A clydesdale no more!

My legs were very sore and unresponsive today.  I think the consistent mileage over the last 3 weeks is starting to catch up to me.  Just something that I need to push through.

Good run on the LPT.  I need to take advantage of running there while there is no snow.  The plan called for 14 but I cut it back to 12.  Trying to be smart and be realistic in what I should be running right now.  Hamstrings tightened up a few times but felt really good for the most part.  Felt like a good effort but I always feel that way when I don't wear a watch.  Pace felt like 7:45 but who knows. 

Nice and easy recovery run.

Hilly run.  I was short on time and wasn't sure if I was going to make it the full distance.  If I could hit mile 4 at a specific time then I could finish the run.  Otherwise, I would have to cut it short.  Got to the 4 mile marker 10 seconds ahead of my goal so I was able to run the full 9 miles.  Felt really good going up.  My breathing felt very strong and I never felt out of breath at all.  My downhill running form felt very fluid so I ran a little quicker than I usually do. 

Woke up and saw a foot of snow outside and it was still snowing.  I was already dreading this run and that didn't help.  Bundled up, headed out the door and put one foot in front of the other for a couple of hours.  Roads weren't horrible except in Centerville.  Very disappointed in Centerville's snow removal effots.  Of the 5 cities I ran through, that was the only one where I didn't have a clear lane to run in.  The pace was very slow.  It took 10 minutes longer to finish the run than what I planned.  Legs felt good for most of the run but started to get really heavy the last 2 miles.

Right calf is causing me trouble.  It is something I would normally run through but I am getting a little wimpy in my old age.

Three easy miles to start then 4 at LT pace then an easy 2 to cool down.  Plan was to keep the pace just below 6:40/mile.  Averaged 6:38 and it felt a little too easy.  I guess that is a good thing.  I was concerned about my right calf so I didn't push.  The only time that it did not hurt was during the tempo run.  It hurt during the warm up and cool down miles and hurts to walk.

Got too late of a start and couldn't get the entire run in.  Can't wait for Ashton to get his driver's license so I don't have to rush home to take him to school.  Felt decent during the run.  Kept the pace just under 8:00/mile.  

Felt good but very cold. 

Ran to the LPT and met Kam and Tara.  They had already put in a few miles by the time I got there.  Felt really good while running with them and the time flew by.  Tara had to leave after a few miles but I was able to stay with Kam until my mile 14.  The last 3 or 4 miles together we picked up the pace and ran 7:30's.  Felt really good.  As soon as he left, I really struggled.  The pace immediately slowed by a minute per mile and my achilles tendons started to ache really bad.  No reason why this should have happened other than mental fatigue.  Really need to work on that. 

Got hit with a snow storm just as my run started.  It was a fluffy snow so running through it wasn't too bad.  Physically, felt really good. Picked up the pace during the last mile and felt really strong.

Nice and easy.

Terrible run.  My knees and ankles were very sore because of the storm coming in and I just couldn't get the body to move right.  I also made the mistake of weighing myself before the run and it was much higher than it should have been. 

Still feeling a little lazy and not putting the effort in that I should.  Half way through my run, I was at Eagleridge Drive and decided to tackle it in an attempt to force myself to work hard.  I only went up a mile but it is very, very steep.  Effort felt really good going up.  Really fried my achilles tendons on the way down. 

Ran on the LPT with a good group.  Kam, Tara, Mark, Allie, James, Jake, Andrea, Cam and Emily.  I was definitely out of my league.  The plan was to run 8 miles then 2 at 6:45, 1 easy then another 2 at 6:45 and finish up with an easy mile.  Temperature was perfect but it was windy and threatening to rain.  Started into the wind wo we would have the wind at our backs for the faster miles.  Pace felt really good and the miles went by quickly.  Amazing how running in a group makes the time go by.  First set of quicker miles felt great.  Ran them both in 6:44.  The next set were a little quicker and felt harder than they should have.  My splits were 6:39 and 6:41 and I fell behind the group by a couple of seconds on the last mile.  During the cool down mile, the rain really started to come down.  I had a lot of fun during this run.  Definitely a lot better then slogging through a slow long run alone.

Started with 3 easy miles then 5 at LT then 2 easy to cool down.  Since the tempo miles took a little extra effort on Saturday I wasn't sure if I would be able to get through this run.  Started the tempo run and the pace felt very good.  Held steady at 6:38-6:40 throughout the run.  Effort felt solid and but never felt like I was pushing too hard.  Can't figure out why running less miles at the same pace 2 days ago felt like so much more work.

Had a very busy morning so I had to get up early to get the miles in.  Out the door at 4 and just plugged along.  The miles seemed to go by quickly.  I think it was because I was still asleep.  Other than feeling a little heavy, the legs felt good.

My left knee is causing me concern.  A little painful to walk down stairs.  It bothered me for the first couple of miles but started to feel alright as the run progressed.  Legs had an overall feeling of soreness which I think is a good thing at this point.  Hopefully it means that I am working an appropriate amount.

Had alot of excuses for not running this morning but I ignored all of them.  That is an improvemnet for me.  Left knee still achy and legs are sore.  The run went really well after the first couple of miles. 

Met Kam and Tara on the LPT.  We were all about 3.5 miles into the run.  We ran at a comfortable pace.  Just right for a long run.  Kam thought it would be fun to run up to Freedom Hills park and do a couple of laps aournd the park followed up with a run up the switch backs.  The run up to the park was bad enough and the run up the switch backs just about killed me.  I actually liked the change of pace and the use of different muscles seemed to help endure the long run.  Left Kam and Tara after 18 miles and I feared that my pace would plummet again like last time.  Focused on keeping it below 8:00/mile.  Felt surprisingly good.  I knew I was going to be a mile over my planned mileage for the day so I considered walking the last mile home.  Felt good enough to run the last mile and still felt really strong when I finished. One of the many marathon predictors out there says that the time it takes to run a 22 mile training run is a good indicator of how fast you can run a marathon.  Finished in 2:59 so that is a good sign.

Since I did not run yesterday I opted for the full run that was on the schedule today.  I have cut a couple of miles off of the MLR's on the plan because I don't think my body can handle it right now. Pretty uneventful run.  Couldn't keep the ear buds in my ears and got tired of fiddling around with them so most of the run was without music.  It made it really drag by.  Held a relatively steady pace although I let it slow too much on the minor uphills.  At mile 10, I fell on some ice.  Of course it happened right in front of somebody sitting in a parked car.  I can only imagine how cool I looked.