Four miles of speedwork

Today was an attempt to do a little bit of speedwork. Obviously it was not too involved but it was better than nothing. I do like the ring of a 7:36/mi average pace though.

Just 3

I finally returned to the fitness center at work this afternoon, only to find it just as crowded as I remembered it. Luckily, I did manage to secure one of the two open treadmills upon emerging from the locker room. I was all set to go, and then my iPod froze on me, just as my run was starting. I tried to fix it, but had no idea how to "unfreeze" it (until I got back in front of a PC, an hour later). So the 3 miles I put myself through today will be documented no place other than right here. But believe me, I did do them, and they were not easy. After running the first mile at around an 8:30/mi pace, I then alternated 1/4 mi stretches at 8:30 and 7:24. Not easy, but I knew I didn't have that far to go today. Still not feeling 100%. Lots of coughing afterwards, but not as bad as I had expected. I should be back to full go next week.

I'm back (finally) !

After taking nearly two weeks off due to illness ("stomach flu") and subsequent headaches and weakness, I finally put my running shoes back on today and went for a run. Nothing special, just a 5K on the indoor track and the community fitness center. I kept it slow, at well over a 9:00/mi pace, for fear that I might lose a lung if I tried to push it any harder. I didn't feel great, but I didn't feel too bad. It was nice to get some physical activity back in my routine.

Weekly Total: 3.1 miles
2007 Yearly Total: 31.5 miles

A 10km run

I managed to crank out my second 10km run of the new year today on the indoor track at the community fitness center. 10k is A LOT of laps around a 200m track. Too many to count without going crazy. I think if I tried calculating it ahead of time, I'd get frustrated by the thought of it and give up before I started. Thankfully my iPod can help turn my brain off and do all the counting for me. The only thing I have to think about is whether the anger-filled men playing basketball are going to start a fight with one another (or the refs), and to try to avoid the little kids that love wandering around on the track and getting in peoples way.

Weekly Total: 6.2 miles
2007 Yearly Total: 28.4 miles

Four more

Just another simple four mile run today with some speed work that is a little hard to gather by looking at the run graph, but I promise, I did some.

Weekly Total: 8 miles
2007 Yearly Total: 22.2 miles

Four miles

10km

Went to the community fitness center today and ran 6.2 miles on the indoor track. Last weekend, I did just half of that distance on the track after doing the first half on a treadmill. I can now officially say that running around a track for almost an hour is every bit as boring as running on a treadmill. Especially this track which is shorter than a standard track. At least with the treadmill you have a TV to watch.

I kept the pace slow today as this was my "long run". I felt pretty good and did not sweat very much or feel too tired at the end. My lower back started hurting quite a bit during the last mile, but I managed to tough it out.

Weekly Total: 14.2 miles
2007 Yearly Total: 14.2 miles

4 mile tempo

Today's run was done on the treadmill at the fitness center after work, which was surprisingly still not crowded (even less so than Wednesday). I hopped on my preferred treadmill, which is quickly becoming unpreferred because it seems to over-report my distance as compared to my iPod. Today, I had to run 4.2 miles to get my iPod to register 4 miles. Usually it's the other way around on the treadmills.

I started off the first 1/2 mile at around a 9:00/mi pace, and then at the .5 mile marker, I kicked it up to a 7:30/mi pace and kept it there for the next 3 full miles. It was tough to keep up, but I managed. For the final 1/2 mile, I knocked the speed back down a bit with a slight increase near the end (just to get the thing over with). My legs were pretty sore afterwards, and my lungs weren't too happy. But it was a good run.

First 4 of the new year

Went for my first run of the new year today. Despite the nice weather, I opted to stay indoors (since it's more convenient) and hit up the fitness center at work. To my surprise, it was not crazy busy. Sure, all of the elliptical machines were taken, but the long line of treadmills were not even half taken. So I was able to get on one I like and get in my full workout without having to stop after 30 minutes. This made me happy.

I did a 4 mile run today, with a 3/4 mile warmup, followed by 1/4 mile intervals of fast and slow, with the "fast" being a 7:03/mi pace and the "slow" being around an 8:57/mi pace. The run graph doesn't illustrate this that well, but it was a tough run. I pushed myself and was happy with the results. I need more workouts like this one if I want to break a 3:40 marathon this year. Oops, did I just set a goal for myself?