Running Redhead

Oh, I wish I had the time to put in the mileage I want. I think I would be in prime position to run an excellent half-marathon in November. Today I put in an excellent five mile tempo run averaging 6:55 miles on a course a bit down until a final hill right near the end. Unfortunately I didn't have time to cool down as much as I wanted, so I feel a little tight right now and probably into tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be able to put in some recovery miles tomorrow to loosen up.

Quick loosen up on the treadmill.

Cool and drizzly, but after five miles at 8:00-minute miles I felt so good I decided to pick it up for three miles to marathon goal pace and then finish with two miles at half-marathon goal pace.  It's really crazy to me how strong the "dividing line" is between being able to run all day at paces slower than 7:00-minute miles and not being able to keep up 6:20 for a 5K. I wonder if I'm just genetically geared to the longer distances.

Give me a cool Fall day anytime for anything! I wavered on how far to go today, but ended up at the two-hour mark. Pushed the uphills at about 10K pace over a rolling hill course. Great start to the week. I'm hoping to get back to a fuller weekly schedule leading up to Thanksgiving. I've been doing some reading about how to cycle and schedule training. One article really seemed focused on the overall mileage over the course of the entire year leading up to a goal marathon. I also liked Jim2's idea of a Spring 10K/Fall marathon cycle. I think I might try that leading into my BQ attempt next year.

I could get used to this fall running thing. =) Nice cool evening for a tempo run. Finished six miles in 6:45 pace and felt fantastic. Right on the threshold. Running at tempo effort I beat my 10K PR. That was run in August with an enormous hill in the middle, though. I guess it makes sense that flat and cool is easier than hilly, hot and humid, but I hope that at least some of the good feelings are from overall training gains.

Easy mileage at 8:34 on the treadmill.

Six x .20 miles at half-marathon pace on six percent incline on the treadmill with quarter mile recovery intervals. Pretty sweaty, but the legs and lungs felt very good.

Nice and easy recovery form the hill workout yesterday. Felt very loose.

Donated blood on Saturday so I took Sunday off to replenish. Today's run was a fast finish with 10 miles at long run pace (8:10/mile) then three miles at marathon pace and three miles at half marathon goal pace of 7:00. Eased home over the last half mile to cool down a bit. Felt like I could go longer at half marathon pace, but the hill near the end of the run pushed back on the pace some. One more long run pushing the hills and one more fast finish run and I may feel ready to go for 1:32 for a half on Nov. 7.

I actually successfully completed a recovery run at the recovery pace I was targeting. It's hard to keep yourself in check sometimes. Right at 8:30 pace for the run home from work.

Treadmill workouts can sure be tedious, but it keeps the pace constant. I hope the one I'm using is calibrated correctly, because the mile repeats I did felt easier than I thought they would. Either a good sign of improved fitness, or a sign that the treadmill is not calibrated correctly. I think and hope it is the former.

 In any case, six mile repeats at 10K pace (6:4) with one minute recovery + warm-up and cool down. Felt like I crushed the workout and still feeling fresh the next day.

Six x 400 meter treadmill hills at six percent. Ran at goal half marathon pace and recovered with a quarter mile at 9:00 miles. Fifth repeat was pretty ragged, but got back into groove for the final interval.

Easy, flat miles felt great with sunny skies and cold temps.

Hudson-inspired workout today. Two miles to warm-up then three sets of 5 x one minute at 5K pace with one minute jogging recovery. I thought the recovery was supposed to be marathon pace, but I couldn't/didn't keep that up, so it was jogging at about 8:00/mile pace. Three minutes of easy running between sets. Then cooldown to finish off. 

Six hilly miles at moderate pace.

Supposed to be a progression run as a test of my fitness for a potential half marathon Nov. 7. Did eight at long run pace, but felt a bit winded early. Did three at marathon pace as intended but had to push much harder than I was hoping. There was a headwind and those miles were up a moderate hill, but still felt much worse than I have on a long run in a long time. I'm pretty sure the lack of mileage the previous week caught up with me. My fall has been pretty inconsistent. I tried the next three miles at goal half marathon pace. Hit the first one a bit fast, as it is somewhat downhill and was out of the wind. The next one was way off the pace, though. Third mile back onto seven-minute mile. Finished the run with a couple at long run pace rather than at 10K pace as hoped. Felt spent and my left calf was tight and very sore. So I'm going to pack it in for racing this year and build a better base over the winter for next year.

Nice and easy on the treadmill for 40 minutes. I'm heading into a base phase of aerobic miles with one tempo or hill workout every other week. I'm hoping that this will be the first winter I've been able to maintain long runs on the weekend over the winter.

Treadmill at 8:00 minute pace.