A clydesdale no more!

This week is going to be a "just running" week. I'm not doing any speedwork or tempo runs. I will keep everything at a comfortable pace and only run as far as feels right for that day. I have 3 weeks until training for Boston starts and I want to go into it without any nagging injuries.

Avg HR = 151

Total Time = 47:50

Felt like running some hills today so I headed up towards Mueller Park canyon. Turned around at the 4 mile mark (just past the junior high). It was a 1,000 ft climb and felt pretty good. Took it easy coming down for the first 2 miles then picked up the pace the last 2 miles. It was much warmer than I thought so I was overdressed. Ended up shedding the gloves, hat and long sleeve shirt half way into the run.

Avg HR = 150

Total Time = 1:04:19 (8:02/mile)

Very easy paced run. Didn't bother wearing the HR monitor but checked it when I finished and it was 140.

Total Time = 48:20

Thought about running a 5k race today but didn't feel mentally ready for a race so I decided to head up to Mueller Park canyon and run up to Elephant Rock. It's 3.5 miles from the start of the trail to Elephant Rock and climbs about 900 feet. As I started out, I wasn't feeling all that great and was glad that I ddin't run a race because I definitely was not in the right state of mind. After warming up, I felt a lot better and started to really enjoy the run. I started out on the heels (or should I say pedals) of a couple of mountain bikers so I stopped for a minute to let them get ahead of me. Caught back up to them after a few minutes and stopped again to let them gain some ground. I didn't see any point in passing them because they would be able to fly by me on the flats and downhills. Towards the top, the trail got a little sloppy and was slushy in some spots but was still a lot of fun. Caught the mountain bikers one last time right before I got to Elephant Rock. Stopped for a couple of minutes at the top to enjoy the view. Running back down was great and I started to push the pace once I was comfortable with the downhill trail running. I wish I had started doing this earlier in the year. It was a lot of fun and reminded me of the reason why I started running. I started getting burned out always thinking about the next marathon or making sure that I follow the right schedule and am running the right pace every run. This was a great Thanksgiving day run.

Felt really good today. Kept it at very comfortable pace.

Total Time = 53:50 (7:29/mile)

First time in a long time that I almost chose sleep over running. Wasn't very motivated but got out the door anyway. Felt like I was asleep most of the run. Good to get the run in but it wasn't the greatest.

Total Time = 1:19:08