A medium run today of five miles, after skipping the first short three-miler. After moving last week's long run to this past Sunday, I was looking at three consecutive days of running this week, allowing for a day off after the seven miles of Sunday, and a day off before the eight miles on Saturday. Since I am most definitely NOT an elite runner, and my body is still getting used to all this distance running, 11 miles in three days seemed a bit much.
Another local trip around the neighborhood, effectively doing loops in some developments, to make up the five miles without having to actually travel that far. Got out around 0415, so traffic wasn't much of an issue, though I much prefer to run in daylight. I can't wait for the days when running in daylight is more comfortable, in terms of temperature and humidity, than running in the dark.
Because of the hip-flexor pain, I took a two-minute break around the four-mile mark, and that seemed to help. Finished the last mile in good shape, with a pretty quick pace, though the data says it was the slowest mile, but only because the break came after mile four.
No Nike Pep-Talker again, and strangely, that's starting to irritate me.
The run.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Week Three - Day Four, Sunday, August 4th
Because the training program calls for a day off before and after my long runs, and my last run was Friday, I had to move the long run for the third week to Sunday from Saturday. And fortuitous timing it was: Temperatures in the sixties, and low humidity. Perfect.
As has been the case with long previous runs, and in keeping with my intended strategy for the marathon, I inserted a one-minute break after every 10 minutes of running, even when I knew I could go past the ten minutes without stopping. My course stayed very local, no more than a mile or so at any time between any two points, but because the folks who laid out the neighborhood seemed to be allergic to straight lines, by taking several streets within a given development, I was able to reach the goal with ease.
The two straight roads I used, Chestnut and Mapletree, are almost a mile in length each, and the far ends of both have smaller streets off them, so I could avoid Hooper Avenue, and then return. I took a turn into Lilac, then a couple streets off Lilac. Crossing OFR, I went into a much older section, probably built in the Sixties or Seventies, and took a tour through there, then ended by where I started.
Conditioning must be getting better. Just a few months or even weeks ago, a break after running for ten minutes would have been something closer to ten more minutes, for it would have taken that long for my breathing to return to normal. Now, I wasn't even winded, and my legs felt great, at least in first half. After my last break, I felt good enough that I gave extra effort for the final mile or so, and cut off more than a minute in time from the previous mile.
I am noticing that my breathing is still much better than the fatigue in my legs. I'm not sure if this is something that will correct itself, but in time, the legs did seem to relax, though the left hip flexor seems to get irritated pretty quickly. I haven't been stretching, though I know I should.
One of the Marathon Jims I work with lent me a book of Yoga for runners. I had been considering taking a yoga, but my schedule is tight enough to fit in some runs, I'm not sure how I'm going to get yoga classes in.
For the upcoming week, I had to drop one of the scheduled short runs of three miles, because of Sunday's long run, and getting the long run back to Saturday for the next week, I'm looking at three consecutive days of running. So, on the advice of the other Marathon Jim, I felt it better to cut out a short run.
No Nike Pep-Talker today, and no records broken. Humbug
As has been the case with long previous runs, and in keeping with my intended strategy for the marathon, I inserted a one-minute break after every 10 minutes of running, even when I knew I could go past the ten minutes without stopping. My course stayed very local, no more than a mile or so at any time between any two points, but because the folks who laid out the neighborhood seemed to be allergic to straight lines, by taking several streets within a given development, I was able to reach the goal with ease.
The two straight roads I used, Chestnut and Mapletree, are almost a mile in length each, and the far ends of both have smaller streets off them, so I could avoid Hooper Avenue, and then return. I took a turn into Lilac, then a couple streets off Lilac. Crossing OFR, I went into a much older section, probably built in the Sixties or Seventies, and took a tour through there, then ended by where I started.
Conditioning must be getting better. Just a few months or even weeks ago, a break after running for ten minutes would have been something closer to ten more minutes, for it would have taken that long for my breathing to return to normal. Now, I wasn't even winded, and my legs felt great, at least in first half. After my last break, I felt good enough that I gave extra effort for the final mile or so, and cut off more than a minute in time from the previous mile.
I am noticing that my breathing is still much better than the fatigue in my legs. I'm not sure if this is something that will correct itself, but in time, the legs did seem to relax, though the left hip flexor seems to get irritated pretty quickly. I haven't been stretching, though I know I should.
One of the Marathon Jims I work with lent me a book of Yoga for runners. I had been considering taking a yoga, but my schedule is tight enough to fit in some runs, I'm not sure how I'm going to get yoga classes in.
For the upcoming week, I had to drop one of the scheduled short runs of three miles, because of Sunday's long run, and getting the long run back to Saturday for the next week, I'm looking at three consecutive days of running. So, on the advice of the other Marathon Jim, I felt it better to cut out a short run.
No Nike Pep-Talker today, and no records broken. Humbug
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Week Three - Day Three, Friday, August 2nd.
Two days in a row, this time a short run following a long run. And it felt worse. The weather was quite a bit warmer - I was off for the day, so I allowed myself to sleep in a little later, which means I went out when the sun was already up. And, as I mentioned in a previous post, so was the traffic, so I had to confine myself to the sidewalk for a good portion of the run. I took one of my usual routes into one of the local developments, and on the return leg I decided to take another detour to a different section of my neighborhood. This section had more shade, but also gave me a monster hill at the end, which I wasn't unhappy to climb...gotta get used to them. At the end of my scheduled three miles, there was absolutely nothing left.
Tomorrow is a scheduled seven miles, which - again - will have some breaks worked into it. I did find some validation in Runner's World, which said breaks are NOT cheating, and still allows one to build endurance.
Sanya Richards-Ross was the Nike Pep-Talker, who congratulated me on my effort.
Tomorrow is a scheduled seven miles, which - again - will have some breaks worked into it. I did find some validation in Runner's World, which said breaks are NOT cheating, and still allows one to build endurance.
Sanya Richards-Ross was the Nike Pep-Talker, who congratulated me on my effort.
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Week Three - Day Two, Thursday, August 1st.
Under threatening skies, I headed out not long after seven AM for today's four-miler. I'm not a fan of getting out after six in the morning, since the streets around here get busy early on weekdays. It's either take your chances on the shoulder of the road with some knucklehead who isn't paying attention or run on the concrete sidewalk, which is sometimes uneven, and in many cases non-existent altogether, depending on where I'm running.
On these shorter routes, I don't plan out where I'm going, so much as I make corrections as I go along. Do I go this way, and run a couple of hills? Or that way with less traffic, where I can run towards the middle of the road? The Nike app has a feature that if you set a distance, or a time, it will tell you the halfway point, so sometimes I just find a place to turn around and head back the way I came, or I'll keep going a little farther, maybe an additional half mile before making a turn back in the other direction, so I have a chance to walk and cool down before I get home. If I'm really pressed for time, I'll just retrace my route, with a reasonable expectation that I will make it home around the time I need to be there.
Today was a make-it-up-as-I-go-along kind of day. I headed up OFR to Chestnut, the next traffic light up, then down that toward Hooper. There's a small development on the left that I ran into, since it was off the busier Chestnut, and offered me a way to get out without having to make a U-turn in a cul-de-sac. Back down Chestnut to OFR, then up to Mapletree, where I made a turn into a condo complex to avoid the steep hill before Hooper.
About halfway back along Mapletree, I came to the realization that my breathing wasn't all that difficult, that my legs were more fatigued than my lungs were. So, I figured that if I pushed a little faster, I could probably make the last mile in pretty good time, and my legs wouldn't be all that worse, which did turn out to be the case. Have to remember that for tomorrow's three-mile short run. Still strategizing Sunday's upcoming seven miles.
And finally, just when I was beginning to despair, the Nike Pep-talkers are back. Today was decathlete Ashton Eaton, who told me that "yesterday was good, but today is great".
Got in just before the rain, I did.
On these shorter routes, I don't plan out where I'm going, so much as I make corrections as I go along. Do I go this way, and run a couple of hills? Or that way with less traffic, where I can run towards the middle of the road? The Nike app has a feature that if you set a distance, or a time, it will tell you the halfway point, so sometimes I just find a place to turn around and head back the way I came, or I'll keep going a little farther, maybe an additional half mile before making a turn back in the other direction, so I have a chance to walk and cool down before I get home. If I'm really pressed for time, I'll just retrace my route, with a reasonable expectation that I will make it home around the time I need to be there.
Today was a make-it-up-as-I-go-along kind of day. I headed up OFR to Chestnut, the next traffic light up, then down that toward Hooper. There's a small development on the left that I ran into, since it was off the busier Chestnut, and offered me a way to get out without having to make a U-turn in a cul-de-sac. Back down Chestnut to OFR, then up to Mapletree, where I made a turn into a condo complex to avoid the steep hill before Hooper.
About halfway back along Mapletree, I came to the realization that my breathing wasn't all that difficult, that my legs were more fatigued than my lungs were. So, I figured that if I pushed a little faster, I could probably make the last mile in pretty good time, and my legs wouldn't be all that worse, which did turn out to be the case. Have to remember that for tomorrow's three-mile short run. Still strategizing Sunday's upcoming seven miles.
And finally, just when I was beginning to despair, the Nike Pep-talkers are back. Today was decathlete Ashton Eaton, who told me that "yesterday was good, but today is great".
Got in just before the rain, I did.
Week Three - Day One, Tuesday, July 30th
Shockingly, it's a lot easier to run in 58 degree weather, than it is in 78 degree weather. Whouda thunk it?
Owing to the fact that I had to be in the firehouse at 6:30 on Tuesday, it was out the door around 4AM again, a nice three-mile jaunt around the neighborhood. Nothing spectacular, just the regular first short run of the week. I was quite happy with my third mile being faster than my first one. At the end, I intentionally went a wee bit farther, in order to make it a 5K (3.1 miles), just to see if I could beat my fastest time at that distance, and I did.
I am getting a little concerned that the Nike Pep-talkers haven't been showing up lately, except for Kara Goucher or Sanya Richards-Ross telling me to "tap now for a power song" (which is "Danger Zone", by Kenny Loggins) when I'm about a tenth of a mile from my intended goal. I wonder if they think I'm slacking?
The run.
Owing to the fact that I had to be in the firehouse at 6:30 on Tuesday, it was out the door around 4AM again, a nice three-mile jaunt around the neighborhood. Nothing spectacular, just the regular first short run of the week. I was quite happy with my third mile being faster than my first one. At the end, I intentionally went a wee bit farther, in order to make it a 5K (3.1 miles), just to see if I could beat my fastest time at that distance, and I did.
I am getting a little concerned that the Nike Pep-talkers haven't been showing up lately, except for Kara Goucher or Sanya Richards-Ross telling me to "tap now for a power song" (which is "Danger Zone", by Kenny Loggins) when I'm about a tenth of a mile from my intended goal. I wonder if they think I'm slacking?
The run.
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