Oy. Work, life, etc. have gotten in the way of my posting recently, but I’m back. Fortunately, I’ve been able to keep up with my running, although much of it has been on the treadmill.
So, yesterday’s workout was the following:
2 mile warm-up, 4 x 6 minutes at tempo pace (60 seconds easy running between sets), one hour of easy running, 20 minutes at tempo pace, 2 mile cool-down.
The last 20 at tempo was the most miserable that I’ve felt during a workout (well, in recent memory). I should go back to my running log and see how I did this workout in early ’07 because I don’t remember doing it. I’m thinking that I may have broken it up or skipped it altogether. Anyway, I’m feeling much better today, but I was feeling the effects of that run for most of the day yesterday.
What else is new?
- I’m likely going to skip the New Bedford Half in mid-March. This means that I’ll have no true assessment of my fitness prior to Boston. That’s a little scary to me right now.
- I recently joined the local YMCA. This means that I now have access to a pool. I’m going to try and fit some swimming into my schedule. However, I have no idea what I should be doing, so any suggestions are welcome.
- I’m probably NOT going to do a fall marathon. After Boston I’d like to focus on some shorter events as I’ve been ignoring them entirely since my return to running three years ago. If this means that I don’t get to run Boston ’09, that’s OK with me. My body could probably use the break from marathon training as well. Of course the thought of running a 5k all-out has me gagging right now…
More later.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
I’m Way Behind
Ok, I haven’t been able to post for a few days. I’m back to explain my PRs.
400m – I ran this my junior year of high school during an outdoor track invitational that my team hosted. It was nice to be able to run a PR in front of my home crowd. While my time was good, I only placed third in my heat and didn’t advance to the finals. That was a bit of a bummer.
800m – I also ran this during my junior year – except that it happened during indoor track season. A bad case of mono pretty much killed both my indoor and outdoor track seasons during my senior year. This time came during an invitational at Manley Fieldhouse in Syracuse, New York. Actually, all of my indoor meets were held in an invitational format – no dual meets at all. I was in a heat with a guy from our arch-rival. He was clearly better than I was, but I held on as long as I could. He dropped me in the last 100m. He came in second overall and I ended up fourth.
1600m – I was never called on to run this race much in high school – maybe three or four times ever. This is my best time from the limited opportunities that I had. I clearly did not pace myself properly.
5k – I think this may be my finest running hour. I ran this time at a cross country invitational during my senior year on a day when our top two runners were out with injuries and our coach was looking for someone to step up. My previous PR was around 16:20 so I was a little worried when the opening split was a 5:05. I had never been that close to the front of the pack in a race before and it was more than a little uncomfortable. I persevered, however, and stuck with the leaders for much of the race. Upon entering the final stretch I was gassed. At this point 2-3 other runners passed me, but I managed to hold off several others and ended up with a 10th place finish. 10th place with a 15:50? You have to understand that, at the time I was in high school, central New York was absolutely loaded with DI running talent. My 15:50 was about a minutes behind the winner and a sub-15 was usually required to win an invitational. I managed an honorable mention all-league that year, but I was a very average runner in high school.
Five miles – This was a really fast training run in January 2006. The mileage was measured with my Garmin, so I don’t count this as a legitimate record. I’ve never raced a five miler otherwise.
10k – I’ve only run two 10k races ever – both in the late 80s. I have no recollection of my times, but they were much faster than what I have designated as my current PR. This time comes from a 10k split (that I believe to be short) from a half marathon that I ran in June 2006. I was running a great race that morning until I tweaked my hamstring in the 9th mile of that race. I ended up limping in to the finish, although that time was then a modest PR. A very disappointing race.
15k – This time came from a race that I ran in November 2006. My mileage leading up to this race was mediocre and I did zero speedwork. I had no expectations for this race, so the PR was a little surprising. My previous PR at this distance came from my high school years when I was in great shape but had no idea how to tackle this distance from a strategic standpoint.
10 miles – Another split from a half-marathon. This time, it’s from my half PR effort in April 2007. I’ve never raced a true 10 miler.
20k – Another training run. I’m relying on my Garmin again for the mileage, so this is another PR that I don’t put too much stock in.
Half-Marathon – From the Skunk Cabbage Classic in Ithaca, New York. I ran this race on April 1, 2007 as a tune-up for the New Jersey Marathon later that month. It was a cold (38 degrees), rainy, blustery day with occasional gusts of wind of up to 40 mph. I thought that I might PR, but I wasn’t expecting the weather. Apparently the weather wasn’t an issue because I got stronger as the race progressed. My last mile was run at a 6:20 pace and I felt like I had at least a little something left in the tank at the end of the race.
Marathon – The New Jersey Marathon on April 29, 2007. I’ve run three marathons, but this one, my second, was my only true effort at the distance. I was woefully unprepared for my first marathon but somehow managed to hold onto a BQ pace for 24 miles. From there I blew up in spectacular fashion in a 3:22:xx effort. I trained with a purpose for my second marathon. I did all of the long runs and all of the speed work prescribed by Jack Daniels. During the race, I ran with the 3:10 pace group and stayed with them for the first 22 miles of the race. At that point a started to slow down some, but managed to hold on to my Boston Qualifying time. It was frustrating to watch the pace group slip away ever so slowly. I was worried for the entire second half of the race that I might blow up again like during my first effort so the BQ was not a certainty until I actually crossed the finish line. I should have been happy, but my oxygen-starved brain didn’t realize that I had qualified at first because I somehow forgot during the race that my qualifying time was a 3:15:59 and not a 3:10:59. So, for the first few minutes after crossing the finish line I was under the impression that I had missed the cut-off by exactly one minute. You can imagine my delight when I realized my error.
Running: lots of easy miles. I have some intervals on the schedule tomorrow. I’ll let you know how they go.
400m – I ran this my junior year of high school during an outdoor track invitational that my team hosted. It was nice to be able to run a PR in front of my home crowd. While my time was good, I only placed third in my heat and didn’t advance to the finals. That was a bit of a bummer.
800m – I also ran this during my junior year – except that it happened during indoor track season. A bad case of mono pretty much killed both my indoor and outdoor track seasons during my senior year. This time came during an invitational at Manley Fieldhouse in Syracuse, New York. Actually, all of my indoor meets were held in an invitational format – no dual meets at all. I was in a heat with a guy from our arch-rival. He was clearly better than I was, but I held on as long as I could. He dropped me in the last 100m. He came in second overall and I ended up fourth.
1600m – I was never called on to run this race much in high school – maybe three or four times ever. This is my best time from the limited opportunities that I had. I clearly did not pace myself properly.
5k – I think this may be my finest running hour. I ran this time at a cross country invitational during my senior year on a day when our top two runners were out with injuries and our coach was looking for someone to step up. My previous PR was around 16:20 so I was a little worried when the opening split was a 5:05. I had never been that close to the front of the pack in a race before and it was more than a little uncomfortable. I persevered, however, and stuck with the leaders for much of the race. Upon entering the final stretch I was gassed. At this point 2-3 other runners passed me, but I managed to hold off several others and ended up with a 10th place finish. 10th place with a 15:50? You have to understand that, at the time I was in high school, central New York was absolutely loaded with DI running talent. My 15:50 was about a minutes behind the winner and a sub-15 was usually required to win an invitational. I managed an honorable mention all-league that year, but I was a very average runner in high school.
Five miles – This was a really fast training run in January 2006. The mileage was measured with my Garmin, so I don’t count this as a legitimate record. I’ve never raced a five miler otherwise.
10k – I’ve only run two 10k races ever – both in the late 80s. I have no recollection of my times, but they were much faster than what I have designated as my current PR. This time comes from a 10k split (that I believe to be short) from a half marathon that I ran in June 2006. I was running a great race that morning until I tweaked my hamstring in the 9th mile of that race. I ended up limping in to the finish, although that time was then a modest PR. A very disappointing race.
15k – This time came from a race that I ran in November 2006. My mileage leading up to this race was mediocre and I did zero speedwork. I had no expectations for this race, so the PR was a little surprising. My previous PR at this distance came from my high school years when I was in great shape but had no idea how to tackle this distance from a strategic standpoint.
10 miles – Another split from a half-marathon. This time, it’s from my half PR effort in April 2007. I’ve never raced a true 10 miler.
20k – Another training run. I’m relying on my Garmin again for the mileage, so this is another PR that I don’t put too much stock in.
Half-Marathon – From the Skunk Cabbage Classic in Ithaca, New York. I ran this race on April 1, 2007 as a tune-up for the New Jersey Marathon later that month. It was a cold (38 degrees), rainy, blustery day with occasional gusts of wind of up to 40 mph. I thought that I might PR, but I wasn’t expecting the weather. Apparently the weather wasn’t an issue because I got stronger as the race progressed. My last mile was run at a 6:20 pace and I felt like I had at least a little something left in the tank at the end of the race.
Marathon – The New Jersey Marathon on April 29, 2007. I’ve run three marathons, but this one, my second, was my only true effort at the distance. I was woefully unprepared for my first marathon but somehow managed to hold onto a BQ pace for 24 miles. From there I blew up in spectacular fashion in a 3:22:xx effort. I trained with a purpose for my second marathon. I did all of the long runs and all of the speed work prescribed by Jack Daniels. During the race, I ran with the 3:10 pace group and stayed with them for the first 22 miles of the race. At that point a started to slow down some, but managed to hold on to my Boston Qualifying time. It was frustrating to watch the pace group slip away ever so slowly. I was worried for the entire second half of the race that I might blow up again like during my first effort so the BQ was not a certainty until I actually crossed the finish line. I should have been happy, but my oxygen-starved brain didn’t realize that I had qualified at first because I somehow forgot during the race that my qualifying time was a 3:15:59 and not a 3:10:59. So, for the first few minutes after crossing the finish line I was under the impression that I had missed the cut-off by exactly one minute. You can imagine my delight when I realized my error.
Running: lots of easy miles. I have some intervals on the schedule tomorrow. I’ll let you know how they go.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
My Personal Records
I've just added them over to the right. I think that, when I have some more time tonight, I'll come back to provide some background because they're all over the place. Some are recent, some are from my high school days and some are from training runs. That should be interesting, shouldn't it?
Friday, January 25, 2008
Morning Running Is Teh Suck
Well, I finally got a morning run in. It was every bit as tortuous as I remembered. In retrospect, it was only the first few miles that were terrible and then I seemed to get into a little groove. Hopefully, the more I do it, the easier it'll get. I also think running outside once the weather improves will also make it more palatable. Several easy miles today.
Has anyone seen McMillan's Performance Page in the latest issue of Running Times? In it, he introduces a different (to me) training pace - the sub-maximal effort. In brief, it's not quite as fast as lactate threshold pace, but also not as slow as marathon pace - it's somewhere in-between. The length of the run starts at 3-4 miles/20 minutes and increases over the course of a training plan to 9-10 mile/60 minutes. I'd be interested in hearing the pros and cons of this type of training from those who have tried it. Actually, all opinions and observations would be appreciated.
Has anyone seen McMillan's Performance Page in the latest issue of Running Times? In it, he introduces a different (to me) training pace - the sub-maximal effort. In brief, it's not quite as fast as lactate threshold pace, but also not as slow as marathon pace - it's somewhere in-between. The length of the run starts at 3-4 miles/20 minutes and increases over the course of a training plan to 9-10 mile/60 minutes. I'd be interested in hearing the pros and cons of this type of training from those who have tried it. Actually, all opinions and observations would be appreciated.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
January 24th - Nothing All That Interesting
Six miles easy. My legs feel great. I don't have much to say today. I have, however, been checking out several other running blogs that are a LOT better than this one. I'll be linking to them soon - keep checking the list to the right.
ETA: I've added a few - more to come.
ETA: I've added a few - more to come.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
January 23rd - Feeling Stronger And Getting Lighter
Today's workout was a set of intervals - 6 x 1 mile @ 6:30/mile with one minute of easy running between reps. Two miles as a warm-up and 2+ miles as a cool-down. Total mileage - 10.5 miles.
Overall, I felt stronger throughout than in past interval sessions. Ok, to be honest, by the fifth rep nothing felt great but nothing felt that terrible either so I just kept on going.
The scale is now at 169.5. I'm nearing my pre-holiday weight so now the hard work really begins.
I should also start thinking about whether I want to run the New Bedford Half in mid-March.
Overall, I felt stronger throughout than in past interval sessions. Ok, to be honest, by the fifth rep nothing felt great but nothing felt that terrible either so I just kept on going.
The scale is now at 169.5. I'm nearing my pre-holiday weight so now the hard work really begins.
I should also start thinking about whether I want to run the New Bedford Half in mid-March.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
January 22nd - More Easy Running
Another six and a half easy miles today. Instead of running through downtown Hartford, I ran toward West Hartford with a couple of guys I know from my gym. Some points of interest:
Elizabeth Park, Hartford - home to one of the oldest, largest rose gardens in the country.
University of Connecticut School of Law, Hartford.
Elizabeth Park, Hartford - home to one of the oldest, largest rose gardens in the country.
University of Connecticut School of Law, Hartford.
One of the guys that I was running with always gives me a hard time about the number of miles that I run. He tells me that I'm putting in elite-level miles, but not getting elite-level results. His claim is that one should be able to BQ on 25-30 miles per week (he has run 1:20/3:08 on that mileage) and that running 60-80 miles per week should produce world-class results. If not, I'm obviously doing something wrong. I just smile and nod.
Monday, January 21, 2008
January 21st Run Report
Eight easy miles today.
The official weigh-in for the week has me at 171 pounds so I didn't lose any weight over the second half of the week last week. Oh well, two pounds for the week isn't too bad.
One thing that I find a little frustrating is the extra recovery time that I find that I need after longer runs (usually 14+ miles). In January 2005 I underwent a triple hernia repair. I had a laparoscopic procedure in which I had squares of plastic mesh inserted into each of those hernias to "keep everything inside" so to speak. Now, every time I run hard or run long I need at least an extra day or so to recover. My legs will feel fine, but my groin continues to feel sore for up to three days thereafter. It's merely a discomfort, but a frustrating one. It could always be much, much worse. At least I can continue to run.
Tomorrow is another easy run and I have more intervals on the schedule Wednesday. This week I'll also, once again, attempt to move to morning runs.
The official weigh-in for the week has me at 171 pounds so I didn't lose any weight over the second half of the week last week. Oh well, two pounds for the week isn't too bad.
One thing that I find a little frustrating is the extra recovery time that I find that I need after longer runs (usually 14+ miles). In January 2005 I underwent a triple hernia repair. I had a laparoscopic procedure in which I had squares of plastic mesh inserted into each of those hernias to "keep everything inside" so to speak. Now, every time I run hard or run long I need at least an extra day or so to recover. My legs will feel fine, but my groin continues to feel sore for up to three days thereafter. It's merely a discomfort, but a frustrating one. It could always be much, much worse. At least I can continue to run.
Tomorrow is another easy run and I have more intervals on the schedule Wednesday. This week I'll also, once again, attempt to move to morning runs.
Housekeeping
In an effort to make the place a little more user friendly for my visitors I have sorted through the blogs on the right and categorized them according to my perceived level of their running content. The first category - Running and Life - contains blogs that are, for the most part, centered around running. The second category - Life and Running - contains blogs that contain roughly equal parts of running and non-running material. The last category - Non-Running Blogs - is self explanatory.
If you are the creator of one of these blogs and have an issue with where I've placed you, please let me know. I'm not above changing any of them around.
If you are the creator of one of these blogs and have an issue with where I've placed you, please let me know. I'm not above changing any of them around.
I Am The Lizard King. I Can Do Anything.
First, my apologies to Jim Morrison.
Ok, the weekend’s over and I’m back. Normally, I’d be posting on the weekends too, but my brother-in-law and his family visited us this weekend so I had absolutely no computer time at all. One interesting thing that we did was to bring the girls to a presentation on lizards at the local library. It was a hands-on experience so, in addition to learning about the various lizards, they were able to pet each of them as well. The biggest one we saw was this guy – a monitor lizard. That was pretty cool.
Ok, back to the running. With our visitors, I had to cram it in the best I could. Saturday was a spur of the moment eleven easy miles done right after hauling away all of the branches that had fallen on our property during last week’s ice storm. As you can imagine, I was a little tired at the outset. I was surprised, however, at how easy this run ended up being. About a mile or two into the run my legs really loosened up and I cruised the rest of the way.
Sunday was my long run - eighteen miles. Like Saturday’s run, it was done on the treadmill and, also like Saturday’s run, it was really quite easy if not a little boring. The one saving grace is that I was able to watch three complete episodes of Lost (and part of a fourth). So, yes, watching John Locke blow up the Flame station as well as a submarine, kill a one-eyed Russian and discover his father bound and gagged in a closet at the Others’ camp helped to pass the time. Thank you John Locke.
Ok, the weekend’s over and I’m back. Normally, I’d be posting on the weekends too, but my brother-in-law and his family visited us this weekend so I had absolutely no computer time at all. One interesting thing that we did was to bring the girls to a presentation on lizards at the local library. It was a hands-on experience so, in addition to learning about the various lizards, they were able to pet each of them as well. The biggest one we saw was this guy – a monitor lizard. That was pretty cool.
Ok, back to the running. With our visitors, I had to cram it in the best I could. Saturday was a spur of the moment eleven easy miles done right after hauling away all of the branches that had fallen on our property during last week’s ice storm. As you can imagine, I was a little tired at the outset. I was surprised, however, at how easy this run ended up being. About a mile or two into the run my legs really loosened up and I cruised the rest of the way.
Sunday was my long run - eighteen miles. Like Saturday’s run, it was done on the treadmill and, also like Saturday’s run, it was really quite easy if not a little boring. The one saving grace is that I was able to watch three complete episodes of Lost (and part of a fourth). So, yes, watching John Locke blow up the Flame station as well as a submarine, kill a one-eyed Russian and discover his father bound and gagged in a closet at the Others’ camp helped to pass the time. Thank you John Locke.
Friday, January 18, 2008
I'm Really Trying
to find a way to make six miles on the treadmill seem interesting, but I'm afraid that's impossible. It was a beautiful day in central Connecticut - 46 degrees and as sunny as can be - but I missed it. Work duties kept me chained to my desk all day.
One thing that I noticed during this run. It was probably the first run in months where I wasn't feeling the effects of an injury, my excess weight or my relatively poor conditioning of the past six months. To put it another way, I'm feeling almost back to my old self. I'm now keeping my fingers crossed as I still have 13+ weeks to go until Boston.
Until tomorrow...
One thing that I noticed during this run. It was probably the first run in months where I wasn't feeling the effects of an injury, my excess weight or my relatively poor conditioning of the past six months. To put it another way, I'm feeling almost back to my old self. I'm now keeping my fingers crossed as I still have 13+ weeks to go until Boston.
Until tomorrow...
He'll Be Hard To Beat In Beijing
Haile Gebrselassie runs a 2:04:53 in Dubai - the second fastest marathon performance ever.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Jack's (Intervals Are) Back
Yes, today was a set of intervals. Although I referred to them yesterday as "cruise intervals," Greg McMillan actually refers to them as "tempo intervals" due to their length. Here's how McMillan defines the two:
Tempo Intervals
Tempo Intervals are like fast tempo runs broken into two to four repeats with relatively short recovery jogs. The appropriate race paces for tempo intervals are 10K to 15K race pace and they should last between eight and fifteen minutes. Unlike the previous workouts, Tempo Intervals are the first workouts to allow for a recovery jog between hard efforts. In this case, you jog two to five minutes between each repeat then start the next one.
Cruise Intervals
The Cruise Interval workout was popularized by running coach, Jack Daniels. They, like the other Stamina workouts, are meant to increase your lactate threshold pace. Cruise Intervals are like shorter and slightly more intense tempo intervals. They last three to eight minutes and the pace is between 8K and 12K. Like tempo intervals, they are followed by short recovery jogs (30 seconds to 2 minutes). You'll probably find that it's easy to run too fast on these. The tendency is to treat them like regular long intervals. However, keep it under control and work on a smooth, fast rhythm. Control in training is key to improvement.
Whatever you'd like to call them, my workout went as follows: a one mile warm-up followed by two 12-minute sets of running at my tempo pace (6:30/mile), with two minutes of running at my easy pace in-between, followed by a little over an hour of easy running. Total distance: thirteen miles.
Overall the workout felt pretty good. I could tell that I was working a little harder during the second interval. I assume that this was primarily because this was my first attempt at the twelve minute length at tempo pace (I have run probably two workouts in the last few weeks with six minutes at tempo pace prior to today). My legs were also a little wobbly for the first few minutes of my 60 minute recovery run, but that feeling disappeared rather quickly.
One final note - the scale said 171 pounds this afternoon.
Tempo Intervals
Tempo Intervals are like fast tempo runs broken into two to four repeats with relatively short recovery jogs. The appropriate race paces for tempo intervals are 10K to 15K race pace and they should last between eight and fifteen minutes. Unlike the previous workouts, Tempo Intervals are the first workouts to allow for a recovery jog between hard efforts. In this case, you jog two to five minutes between each repeat then start the next one.
Cruise Intervals
The Cruise Interval workout was popularized by running coach, Jack Daniels. They, like the other Stamina workouts, are meant to increase your lactate threshold pace. Cruise Intervals are like shorter and slightly more intense tempo intervals. They last three to eight minutes and the pace is between 8K and 12K. Like tempo intervals, they are followed by short recovery jogs (30 seconds to 2 minutes). You'll probably find that it's easy to run too fast on these. The tendency is to treat them like regular long intervals. However, keep it under control and work on a smooth, fast rhythm. Control in training is key to improvement.
Whatever you'd like to call them, my workout went as follows: a one mile warm-up followed by two 12-minute sets of running at my tempo pace (6:30/mile), with two minutes of running at my easy pace in-between, followed by a little over an hour of easy running. Total distance: thirteen miles.
Overall the workout felt pretty good. I could tell that I was working a little harder during the second interval. I assume that this was primarily because this was my first attempt at the twelve minute length at tempo pace (I have run probably two workouts in the last few weeks with six minutes at tempo pace prior to today). My legs were also a little wobbly for the first few minutes of my 60 minute recovery run, but that feeling disappeared rather quickly.
One final note - the scale said 171 pounds this afternoon.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
January 16th - Not Much To Report
All I had on the schedule today was nine easy miles. They were slightly harder than they should have been because I wasn’t properly hydrated. If you read this blog long enough you’ll see that this is a chronic issue for me.
Tomorrow should be more interesting as I have cruise intervals on the schedule.
Tomorrow should be more interesting as I have cruise intervals on the schedule.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
January 15th Run Report
Nothing too interesting. Eleven miles easy. It felt good to get some miles in during a light snowfall this afternoon. Mostly running in downtown Hartford and crossing over the Connecticut River into East Hartford.
Here's an aerial shot of Hartford:
My office is off to the left of this photo. I'll run through the park and past the state capitol (gold domed building in the lower left corner), then past the old Travelers Insurance Company world headquarters (beige tower in the center-right), over the bridge on the right and then on a footpath that borders the river. A nice run for such an urban location.
Here's another nice view of the city from the footpath in East Hartford:
Here's an aerial shot of Hartford:
My office is off to the left of this photo. I'll run through the park and past the state capitol (gold domed building in the lower left corner), then past the old Travelers Insurance Company world headquarters (beige tower in the center-right), over the bridge on the right and then on a footpath that borders the river. A nice run for such an urban location.
Here's another nice view of the city from the footpath in East Hartford:
Whoohoo!!
My weekly weigh-in tells me that my weight is now down to 173. A loss of six pounds this week.
Water, Water Everywhere...The Hydration Issue
I know, I know – the USATF has a guide to optimal hydration. I haven’t tried it out though – largely because it’s kind of a pain in the arse. I’ve noticed anecdotally from my conversations with other runners that I seem to drink an inordinate amount of water before, during and after a run compared to a lot of others. I sweat quite a lot though, so maybe I don’t drink that much. I just don’t know. For example, in the two hours prior to my fifteen mile run the other day, I drank 64 oz. of water. During the run, I drank another 40 oz. Immediately following the run I drank 16 oz. of Endurox and then another 32 oz. of water. I stopped there, but felt like I could have had more. I probably drank another combined 32 oz. of milk, coffee and orange juice earlier in the day and another 20 oz. of milk later that night. A pee test that evening told me that I was definitely NOT hydrated after all of that. Doesn’t that seem like a lot to be drinking without being fully hydrated?
Arrghh. I should probably just do the stupid test.
Arrghh. I should probably just do the stupid test.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Intervals? Check.
I finally got them done. 6 x 1000 meters in 3:45 each (6:00/mile). I gave myself a half-mile recovery between each at 8:00/mile. I also did a half-mile warm-up and a quarter-mile cool-down - also at 8:00/mile.
I learned a few things. 1. I'm not in the shape that I'd like to be in at this point in my training. 2. I'm in better shape than I was in a few weeks ago where I really struggled with 4 x 1200 meters at a slightly slower (6:05/mile) pace. 3. While my physical conditioning is currently marginal, I was pleased with my mental toughness today. There was a point where I wanted to quit in each of the last three reps, but I wouldn't let myself do it. 4. Jack Daniels is a sadistic SOB, but he'll get you in racing shape every time.
I'm looking forward to some easier miles tomorrow.
I learned a few things. 1. I'm not in the shape that I'd like to be in at this point in my training. 2. I'm in better shape than I was in a few weeks ago where I really struggled with 4 x 1200 meters at a slightly slower (6:05/mile) pace. 3. While my physical conditioning is currently marginal, I was pleased with my mental toughness today. There was a point where I wanted to quit in each of the last three reps, but I wouldn't let myself do it. 4. Jack Daniels is a sadistic SOB, but he'll get you in racing shape every time.
I'm looking forward to some easier miles tomorrow.
150 Pounds
That's what I'd like to weigh when I run Boston. Right now, I have a long, long way to go to get there. When I ran the Philadelphia Marathon in November, I weighed 167. Not the lightest I've been recently (that was 164), but not too bad either. 17 pounds in six months didn't seem like a lot to lose. However, over the course of the holidays I managed to GAIN 17.5 pounds - too many Christmas cookies and wine I guess.
Anyway, I'm using this space to make myself accountable. My weight on New Year's Day was 184.5. My weight as of last week was 179. I'll be weighing in again tomorrow. It looks like I need to lose about two pounds per week to get to my goal. THIS kind of thing cannot happen again.
Anyway, I'm using this space to make myself accountable. My weight on New Year's Day was 184.5. My weight as of last week was 179. I'll be weighing in again tomorrow. It looks like I need to lose about two pounds per week to get to my goal. THIS kind of thing cannot happen again.
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