Running Redhead

I ran a flat, fast 5K today. Ran the first mile with two students shooting for similar times. I went out faster than I planned and it turned out to be too fast. First mile was about 6:10. Obviously I fell off that pace for the second and third miles. I need more experience racing to be able to hold that first mile pace and be confident that my training will carry me to the end.

Five miles in 43 minutes on the road around school started uphill, longer downhill and finished on an incline. Felt smooth in 70-degree weather.

Weight workout 2 sets of 10-12 reps full body. Three miles on elliptical.

Late afternoon easy six miler down Glendale Road. I just beat the rain shower home. 51 minutes negative split.

A little over seven miles down Park to Phelps. Just under one hour with negative split. Very windy in the sixties.

Thanks to everybody for the welcome to the Blog!

Rest day. My left hamstring is a little tight. Looking forward to some tempo running tomorrow.

Excellent day for a tempo run. Warmed up with about 2 miles mostly downhill. Left hamstring was tight to start but loosened up some. Turned up the pace to seven-minute miles for three miles and eased off for a 1.5 mile cooldown. The hamstring feels a bit tight/weak. Will keep an eye on it.

First three miles on the road up Westhampton Hill, down around a lesser grade and back uphill to school. Then finished with two miles on trail and track. Left Hamstring still feels weak but loosened up on the track.

Weather drove me inside Thursday. I gutted out 5x800m at 6:40 mile pace. Warmed up with a couple miles, slow jog 200 meters recovery and cooled down with 1.5 miles. Breathing hard after three and five was a mental push but my legs felt great. Legs felt even better later in the evening and on Friday. Maybe add in a 1200 repeat next time, but I need to get my lungs going again.

Quick and relaxed five miles in the Saturday morning sunshine on the bike path. Aerobic miles.

Steady eight mile run along rolling hills Sunday morning. Cool temperatures. Legs a little tight in calves and right abductor loosened up over first three miles. 68 minutes for about 8:30 miles. Negative split with strong finish.

Great runner's high today! It was 70 and sunny with a little headwind. Warmed up with two miles and then did three miles tempo run at 6:55 per mile. It's hard to know the right pace for me for a tempo run right now. I've heard that it is the pace you could hold for an hour. I'm not sure I could hold 6:55 for an hour; it felt hard but not gasping for air difficult. I was breathing hard after the planned three miles but recovered my wind quickly during the cooldown (1.5 miles). No tightness in the legs anywhere and a great endorphin rush at the end of the run.

I'm training for a 10K at the beginning of August and planning to build up to about a 4.5 mile tempo run, long run of 12-15 miles and about 40 miles per week before tapering into the race. The goal is 42 minutes. Did a 5K in 20:06, but this will be my first 10K race.

A flat aerobic run today of a little over five miles. Probably around 8:20 per mile. I'm excited to get my Garmin so I can measure pace on the road a little more accurately. It's funny how it always seems like a struggle at about 2/3 of the way through a run when I'm doing even pacing/slow miles but I feel totally fresh at the end. I guess it's just a matter of running more miles.

Hot today! It was 90 degrees but the humidity wasn't too bad. Some wind to cool off, but the wind helped raise the heart rate. Did 5 x 800m with the first three on the track and the next two on grass. About 3:15 splits for each interval with a 200m jog in between. I ended up quite winded but the legs felt great.

First run with my new Garmin GPS. According to the device, my five mile course is actually about 5.5 miles. I also discovered that my pacing is a bit faster than I expected and a bit more variable than I thought. The Garmin says I ranged from about a 6:00/mile pace to around 8:20. I tried to keep the pace around eight minute miles. Looking forward to using the Garmin to get a better idea of pacing on the road in the future. Legs and lungs felt great today in about 70 degrees partly cloudy conditions. Overall pace on the Garmin was 7:38. I thought I was doing five iles in 8:20s on that course . . .

What a perfect day! Great temperature in the mid-60s and low humidity. Felt like I could run forever, but I'll save some for the tempo run tomorrow. Garmin said 9.5 miles at 8:06 per mile. I think I need to put a pound or two back on. It's so hard to eat enough of the right types of food because it's expensive and time consuming.

Seems like I'm on track for 10K in early August. Shooting for sub 42 minutes.

Home from work tempo run. Warm up around Westhampton 5K triangle for 19 minutes then 25 minutes of tempo run at about 6:55/mile pace. Cool down and finish off run two miles to home. Everything felt great. Running at that pace seems more efficient than two weeks ago.

The weather forced me onto the treadmill today. Eased into a 5.5 mile run at 7:45/mile pace. I'm feeling a bit more confident with the training program at the moment. I'm looking forward to the next timed run to see how it's going.

Treadmill interval VO2 max workout today. I love running fast, but I guess I need to make sure I don't push the pace too much and then rest too much. Completed six 800m intervals at 6:30/mile pace. About 15 seconds/mile faster than my goal 10K pace. 6:30 is a touch slower than best 5K pace. Recovery interval was 400 meters. Great rhythm in the legs. Huffing and puffing a bit on the fifth and sixth interval, but not gasping for breath. Quite satisfied with this workout and earned a rest tomorrow.

Finished the week off with an easy five mile run on the bike path. Hamstrings started a little tight. Averaged 7:49 miles with more even pacing today. I have scheduled myself for a reduced mileage week coming up. I don't know that I actually need it, but I have been putting in three quality workouts per week for quite a while with one race week off in the beginning of May. I'm still aiming for a sub 42-minute 10K on August 8 and a sub 1:32 half marathon in mid October. If anybody is doing the Breakers Amica Half-Marathon in Rhode Island, I'd love to hear about it.

Cutback week. I felt like I was saying, "Hold your horses" to my legs the entire run. I guess that's the point of reducing mileage for a week, though. Perfect sunny day in the sixties. Ran on a rolling hills out and back course on Glendale Road. I'm still trying to perfect my sense of pace with the Garmin and smooth out the spikes and valleys.