A Giant's Foray

Gave the shoes a test on the treadmill. Taking it easy before jumping back into full-time training again tomorrow.

Tremendous run, was smooth for the longest time, and vented a little at the end because of some stressful stuff that's been going on. Went 1:06:33, which is a 7:25 clip. Wasn't really tired at the end (well immediately after I finished I was breathing hard, because I did a strider to close), but definitely will need to control my pace a little more over the long term. Really fun run though for one day.

 Shoes felt great as well! No left knee pain... I guess stability is what I was looking for! Thinking I'm going to do a 5k up in Mt. Vernon next Saturday... we'll how I'm feelin'. 

Decent. Felt pretty stiff. Did the loop down to Green Lake, around the outside, a half mile further, and back. Averaged a 7:50 pace, though that slowed to a snail's crawl at the end. I'm still having a hard time pushing myself a little too much on these aerobic runs, and I think that yesterday's tough run took something out of me, as I felt pretty "bleh" most of the time. Less stiffness than yesterday, though, even if I still felt pretty stiff overall!

Felt much better than yesterday, though I'm still adjusting to the shoes. Went out a little fast (as is unfortunately becoming my MO), and got stuck at a couple of lights I usually get through, giving me some unanticipated rest. Can't complain too much! Same loop as ever, down to the lake, around twice and back. Dryer weather is definitely making the ground pretty hard, which is unfortunate as well. Wish we could get a constant slight drizzle, not totally dry/pouring rain. 7:40 pace overall.

 Also, I'm thinking of doing a 5k in a week on the 16th in Mount Vernon, just to test how running a faster pace feels. No real expectations, though I'm hoping I'll be able to break 20 by a comfortable clip.

Basic run to Green Lake, around and back, with a slight twist. There's a serious running girl who I see probably 2/3 of the time I do Green Lake runs who goes in the opposite direction, who absolutely trucks it, and almost, without fail, runs the full 3.2 miles in the time I run 3.0, which isn't a terrible deal as I'm going aerobic. But of the dozens of times I've crossed paths with her, she's never actually passed me, because I'm usually going in the opposite direction.

However, this time, I had to run and turn around to hit 7 miles, and as I saw her today, it looked to be an embarrassing day, as it was timed perfectly for me to get passed in my last .2 miles on the lake path. As I made my turn I saw her charging from behind, and couldn't help myself, lifting my aerobic pace to something of a mad dash for a quarter mile. And my foe was thus vanquished (ie I saved myself embarrassment). 

 Hah, anyways, other than the quarter mile, I stuck to the aerobic pace pretty well. Probably a little fast again, but I'm getting better. 7.01 in 53:55, 7:41 pace. 

Well, I can see why a long run is an essential part of training... I was toast at the end of this run, not necessarily heart rate or anything, but just the fact that it was the longest run I've had since the half marathon in November. Timewise, it was almost the same length. Felt great after running it, and now, about an hour after finishing, I can feel it cardio-wise a little (ie I'm exhausted), but there's no leg pain. We'll see how I feel tomorrow, as leg pain kinda sneaks up on me. Funny thing, I saw my dad randomly walking across the street on the home stretch on the 3rd lap. I guess he was walking home from work for exercise, good for him!

 Looking forward to running again tomorrow! 

Custom Splits: 9:13 (to lake), 24:26 (lap 1), 24:35 (lap 2), 23:50 (lap 3), 9:50 (run home)

 Totals: 1:31:56, 7:35/mile