Motivated to Succeed

8:00 AM - Sunny and temperature around 48 degrees with a slight 2 or 3 mph wind. Can't possibly get much better than that! I was thinking of going for a bike ride, then decided maybe I could test the waters since I don't have work later today. I threw on a pair of running shorts (the short, short kind so I can show off my unbalanced muscular legs; for some reason my right leg seems significantly more defined than my left leg, weird!) and headed to dad's work. Behind the school there's two short nature trails. I parked and stretched and did a slow jog, and ended up easing into 5 x .6 mile loops of the nature trail. Hit the 5k mark at 27:36 (8:54/ mile pace), and then jogged to the short nature trail and did 3 x .3 loops there. Finished with a cool down mile on the track and then walked to the car and stretched. Overall I felt pretty good. It felt good to be able to run a bit again. It's been hard going the last four months that's for sure. I think what I might end up doing as I'm continuing to recover is do short bike rides the days that I work to maintain cardio and then the days that I don't work, go for a little longer of a run/walk/shuffle type deal since I'm more likely to be off my feet those days. It's just that work takes a toll on your feet, especially when you're stuck in the cafe like I've been as you're not allowed to leave from behind the counter for the entire shift! Talk about mundane! Oh well, at least this started the week off right. Probably not another run until Friday or Saturday. I'm thinking about placing an order for a Howling Commandos singlet. Would be pretty good PR I think at races. Imagine me running in short shorts with HC singlet on with a guy on a bike wearing a gorilla costume. I think it might be my new favorite shirt!

Total Time: 47:00 Total Distance: 5.25 miles Average Pace: 8:57/ mile

8:00 AM - Started with a walking warm up, light stretching, and then eased into a slight jog. Did two miles in 21:20 (10:40 pace), and then cooled down with a .5 mile walking warm down. Overall felt good considering I did over 5 miles yesterday! I'm really hoping that in the next couple weeks I make some headway so I can start to train again. Positive thinking. Climbing the mountain towards recovery. If I do it smart, I should be able to make a full recovery. Such an awesome job everyone at Ogden this weekend. That is definitely exciting for the blog! Way to go!

Total Time: 43:50 Total Distance: 3.5 miles Average Pace: 12:31/ mile

6:00 AM - So I woke up at 5:18 this morning and couldn't sleep, despite being incredibly tired last night. So I got some coffee and decided to go for a bike ride. Felt good. It was sunny and a little windy, but only about 40 degrees. My hands were pretty cold for most of the ride. It was interesting. I think there were more cars out on the roads at 6AM than when I usually go in the middle of the day! I hate traffic. I always feel like they drive too close to me, and the noise and fumes aren't very nice either. Wednesday will probably be a day off. Really hoping the Achilles holds up at work today because tomorrow is 4 months. And hopefully all of this biking is going to help me in the long run! I really want to set some PRs this fall to get something out of 2008, you know?

Total Time: 1:05:00 Total Distance: 17.05 miles Average Speed: 15.7 mph

Going to take an idea from Paul Ivory and try to record my heart rate when I can. Woke up this morning and rate for a full minute was 48 beats.

12:00 PM - Went to Emma's track at her old high school in Pittsfield and did a walking mile, .5 mile jog, and .75 mile walk cool down. Sunny but a little windy. Felt pretty good I guess. Some soreness in the achilles. Blah.

Total Time: 33:00 Total Distance: 2.75 Average Pace: 12:00/ mile

1:00 PM - Temp about 59 or 60 and partly sunny with a wind about 10mph. Went to Taconic High School track again in Pittsfield, MA. More people there today than on most other times. Started with a 1 mile walk in 14:34, then eased into a jog, though I suspect my short shorts scared everyone off. The lady that got there at the same time as me, saw me jogging in my short shorts and did 1 lap and left, and the two young ladies that showed up when I was on the back stretch of the track, did less than half a lap before they too quickly exited. Soon it was just me and a lady I'll call Fran. Fran sported spandex and a water hydration-fuel belt. We made eye contact once, well I did. It was hard for her to see since I was wearing my sunglasses to keep a low profile. I ended up doing 3 miles in 26:10 (8:43/mile pace!), then did a 1.15 mile cool down.

Total Time: 57:42 Total Mileage: 5.15 mi Average Pace: 11:12/ mi