretty good, especially afterwards.
tonight - long run with metz at the lakes! should be fun, if cold and rainy... i am going for 7-ish...
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
happy windsday!
it was very blustery both of these days. monday i had a strong cross-wind and tuesday i went in the arb and hardly noticed it.
monday: 5 easy ~8:00 pace for the first half and ~7:45 for the second half. My legs felt surprisingly good after the sunday long run. i didn't feel especially peppy, just not especially bad either. it was raining like crazy, so i wore my neon orange jacket and was completely dry when i got back. that was $35 well spent!
tuesday: 5 miles in the arb ~8:15 pace. today my legs felt kind of bad. i think it was 3 days in a row of feeling awesome and slightly pushing the pace catching up with me. i also felt kind of dehydrated, though, so that might have been part of it. it seems like it's always a bit slower in the arb, so it was probably a more typical pace/effort, but my legs certainly felt more fatigued.
monday: 5 easy ~8:00 pace for the first half and ~7:45 for the second half. My legs felt surprisingly good after the sunday long run. i didn't feel especially peppy, just not especially bad either. it was raining like crazy, so i wore my neon orange jacket and was completely dry when i got back. that was $35 well spent!
tuesday: 5 miles in the arb ~8:15 pace. today my legs felt kind of bad. i think it was 3 days in a row of feeling awesome and slightly pushing the pace catching up with me. i also felt kind of dehydrated, though, so that might have been part of it. it seems like it's always a bit slower in the arb, so it was probably a more typical pace/effort, but my legs certainly felt more fatigued.
4sure
easy 4 mi. at the rec becuase it was cold and windy. it seemed better just go to the rec center and be done with it than to waffle about whether or not to go and whether i had enough clothes and whether i would get wet, and whether ... anyway, also the outside of my right knee was hurting in the IT band place, so i was a little concerned about that too. i stretched my IT bands really well before, during, and after the run, and it feels better now. (knock on wood) hopefully it stays ok.
on the whole it was an ok, if not totally great 4 mile run, which is not something i am in a position to complain about...
on the whole it was an ok, if not totally great 4 mile run, which is not something i am in a position to complain about...
Monday, March 26, 2012
catch-up and relish!
wow - i have a lot to catch up on... ok - a-here we go:
tues - off (planned)
wed - 6.25 mi. @ 6:45-ish! felt amazing - worlds better than mon.
thurs - off (unplanned) - didn't have time in between moving desks at work and meeting weissenborn and g
fri - 7 mi. @ 7:00-ish (i think from here on out, i amg going to forget the '-ish' since these are all approximate paces anyway. - ran with jack delehanty around the lakes - felt ok...
sat - 5 mi. @ 7:00 - i could feel the long run still in my legs...
sun - 3 mi. @ 7:00 - pretty chill but i could definitely feel the wear-and-tear of the week.
total for the week: 27.5(!) in 5 days. goal for this week: 30-32 in 6 days...
tues - off (planned)
wed - 6.25 mi. @ 6:45-ish! felt amazing - worlds better than mon.
thurs - off (unplanned) - didn't have time in between moving desks at work and meeting weissenborn and g
fri - 7 mi. @ 7:00-ish (i think from here on out, i amg going to forget the '-ish' since these are all approximate paces anyway. - ran with jack delehanty around the lakes - felt ok...
sat - 5 mi. @ 7:00 - i could feel the long run still in my legs...
sun - 3 mi. @ 7:00 - pretty chill but i could definitely feel the wear-and-tear of the week.
total for the week: 27.5(!) in 5 days. goal for this week: 30-32 in 6 days...
Sunday, March 25, 2012
time to play a little catch up, but first...rock chalk, party people! final four, here we come.
wednesday: day off. decided that one more week with a day off would be a good idea and my legs were feeling tired on monday and even on tuesday, so i thought it wise to just take a down day.
thursday: legs felt worlds better, but the side stitch came back. sort of a funny run, as it was raining pretty hard, but warm, so i decided to try out my new neon orange rain jacket. of course, i got too hot within a mile and took it off and tied it around my waist. within about 1/4 mile, i started to get a side stitch in the same spot as on tues, and in hindisight, i wonder if it had to do with my jacket being tied too tight. i ended up stopping to stretch it out a couple of times but still had it for the duration. 4.5 miles slow and easy - legs felt better, but still a slow pace.
friday: 4 miles, ~7:50 min pace. i had hoped to do more, but delayed too long getting out the door and only had time for 4 miles. i was planning to do my long run on saturday and really wanted to nail it, so i decided it was better to go shorter rather than faster. nice run, though.
saturday: 5.5 miles, 7:45 pace. legs felt unbelievably great on this run and if the sun hadn't been setting, i would have made this my long run day. as it was, i had to work really hard not to go any faster than 7:45 because it felt effortless. also spent a good chunk of the day outside gardening, which, while not the most strenuous, did make me sore back- and glute-wise the next day.
sunday: 9 miles, progressive run starting at 7:45 pace for first 3-4 miles and ending up ~7:15, 6:56, 6:33, ~8:00. this run was awesome. my legs felt a bit stiff and not quite as effortless as on saturday at the start, but stopping to stretch after 2 miles helped some. i still felt like i had to work a little harder than i had the day before, but i was amazed at how easily i brought the pace down to low 7:00s and then under. by the end of the 8th mile, when i was running 6:30 pace, i was working pretty hard to keep it there and my stomach was starting to feel a little tight and unhappy. i'm sure it's just getting used to working hard again. i was pretty sore when i was stretching after, but it was in all the same places that i was sore before the run, so i don't think much of it was specifically from the run. it will be interesting to see how my legs feel tomorrow since they have felt really good while walking around after.
weekly total: 32 in 6 days
goals for next week: 40-42 in 7 or 36-38 in 6, 9-10 mile long run.
wednesday: day off. decided that one more week with a day off would be a good idea and my legs were feeling tired on monday and even on tuesday, so i thought it wise to just take a down day.
thursday: legs felt worlds better, but the side stitch came back. sort of a funny run, as it was raining pretty hard, but warm, so i decided to try out my new neon orange rain jacket. of course, i got too hot within a mile and took it off and tied it around my waist. within about 1/4 mile, i started to get a side stitch in the same spot as on tues, and in hindisight, i wonder if it had to do with my jacket being tied too tight. i ended up stopping to stretch it out a couple of times but still had it for the duration. 4.5 miles slow and easy - legs felt better, but still a slow pace.
friday: 4 miles, ~7:50 min pace. i had hoped to do more, but delayed too long getting out the door and only had time for 4 miles. i was planning to do my long run on saturday and really wanted to nail it, so i decided it was better to go shorter rather than faster. nice run, though.
saturday: 5.5 miles, 7:45 pace. legs felt unbelievably great on this run and if the sun hadn't been setting, i would have made this my long run day. as it was, i had to work really hard not to go any faster than 7:45 because it felt effortless. also spent a good chunk of the day outside gardening, which, while not the most strenuous, did make me sore back- and glute-wise the next day.
sunday: 9 miles, progressive run starting at 7:45 pace for first 3-4 miles and ending up ~7:15, 6:56, 6:33, ~8:00. this run was awesome. my legs felt a bit stiff and not quite as effortless as on saturday at the start, but stopping to stretch after 2 miles helped some. i still felt like i had to work a little harder than i had the day before, but i was amazed at how easily i brought the pace down to low 7:00s and then under. by the end of the 8th mile, when i was running 6:30 pace, i was working pretty hard to keep it there and my stomach was starting to feel a little tight and unhappy. i'm sure it's just getting used to working hard again. i was pretty sore when i was stretching after, but it was in all the same places that i was sore before the run, so i don't think much of it was specifically from the run. it will be interesting to see how my legs feel tomorrow since they have felt really good while walking around after.
weekly total: 32 in 6 days
goals for next week: 40-42 in 7 or 36-38 in 6, 9-10 mile long run.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
a (side) stitch in time...
tuesday: 4 miles slow and easy out woodley and back. got a side stitch a little before the halfway turnaround and it persisted, despite a couple of stretch breaks, for the rest of the run. no fun, and hopefully it will be gone tomorrow.
blown out!
wow! it was WINDY yesterday, and the wind was coming exactly in the direction of river road where i was running, so it was essentially out into a crazy headwind, and then back with a crazy tailwind. (i was really glad to have the tailwind, though!) it was the same route as my long run last week, but it felt a lot harder. also, i forgot how much little things hurt when you are out of shape. left achilles feeling sore/fatigued, right knee feeling sore, hip flexors fatigued. oh well...
6.25 @ pretty fast (6:40-ish!) with a break to stretch about 2 mi. into the run.
today will probably be off, but maybe i will get out for a couple of miles in northfield... tomorrow will be long-ish again.
6.25 @ pretty fast (6:40-ish!) with a break to stretch about 2 mi. into the run.
today will probably be off, but maybe i will get out for a couple of miles in northfield... tomorrow will be long-ish again.
the reason i never run on the olaf side
that damn hill gets me every time. not really, but i was reminded why i don't run up 2nd street on a regular basis. that sucker is tough! especially on the day after a long run.
monday: 5 miles ~7:45 pace? i ran over to donna and dave's to feed their animals and then ran home after consuming a large quantity of extra cheddar goldfish crackers and water. despite being uphill on the way over and downhill on the way back, i think i was about the same pace both ways. my legs felt pretty tight after standing around for a while, and they were sore after and the next day.
monday: 5 miles ~7:45 pace? i ran over to donna and dave's to feed their animals and then ran home after consuming a large quantity of extra cheddar goldfish crackers and water. despite being uphill on the way over and downhill on the way back, i think i was about the same pace both ways. my legs felt pretty tight after standing around for a while, and they were sore after and the next day.
Monday, March 19, 2012
hoping for a cold
i've never in my life hoped i had a cold as much as i am right now, since the alternative is allergies. if it is a cold, it's the most perplexing one i've ever had, but here's hoping.
thursday: 4 easy - out woodley and back. ~8:00 pace. legs felt pretty wiped, so i cut it a mile shorter. also, my head was super-congested.
friday: didn't feel great and had an awkward chunk of time with a recruit that led to no run. probably a good decision overall.
saturday: off. planned day off because of kayleen's visit.
sunday: 8 mile long run in the lower arb. first 5 miles ~8:00, last 3 miles ~7:00. i picked it up from the end of the arb back to home because my legs felt pretty good (as they should after two days off) and it just sort of happened. if i had to guess, i'd say that it was somewhere between threshold and marathon pace, but i'm not really sure. i certainly couldn't have kept doing that for a whole lot longer, and it was taking a lot more effort toward the end than it was at the beginning, but a lot of that felt like muscle strength more than anything else.
weekly total: 27 miles in 5 days
goals for this week: 9 mile long run, 7 days of running, 37 miles (5-5-4-5-5-9-4?) or 40 if i'm feeling super-duper-crazy-awesome.
thursday: 4 easy - out woodley and back. ~8:00 pace. legs felt pretty wiped, so i cut it a mile shorter. also, my head was super-congested.
friday: didn't feel great and had an awkward chunk of time with a recruit that led to no run. probably a good decision overall.
saturday: off. planned day off because of kayleen's visit.
sunday: 8 mile long run in the lower arb. first 5 miles ~8:00, last 3 miles ~7:00. i picked it up from the end of the arb back to home because my legs felt pretty good (as they should after two days off) and it just sort of happened. if i had to guess, i'd say that it was somewhere between threshold and marathon pace, but i'm not really sure. i certainly couldn't have kept doing that for a whole lot longer, and it was taking a lot more effort toward the end than it was at the beginning, but a lot of that felt like muscle strength more than anything else.
weekly total: 27 miles in 5 days
goals for this week: 9 mile long run, 7 days of running, 37 miles (5-5-4-5-5-9-4?) or 40 if i'm feeling super-duper-crazy-awesome.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
long run!
6.25 mi. @ 6:40!
it definitely wasn't easy or pretty, but i got it done. the route was great! unfortunately, river road is hillier than i remember, but at least it is also very active in the evening! today i am going for 4-5 from work, so hopefully i can find another good route.
it definitely wasn't easy or pretty, but i got it done. the route was great! unfortunately, river road is hillier than i remember, but at least it is also very active in the evening! today i am going for 4-5 from work, so hopefully i can find another good route.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
back to the arb!
tuesday: 5 miles easy out woodley and back. roughly 7:40 pace on the way out and 7:35 on the way back. i keep trying to not push it, but it just feels like i'm running through water and not getting anywhere. like in a dream where you keep running in place and you can't catch up as a man steals all your chocolate waffles. it was just like that. i think i just need to chill back and let it happen instead of worrying about it.
wednesday: 5 miles IN THE ARB! slower today, in part because the arb is a little soft, turny, hilly, and in part because my legs were sort of tired from the last couple of days. it was a beautiful day and i'm psyched to be back in the arb more regularly!
wednesday: 5 miles IN THE ARB! slower today, in part because the arb is a little soft, turny, hilly, and in part because my legs were sort of tired from the last couple of days. it was a beautiful day and i'm psyched to be back in the arb more regularly!
uh-oh...
0 mi. because i got weirded out by running from work and wearing short shorts through the office on my way out. Today i will not take no for an answer. this week is off to a bad start! time to change that...
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
monday
5 miles - easy, roughly 7:45 pace on the way out and 7:35 on the way back. my legs didn't feel great - just tired and heavy at the start, but they must have loosened up as i went along. i didn't feel like i had picked up the pace, or even like i was running 7:45 to begin with. i guess i need to just run more on feel and not worry about how fast it ends up being.
the wreck center...
last night the wreck center closed on me while i was in the middle of a run that was going very well. this unfortunate event put me in such a foul mood that i did not finish the run outside (or even stretch) when i got home. i still got a partial run done, but it shifted the days around in my weekly plan.
3 mi @ 6:50
today: a real attempt at running from work at the end of the day! river road? the U? stone arch bridge? who knows what this evening holds...
3 mi @ 6:50
today: a real attempt at running from work at the end of the day! river road? the U? stone arch bridge? who knows what this evening holds...
Monday, March 12, 2012
weekly wrap
friday: 4 easy, broken up and untimed. i planned to do part of alison's workout with her, but she just kicked too much butt and i couldn't do it with her. also, it turned out to be a great workout for me to watch her and work on her running form...yeah, that's why i didn't do the workout...
saturday: 4ish easy. legs felt tired and heavy. i stopped and stretched part way through, which helped, but i think that 6 days in a row for the first time was catching up with me.
sunday: intentional day off and run-n-fun team meeting.
week total: 29 miles in 6 days.
at the r-n-f meeting, they gave us free stuff, which was really exciting, and now i'm feeling more excited about racing this summer. i'm also feeling a little bit under the gun to get fit fast so i don't embarrass myself, but a small dose of that is probably helpful. i just need to take it one week at a time and not feel any pressure to start racing before i feel ready. i can get in at least a couple of races with them toward the end of the summer, no problem, and that should leave me plenty of time to get fit.
goals for next week: 6 days of running - kayleen will be here on saturday, so i'll probably just take that off - and 33 miles with an 8-9 mile long run.
saturday: 4ish easy. legs felt tired and heavy. i stopped and stretched part way through, which helped, but i think that 6 days in a row for the first time was catching up with me.
sunday: intentional day off and run-n-fun team meeting.
week total: 29 miles in 6 days.
at the r-n-f meeting, they gave us free stuff, which was really exciting, and now i'm feeling more excited about racing this summer. i'm also feeling a little bit under the gun to get fit fast so i don't embarrass myself, but a small dose of that is probably helpful. i just need to take it one week at a time and not feel any pressure to start racing before i feel ready. i can get in at least a couple of races with them toward the end of the summer, no problem, and that should leave me plenty of time to get fit.
goals for next week: 6 days of running - kayleen will be here on saturday, so i'll probably just take that off - and 33 miles with an 8-9 mile long run.
wrapping up last week...
all in all, it was a great week. really it was the first realy week of running i have done for several months. the mileage and consistency can both be impoved, of course, but in general, i am happy with last week.
fri: 0 mi. - intentional day off
sat: 0 mi. - unintentional day off... oops.
sun: 4.5 mi. - workout! 1 mi. warmup, 3 x .5 mi. on (6:00) / .5 mi. off (7:00), 1 mi. cooldown!
the workou felt pretty good (not easy, but not impossible) so at some point this week i am thinking a 1 mi. @ 6:00 interval is a good test.
20.5 mi. total for the week in 5 days, with one workout. this week i am shooting for 25-27 (depending on how things go) in 6 days (if not 7), and a couple of workout. my long run last week was 5, so this week i am planning to make it 6 with jack delehany on thursday.
i am feeling inspired by cassie's newly minted mebership with the run-n-fun race teamand all the cool stuff she got from them! here we go...
fri: 0 mi. - intentional day off
sat: 0 mi. - unintentional day off... oops.
sun: 4.5 mi. - workout! 1 mi. warmup, 3 x .5 mi. on (6:00) / .5 mi. off (7:00), 1 mi. cooldown!
the workou felt pretty good (not easy, but not impossible) so at some point this week i am thinking a 1 mi. @ 6:00 interval is a good test.
20.5 mi. total for the week in 5 days, with one workout. this week i am shooting for 25-27 (depending on how things go) in 6 days (if not 7), and a couple of workout. my long run last week was 5, so this week i am planning to make it 6 with jack delehany on thursday.
i am feeling inspired by cassie's newly minted mebership with the run-n-fun race teamand all the cool stuff she got from them! here we go...
Thursday, March 8, 2012
thursday
~5 miles easy with alison and simone at nationals. we just went on time, so i'm not really sure about pace. i'd guess +/- 7:30, but who knows. fairly strong head/cross wind on the way out meant that we ran 1 min faster on the way back.
playing catch-up...
ok - so now that i pushed so hard for a training blog, i have yet to really use it. oops! a-here we go:
monday - 5 mi. easy @ 7:00
tuesday - 4 mi. easy @ 7:00-ish
wednesday - 4 mi. @ mostly 7:00-ish
thursday - 3 mi. @ 7:00 / 7:00 / 6:40
this is the best week i have had in a LONG time! so far so good. the plan is to get out for at least 6 days this week (maybe 7!), and when the week started I planned to go for more than 20 mi. at this point, 20 looks all but guaranteed, so maybe 3-4 per day for the next 2 or 3 days...
so far so good!
monday - 5 mi. easy @ 7:00
tuesday - 4 mi. easy @ 7:00-ish
wednesday - 4 mi. @ mostly 7:00-ish
thursday - 3 mi. @ 7:00 / 7:00 / 6:40
this is the best week i have had in a LONG time! so far so good. the plan is to get out for at least 6 days this week (maybe 7!), and when the week started I planned to go for more than 20 mi. at this point, 20 looks all but guaranteed, so maybe 3-4 per day for the next 2 or 3 days...
so far so good!
wednesday and a general plan
wednesday: 4 miles easy ~7:50 pace. i went out and back on woodley, which is pretty flat and mentally easy. felt relatively good, but not unbelievably great. legs felt fatigued.
talked with dave for a bit today about training. we didn't get too much locked down, but agreed that for right now, my primary focus has to be on getting out the door every day, even if it's only for a couple of miles. he thought my long run seemed like a good distance and that i should keep upping it as i'm able. eventually, i'll start adding in a marathon pace workout each week - probably as part of my long run. i'll have a second workout, most likely alternating hills with lactate threshold.
talked with dave for a bit today about training. we didn't get too much locked down, but agreed that for right now, my primary focus has to be on getting out the door every day, even if it's only for a couple of miles. he thought my long run seemed like a good distance and that i should keep upping it as i'm able. eventually, i'll start adding in a marathon pace workout each week - probably as part of my long run. i'll have a second workout, most likely alternating hills with lactate threshold.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
did i mention i need to stretch?
tuesday: 7 miles ~ 7:52 pace.
it was close to 60 degrees out this afternoon, so i had to take advantage by doing my long run today. i went 7 out-and-back on hall street, which is the same route i took last week. however, while last week my legs felt pretty good and the weather was awful, this week the weather was great and my legs felt pretty bad. after 5 miles, they felt decent, but it took that long for them to loosen up, and i never felt especially swift. my guess is that my complete lack of stretching yesterday was at least partially to blame. my calves, particularly, were really tight. the hills were decently good, though. as slow as it makes my runs right now, i think that it's good to do hilly routes as much as possible.
it was close to 60 degrees out this afternoon, so i had to take advantage by doing my long run today. i went 7 out-and-back on hall street, which is the same route i took last week. however, while last week my legs felt pretty good and the weather was awful, this week the weather was great and my legs felt pretty bad. after 5 miles, they felt decent, but it took that long for them to loosen up, and i never felt especially swift. my guess is that my complete lack of stretching yesterday was at least partially to blame. my calves, particularly, were really tight. the hills were decently good, though. as slow as it makes my runs right now, i think that it's good to do hilly routes as much as possible.
Monday, March 5, 2012
monday
5 miles - ~7:40 pace ave. legs felt great, as they should after 3 days off from running and a sunday spent lazing on the couch. i'll have to be careful not to go too fast in the next couple of days. i'm thinking long run on thursday before we leave for nationals, to be certain it gets done.
goals
in an effort to make myself a bit more accountable, here are my goals for this week:
1. run 7 days a week - 6 will be okay, but only if i end up taking off Sunday or Saturday (during nationals). that means running every day during the week.
2. long run of 7-8 miles. 7 miles last week felt pretty good, so 8 might not be a problem, but that combined with running more days/week...we'll see.
3. stretch, stretch, stretch.
4. shoot for at least 30 mi in 7 days, possibly more like 35.
all of this is subject to change if i end up sitting down to talk with dave about training this week. this should be a good start, though.
1. run 7 days a week - 6 will be okay, but only if i end up taking off Sunday or Saturday (during nationals). that means running every day during the week.
2. long run of 7-8 miles. 7 miles last week felt pretty good, so 8 might not be a problem, but that combined with running more days/week...we'll see.
3. stretch, stretch, stretch.
4. shoot for at least 30 mi in 7 days, possibly more like 35.
all of this is subject to change if i end up sitting down to talk with dave about training this week. this should be a good start, though.
Friday, March 2, 2012
playing catch-up
last week, if my memory is correct, i ran 5 days, and ran approx 25 miles. that felt really really easy, good, fast. one of those runs was an impromptu workout, progression run style, and started around 7:30 pace and ended around 6:30 pace over 5 miles.
this week, more running, but not feeling as awesome. my guess is that my legs are hella weak, and the regular running, even at low mileage, is catching up to me.
monday: off, which was silly since i could have gone in the morning
tuesday: 7 mile long run in the sleety nastiness, but i felt good after about having gone instead of sitting inside in my sweats with lawrence warming my lap - 8:00 pace
wednesday: 3 brutal miles on a treadmill. treadmills and i do not get along, especially after a long run and not enough stretching. i was hoping to get in 4 miles, but it was all i could do to get in 3 without falling on my face. on top of that, they were slow...like 8:40 or something.
thursday: 4 miles that felt relatively good, but not particularly fast - 7:40ish pace.
i'm hoping to corner dave next week to come up with a training plan, but my guess is that we'll end up being kind of gradual about it depending on how quickly my legs adapt to training again.
this week, more running, but not feeling as awesome. my guess is that my legs are hella weak, and the regular running, even at low mileage, is catching up to me.
monday: off, which was silly since i could have gone in the morning
tuesday: 7 mile long run in the sleety nastiness, but i felt good after about having gone instead of sitting inside in my sweats with lawrence warming my lap - 8:00 pace
wednesday: 3 brutal miles on a treadmill. treadmills and i do not get along, especially after a long run and not enough stretching. i was hoping to get in 4 miles, but it was all i could do to get in 3 without falling on my face. on top of that, they were slow...like 8:40 or something.
thursday: 4 miles that felt relatively good, but not particularly fast - 7:40ish pace.
i'm hoping to corner dave next week to come up with a training plan, but my guess is that we'll end up being kind of gradual about it depending on how quickly my legs adapt to training again.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
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