Long Training Run: 9/20

I ran my scheduled 10 miles today in 1:46:00. Not bad. Especially since I haven't run any considerable distance in 3 weeks.

Training Run

Not surprisingly, I wasn't capable of running on Sunday, so I run my short training run on Monday evening instead (generally an off day). Satellite reception didn't work for me, so I ran for time instead - 35 minutes. At my pace, that should have been about 3 1/4 to 3 1/2 miles.

Speed Workout

I took 2 days off from running on Sunday and Monday, but got up at 6am this morning to get a speed workout in. I didn't do anything special except run to the local track and run 4 laps around the track at my fastest possible speed with 90-second breathers in between. I didn't do bad though:

Lap 1: 1:54
Lap 2: 1:56
Lap 3: 2:04
Lap 4: 2:07

A short workout, but definitely got my engine started!

Week 3: Speed Session

Despite not feeling well 2 days ago, I performed much better today than my speed session last week.

Lap #1: 2:04
Lap #2: 2:08
Lap #3: 2:10
Lap #4: 2:19

....well, except for the last lap. That one is disappointing.

Week 2: Speed Session

I did an excellent job on my speed workout last night. First, I warmed up with a 10-minute jog (approx. .85 miles), then I ran each of my 1/4 mile laps.

Lap #1: 2:11
Lap #2: 2:11
Lap #3: 2:14
Lap #4: 2:20

I didn't quite make my goal of under 2:10 per lap, but at least I'm working towards that goal. In the meantime, Spelunker is also doing his speed workout, which is much more extensive than mine. He is running 8 3/4-mile repeats with a 1-mile warm-up and cool-down.

By the time I finish my 1-mile total speed workout, he has only completed 3 of his repeats. 5 more to go? I'm going to have a loooooong cool-down then. And that's what I do. I run for an additional 2.25 miles (after walking a catch-my-breath lap).

I'm actually quite proud of myself because while we are doing our workout, a group of about 6 12-year olds come onto the track with their coach to run laps. While I'm slower than they were - I never once stopped running, while those whippersnappers had to walk a bit after every couple of laps.

All in all, though, I ran a total of 4 miles during this workout and just felt great for the remainder of the day. Add on my wonderful meal of mushroom tilapia, and I couldn't have asked for a more perfect evening.

Week 1: Speed Session

Start time: 5pm
Mileage: 2 miles
Lap #1: 2:12
Lap #2: 2:14
Lap #3: 2:18
Lap #4: N/A
Temperature: 96 F
Terrain: High school track

Yep, it's countdown time again. I have 12 weeks until the Rock n' Roll 1/2 marathon in Virginia Beach over Labor Day weekend (the reason I am not attending Colorado Invihash this year). So, I'm starting this week off with a speed session.

Unfortunately, I can't do anything about the 90+ degree heat, and skip my last lap (excuses, excuses!). I'm walking between speed laps at the moment, but hope to actually slow jog once I improve at this workout again.

No More Goofing Off

…as I have been for the last year. I haven’t run a decent training program ever since I jumped on the love train. And neither has @ss Spelunker. Since our lives have reverted to the old ball-and-chain routine and since Hoover has been hounding me for the last month to sign up for the Marine Corps Marathon, I resumed a regular running routine on Saturday. Nothing much to be proud of – a simple 2 mile jog. I didn’t even have a proper stop-watch to tell you how long it took me, although I wouldn’t tell y’all even if I knew. Spelunker didn’t fare much better, since he only ran 2 of his planned 5 miles. D*mn! Of course, that had more to do with his hangover than his running ability. Regardless, I have 9 months to train with Hoover as my virtual partner.

Week 1: Long Training Run

Start time: 9:00am
Mileage: 2.49 miles
Time: 27:28
Temperature: 81 F
Terrain: Pretty flat pavement

Ugghhh! I SO do not want to get up this morning to run 4 miles. But I've got to. I'm certainly not gonna want to run 4 miles after I finish riding roller coasters at Busch Gardens. I should've gotten up an hour ago. It's so d*mn hot out! And I stayed up waaaaay too late last night at Saddle Ridge.

My knee is throbbing. That's all @ss's fault.

And when I get back to Hoover's aunt's house, Hoover tells me that she would've gone running with me. You friggin' said no!

D*mn! I certainly did wake up on the wrong side of the bed today. I'm extremely b*tchy. I hope its just because I'm tired...

Week 1: Training Run #3

Start time: 5:30am
Mileage: 2.00 miles
Time: 21:02
Temperature: 61 F
Terrain: Pretty flat pavement

God! How can I get up this early in the morning before the sun is even up? I have no choice today though. I've got to take my cousin to the airport and pack for VA Beach this weekend. At least it's over quickly.

And I won my bet with @ss. I got home before 11pm last night!

Week 1: Training Run #2

Start time: 8:00pm
Mileage: 3.00 miles
Time: 32:01
Temperature: 88 F
Terrain: Pretty flat pavement

An improvement of 20 seconds over yesterday. Who woulda thunk it?

Week 1: Training Run #1

Start time: 7:00pm
Mileage: 3.00 miles
Time: 32:24
Temperature: 84 F
Terrain: Pretty flat pavement

Not bad, but not great either. I've got a long ways to go in 12 weeks.

Week 1: Speed Session

Start time: 6am
Mileage: @1.63 miles
Lap #1: 2:00
Lap #2: 2:03
Lap #3: 2:06
Lap #4: 2:05
Temperature: 71 F
Terrain: High school track

Considering my inability to run in the past few weeks, I'm amazed that I perform as well as I do today. Maybe the fact that I'm motivated to perform well in my next half-marathon has something to do with it. Or maybe the fact that it is a mild 71 degrees outside.

New Training Schedule

Well, it’s that time again. I never got on the ball for training for the Half Mind Marathon, so I’ve abandoned that effort. However, the Baltimore Half-Marathon is 13 weeks away and I have planned the following schedule:

Mondays: Speed Session, Spinning, Hash (until Labor Day – Rest afterwards)

Tuesday: Cardio of choice, Abs, Training Run

Wednesday: Weight Lifting, Spinning, Training Run

Thursday: Weight Lifting, Abs, Hash

Friday: Training Run, Rest

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: Training Run

Of course, outside of the training runs and weight lifting, I can do as little or as much cardio as I please. I will provide a progress report weekly to ensure I’m staying on track. I will start my first week running 12 total miles and eventually work up to 23 total miles weekly by week eleven.

Calf Injury

High heels are hell and can hurt you. I’ve been waking up for the past nights with charleyhorses and they’re killer. I apparently need to eat bananas and stop wearing heels. The funny thing is that it doesn’t bother me when running. The blister on my pinky toe hurts worse. I found some stuff left over from one of my races which was some muscle balm containing menthol. I rubbed that stuff on my leg and massaged my calf for about 10 minutes. It helped a lot. Hopefully, my calf will feel better soon.

Week 6: Training Run #1

Start time: 6:00am
Mileage: 1.80 miles
Time: 19:11
Elevation Gain: 421 feet
Temperature: 70 F
Terrain: Long gradual hill

I'm ashamed to even post these results, but a run is a run, no matter how short. I won't go into details, but let's just say that my body is not quite yet accustomed to the early morning hours.

Week 5: Training Run #1

Start time: 9:15am
Mileage: 4.70 miles
Time: 50:01
Elevation Gain: 561feet - this has got to be wrong! I'm in DE for crap's sake!
Temperature: 80 F
Terrain: Flat Pavement

Week 4: Training Run #1

Start time: 6:30pm
Mileage: 3.35 miles
Time: 36:31
Elevation Gain: 505 feet
Temperature: 85 F
Terrain: Pavement with long gradual hills

Week 3: Training Run #1

Start time: 6:30pm
Mileage: 5.80 miles
Time: 1:01:55
Elevation Gain: 809 feet
Temperature: 70 F
Terrain: Pavement with long gradual hills

Although my performance isn't much better today than it was last week, at least I can say I ran the entire distance.

I think I'm def going to train for that Half-Wit 1/2 Marathon even if it will kick my @ss. I can't pass up the challenge and I need a goal in order to keep up with my running. Besides, I am not going for a PR for this one. This will be a challenge solely because it will be a trail run.

Week 2: Training Run #1

Start time: 7:00pm
Mileage: 4.66 miles
Time: 53:55
Elevation Gain: 596 feet
Temperature: 84 F
Terrain: Pavement with long gradual hills

To say that this run is pitiful is an understatement. I believe my poor performance is due to a combination of factors: the temperature, my lack of training runs, and my failure to hydrate before running. However, I did walk about .40 miles of the above distance. Unfortunately, my Garmin didn't keep track of my starts/stops as splits. I'll have to figure out how to do that someday.

Week 1: Training Run #1

Leg #1:
Start time: 7:00pm
Mileage: 2.41 miles
Time: 23:27
Elevation Gain: 305 ft
Temperature: 79 F
Terrain: Mostly flat with some long gradual hills

Leg #2:
Start time: 8:30 pm
Mileage: 1.16 miles
Time: 11:57
Elevation Gain: 215 ft
Temperature: 73 F, the torrential downpour didn't begin until I reached my "cool down" point - what luck! unfortunately, I didn't get to cool down
Terrain: Mostly flat with some long gradual hills

Total Distance: 3.57 miles
Total Time: 35:24
Total Elevation: 520 ft

So I have reset my training counter. I'm still unsure what major race I am running next, but to suffice, I have a 10K this Saturday.

Surprisingly enough, even though I haven't run in 3 weeks (for training - I have hashed), I performed 3 minutes better today than the last time. But then I had just run the Cherry Blossom 10 miler and was suffering from allergies, so maybe that isn't saying much.

Regardless, my gym workout was rough. I sincerely believe that I lost muscle mass due to the flu cause I could barely handle the 20 lb. dumbbells for my chest press. And I'm kind of worried about the squeaky feeling in my right knee when I was doing squats. I'm gonna keep an eye on that. Other than that, I had a decent lifting routine and promise myself that I will not skip the gym for anymore illnesses this year (I hope I can keep that promise).