running

Middle 4 at 8:41, 8:34, 8:27, 8:21. So easy to do that on the treadmill. Wanted to run fast enough to get some benefit but not so fast as to burn out on Sunday. Will see if I was successful. Not sure what I expect to run. I guess I will try to keep it around 8:45 in the beginning and see if I can pass some people at the end.

Nice and easy.

Awesome race. High fived Mayor Nutter at the start and had a great time during the race. Lots of local bands were out and some colorful people from the neighborhoods. This is a fun race and I have done it many times.

As far as the running part it was as good as I could expect. I thought 8:40 pace would be about right. I wore a watch for the first time in a race like this and it really helped. I usually just run by feel and usually feels too good at the start. Last year I ran the second mile in 7:40 and crashed at the end. This year I was pretty consistent between 8:20 and 8:30 for the first five miles. It felt easy up to that point. From about 6 to 8 it got harder to maintain the pace but because of the watch I did. Mile 9 I was out of steam and could not hold the pace slowed down to 9:00 but was able to hold that. Last mile I was able to get back to 8:40.

Overall I am happy. It was the best effect I had. I was spent at the end and I am not too sore today. Time is consistent with what I usually run. I have been 1:25-1:28 for the last decade. I do wonder what happened mile 9. Is that a lack of conditioning or a nutrition issue. I didn't eat or drink anything during the race. When I slowed down I wasn't breathing hard I just couldn't move my legs any faster.

5 at 8:36. Legs were a bit tired still. Little bit sore now but no injuries after race.

Now what is next? Loss weight and attempt to qualify for Boston or not. I can do the running piece and think I have a pretty good idea how to train to not crash in a marathon. The weight loss thing is hard. I am about 15 pounds heavier than I should be to run intensely and it is difficult to drop down to and maintain a lower weight. It is easy to sit here and say yes I will lose weight and harder to not invite the kids out for ice cream tonight. Perfect night. Homework done, everyone home, 80 degrees, sunny...

Slow and easy. Various sore spots but nothing major. Need to keep it that way.

Tired today. Wanted to run further but legs just didn't have it. 

Still feeling effects from the race.  Legs just felt tired today.  I think I have a plan for a fall marathon.  Long runs on the weekends are a pain no matter what but they are much harder when on vacation.  Should be easier then.  We are away two different weeks so that ties up 4 weekends.  So I need to figure out how to get in the long runs I need and then pick a date for the fall.  Then I need to run my medium runs faster consistantly.  Thinking of hard days 3 times a week and then just miles the other days.  Runcoach says I should run my long runs at 9:23.  I am not sure I am at that level right now.  Also want to add in some 5k's to keep it interesting.

3@8:10. According to some calculator my lactate threshold pace should be 8:30 so that is what I was trying to hit. Missed pretty badly wonder what that means. First mile felt ok. Like work but doable so just kept same pace. So is my LT closer to 8:10 or did I run this too fast? And does it matter at my level.

Want to run under 4 hours in a marathon doing as little extra work as possible. Minimal family disruption and no injuries. The strategy I have used for the last 25 years is to run by feel. This workout felt right so I am going to go with it and say that it was the perfect workout for me today.

Easy, no watch. Felt a little tired. Maybe yesterday too fast.

8 @ 8:50. Not sure what that was supposed to be. Runcoach thinks I should run my long run at 9:23. I think I should be closer to 10, and some part of me says there is no way I will ever run 9 min miles in a marathon if I don't run long runs at 9 minute pace. So here I am. Wondering about it. It felt like a challenging but doable run. Feel totally fine now. Guess we will see what next week brings. The thing that bugs me the most is that I have no sense of pace. I was trying to hit 9:23 and was so far off. I definitely need to figure out how to lock in 9 min miles.

6 x quarter @ 1:52. I still think I should be faster than that. But I am where I am and six consistent repeats say that is exactly where I am today. Wondering how to pick up a little more speed.

6 miles @ 8:28.  Faster than what I was planning.  Was planning on a nice 6 mile 9 min pace.  Somehow I just started out faster and then did not want to slow down.  At least not until mile 5 and 6 when I did want to stop.  Still mile 5 and 6 felt like where I need to spend some time.  Really tired and just wanting to stop because my legs felt done.  I was able to maintaIn the pace and last mile was 8:18 so did not fall apart.  That might be where I need to be to build strength and to learn to continue running when I am tired.

Raining for most of the run. Middle three miles at 8:08 pace. Same as last Thursday.

Slow and easy

Easy miles 8:50 ave

First few miles seemed hard. This is a course with lots of up and down. Mostly in the first 5 miles. Once I got past mile 5 it got easier. A little flatter but mostly mental, more than 1/2 way through feels easier. 8:54 ave pace.

6 quarters at 1:48 average.  Not bad considering all the benadryl I took last night.  Poison ivy is not fun.

Easy miles, could run this pace forever feeling. Unfortunately that pace was 9:45. Need it to be 45 seconds faster. When I was younger I used to bring down my pace in longer races not by building endurance but by building speed. I have always had plenty of endurance. Not quite sure if the same theory holds in a marathon. Trying to do a little bit of both and will see how it works out.

Middle 3 @ 7:50. Working pretty hard but steady sustainable pace. Now maybe I can break 25 in a 5k.

Yesterday's workout was too fast. Could feel it in my legs all day. Took it pretty easy today. Had planned to run 8 but taking it easier was the right thing to do.

Mud Rukus. Not really sure how far this was. Billed as a 5 k mud run. But significantly longer. Best thing was running with a good friend who is 60. She is amazing. I want to be her when I am 60. She does a fair number of trail runs and she was much faster than me on both uneven ground and on all the obstacles. I hope I am that nimble in a decade. Beat one of my boys and the other ended up way ahead. Mud runs really aren't my thing. I don't really like getting wet and cold. Could also do without the bricks on my feet. Was afraid of a misstep and an injury the whole time. But it was great to do something that my kids enjoy and see some good friends and raise money for a good cause.