Week 7 - Speed run

Yet another grueling speed run this week. The plan called for 7 repeats of 800m (1/2 mi) at a 7:03/mi pace (which is essentially me running about as fast as I can). Needless to say, it did not all go down as planned. I was able to make it through 4 of them before needing a breather. I followed this up with 3 more repeats of half the distance (400m or 1/4 mi). In total, I ran 4 miles.

These speed workouts really hit me hard. I'm pretty sure there was no way I would have gotten through that fifth one if I had not taken a break. My limbs were getting a bit tingly and my body was feeling weird. A definite sign to cut back.

Week 6 - Long run

This week's long run went much better than anticipated, mostly in part because of some cooperation from the weather department. The forecast had sounded unpleasant the past few days, but when I woke this morning it was sunny and I logged onto the local news station and saw it would be in the low 40s through mid-day. So I hurried on over to the towpath to get my run on. The only downside of the weather was the wind, which was gusting around 30+ mph. But I had my hat and gloves and running tights, so I was pretty shielded from that.

So off I ran, not really sure how long I would go. During mile 3, my left knee starting hurting. More specifically, the iliotibial band by my left knee starting aching. So after 3 miles, I turned around to head back to where I started. The pain decreased (or at least was more bearable) as I went along, so I kept going past my starting point and headed north on the trail. I continued a few more miles before turning back.

Before I knew it, I had completed 11 miles in 1:37:31 (8:52/mi pace). Not a great pace, though I did start off around 8:20/mi for the first 3 or so, before the knee started hurting. I'm hoping I can get through this next week about as good as I did this past one. Maybe add a couple more miles to next week's long run. I've totally deviated from the schedule in terms of the long runs, so I'm sort of playing the long runs by ear now.


Weekly Total: 22 miles
Yearly Total: 115 miles

Week 6 - Tempo run

Fortunately I was able to break my stretch of bad runs today with a solid 6 mile run (1 more than my schedule had called for) at the designated tempo pace of 8:08. Since I have an 8 miler on the schedule for next week, I wanted to push myself a little further today so it will (hopefully) not be as bad.

Week 6 - Speed run

This week's speed run was another rough one. The schedule called for 5 intervals of 1200m (3/4 mi) at 7:08/mi pace. I managed to get through the first two (with a 1/4 mi jog in between) before my lungs advised me to stop my foolishness.

But, I did not quit. I took a little extra breather between the next 3 and slowed up the pace a bit so that it was closer to 8 minutes than 7. Ultimately, I ran 5 miles. Next week is 800m intervals, which should be a little more manageable.

Week 5 - Long run

Well, today's "long run" ended up being not so long. I had a feeling that 14 miles on a treadmill was going to be a challenge, and that it was. I managed to keep the towel over the display for a few miles, but eventually I broke down and kept looking at it. No matter what might be on TV, or what cute girl might be on the stair climber in front of me, there is nothing that can keep my attention off the clock when I'm on a treadmill. I can't help it.
I don't know any times or how many breaks I took in between, but I ended up doing 8 miles at around a 9:00/mi pace. Near the end, my left knee was starting to get that all-too-familiar Iliotibial Band pain in my left knee. Not a good sign. It's probably best that I stopped at 8 miles since my body is a little behind plan as far as ramping up my mileage because of my illness earlier this month. Hopefully I can catch back up to the mileage, because it only gets more and more from here on out.

Weekly Total: 17 miles
Yearly Total: 93 miles

Week 5 - Tempo run

Today I did manage to get back on track. The plan called for a 5 mile run at an 8:06/mi pace, and that's exactly what I did. No more, no less. I will admit that it wasn't exactly a breeze, and as usual I did consider cutting it short, but I got through it and finished in about 40:22 (8:04/mi).

Next up is the long run, and I have no clue what's going to happen with that. It's supposed to be in the 20s this weekend and snow, so that pretty much rules out running outside. And 14 miles on a treadmill? You've got to be joking. I struggle to get through 5 without bailing. I don't think I could handle 2 hours on a treadmill. Physically, yes. Mentally, no. It's just such a different mental challenge being on the treadmill as opposed to be outdoors, and I struggle with it every day. But if I don't start getting in these long runs, the marathon is not going to be a pretty sight.

Week 5 - Speed run

Today's attempt to get back on my training plan did not go quite as planned. The plan was to do 10 repeats of 400m at around a 6:53/mi pace. Yeah...not so fun. I got through the first 5 of them, "resting" for 400m in between at around an 8:53/mi pace. After I reached that halfway point, I slowed down and walked for a half mile. I couldn't help it, my lungs were screaming. After that, I did 3 more of the 400m sprints, except at about a minute slower than before. I figured it was better than nothing. After the walking, my lungs let me know that they're weren't down with 5 more at that crazy pace.

So all in all, I did 4 miles total, which is one less than I had planned.

Week 4 - a run

Well, after being missing in action for almost 2 weeks, I got back to running today. As I had mentioned in my previous post, I was feeling a little under the weather, and it only got worse after that. It was merely the common cold (or so the doctor said), but it kicked my butt. My sore throat and aches lasted an entire week, only to be followed by a bad cough that only started improving over the past couple of days. I could have kept running, but I didn't want to take a chance and possibly prolong my illness. So I took some time off. But now I'm back, hopefully for good.

My goal for today was just to get some running in, which I did. I completed 4 miles in 33:55 (8:29/mi pace). I felt fairly good, though I was anxious to get it over with. I had been aiming for 5, but did not feeling like hanging around too late on a Friday evening. I plan to get back to my normal schedule on Monday and am not going to try to do anything to makeup the missed runs. I feel confident that I can just pickup the schedule where I should be at and go from there.

Weekly Total: 4 miles
Yearly Total: 76 miles