Back at it...Again

It seems a bit like Groundhog Day, but once again I'm trying to get back into a regular routine of running. Only this time, I've actually gotten out there, four times in the past week.

It hasn't been much, a mile and three-quarters in the longest one. And it hasn't been easy, which makes me a bit wistful of the way I was running last summer, a time when five-miles was a breeze. Of course, I realize that getting out there regularly will eventually get me back to that point, but in the interests of instant gratification...I want to be there now. (In a small indication that I'm progressing, I have lowered my average pace on the 1.25 mile course by 40 seconds or so, from 10'34" to 9'51". It didn't feel that way, though.)

At the moment, I'm concentrating on running just in the local neighborhood, either Old Freehold Road through the Walnut Street School yard, then Walnut Street back to OFR, or up to the High School and back. The weather has been largely cooperative, but we are getting towards the winter months, so I'd like to establish a regular routine before then, because I'm not going to be wanting to get out there when the temperatures are at freezing or below if I haven't.

I'm aiming for a near-term goal of five miles per run, which I should get to by December 1st if I keep this up. Last year, while training for the marathon I didn't run (yet...someday I will, when I can devote four hours on a Saturday to training), I found out about the Manasquan Reservoir, which has a beautiful 5-mile perimeter course around the water. Now, if one could only do it without the assorted other walkers, runners, and bicyclists, it would be perfect. In late spring, I'm going to try again for the Historic Half Marathon, and by try, I mean run the whole thing.

I'm still using Nike+, which seems to be pretty accurate. I've thought about trying one of the other apps, such as RunKeeper, but if it works, why change it. My Nike-sponsored cheerleaders for the first couple of runs have either been Shalane Flanagan or Sanya Richards-Ross.

For a little bit different take on things, check out my friend Roseanne Rappoccio's blog. She's a fellow never-was-a-runner, and has really gotten into it. She says she still doesn't like it, but I'm not quite sure I believe her.

Finally, I've changed up my playlist, too, trying to get a fresh start.

First five songs, old and new playlists:

·         “Armageddon It”, Def Leppard	·         “Out of Our Heads”, Dropkick Murphys
·         “Already Gone”, The Eagles	·         “Sing the Changes”, The Fireman
·         “I Want It All”, Queen	·         “Danger Zone”, Kenny Loggins
·         “She’s A Rebel”, Green Day	·         "If I Should Fall From Grace With God”, The Pogues
·         “Back In The Saddle”, Aerosmith	·         “We Didn’t Start The Fire”, Billy Joel

Week One - Day Four

Yesterday was the first "long run" of the program, a distance of five miles (which, by the twelfth week, will be a "short run"). Because of the temperature and humidity (81 degrees Fahrenheit and 88%) at four in the morning, I decided to modify the run a little bit. I wouldn't call it cheating, since this will be my strategy for the marathon anyway, but I didn't want to kill myself for a mere-five miler. For every ten minutes of running, I did one minute of walking, the idea being that I'd still have some gas in the tank at the end.

It actually worked out. I started out faster than I wanted to, about 9'20" and change, but slowed down to just above my so-far-normal pace at around 9'40". Hit my first walking part at almost 1.1 miles, then kept that up for the next four. Still a little tough at the end, but I gave it a little extra boost knowing the finish was in sight. Of course, realizing that I would be late for work if I didn't was also a great motivator.

The end result was that my average pace was 10'12" with the walks included, which I am quite happy with, given the conditions. If I hadn't included those little breaks, I'm sure that the pace would have been much slower.

At the end, Shalane Flanagan says I ran my fastest 5K to date, second time this week that happened. I guess I'm doing something right.

This time the run was straight up OFR to the Parkway overpass by Whitty Road, then back.

Tomorrow is another short run, a three mile course through the neighborhood. I plan on running that one without breaks, so the pace might be a little slower, but the temperature is supposed to be around 70 F at four in the morning, so it hopefully will even out.