Cool Runnings!

Ran approx. 1 mile with the boys earlier in the evening, then ran my standard 4.1 mile route later in the evening.  Wore my HR monitor again.  The HR was better than Saturday, but still slightly elevated.  This could have been due to having eaten less than an hour earlier.  Total time for the run was 36:00 flat, which ends up being somewhere around 8:30-8:40/mile.  Average HR was 164, max HR for the run was 173.  I felt extremely good about that.  Especially since I picked it up on the last mile.  Interesting to note was that I actually felt the most comfortable during the last mile - I really got into a rhythm, and actually saw my HR drop about 5 bpm - that was pretty cool.  On a side note, the thought just crossed my mind that it might be pretty cool to have a fast running blog get-together for all those who will be at SGM.  My wife and I will be there, barring injuries, maybe we could all meet at the expo or after the race - just a thought.

Ran my standard 4.1 mile out and back route this afternoon.  I stayed home with the kids today while Lybi had to go to Samuel's school for most of the day to play for their recital rehearsal.  Wore the HR monitor again.  HR was similar to yesterday, still slightly elevated, although it seems I was able to better stay under 170 this time.  In addition, I found that I was inadvertently running too fast again, which I am sure had an effect on my HR.  I really gotta get me a GPS watch, just so that I can see what pace I am running.  Total time was 34:42, for an average pace of 8:21/mile.  Felt good.  I had some cramping during the last mile, but I think this was because I ate chili for lunch - I am guessing that beans and running an hour later are probably not a good mix . . .

Ran another 1.5 miles with the boys.  Samuel ran an entire mile (or as closely as we could tell), then Joseph and Adam ran a combined .25 miles.  Joseph was sick last night, so that was fine.  I put all 3 boys in the double jogging stroller and then ran the .25 back home - man are they heavy when all 3 of them are in there!  I feel good about today's mileage, and about my fitness increasing.

Ran 4.1 miles this evening - my standard 4.1 mile out and back course.  Did not run with the boys today, as I was putting Adam to bed while Lybi ran with the boys.  Did not wear the HR monitor today.  Started off at a real nice and easy pace.  First half of the course covered in 18:42.  Increased my pace for the second half, second split was 17:25.  Total time was 36:08, average pace of 8:42/mile.  Felt very good about this run.  Friday and Saturday should be interesting - Lybi will be flying with her grandfather to Denver to be at her sister's sealing to their newly adopted baby, along with two baby blessings - the adopted baby girl along with a newly born baby girl of their own.  They now have 3 girls in their family - the first two are adopted, and the third is their own - balances out our 3 boys :)  I will have the kids by myself until Sunday evening.

Ran a mile with the boys earlier in the evening, then ran my standard 4.1 mile out and back course this evening.  Wore my HR monitor again, was very happy about my HR tonight.  HR stayed below or right around 160 for nearly the entire run, average HR was 160 (4 bpm lower than Tuesday) and even better, my max HR on my run was only 167.  Wahoo!  Average HR on the first leg was 156, average on the second leg was 161.  I am totally excited about this run.  Even better:  I finally went out (or went online) and bought a TOY!  I decided on the Forerunner 205, since I already have a HR monitor and can use it if I want to run by HR instead of pace.  For anyone else considering purchasing one right now, Garmin has a $50 mail in rebate until 5/15.  I would have gone through the blog store to get mine, but I am a cheapo and look around for the best price, period, which was about $10 less than what Amazon had it listed for.  Not a big difference, but that's the way I am.  I was even looking around on eBay for a while, but found out that Garmin would not honor the rebate on a device won at an auction.  That, plus the price plus shipping was ending up being about the same.  As an FYI, Amazon's price right now is right about 192.97, price after rebate is only 142.97, with free shipping.  I paid 182.95 for mine with free shipping.  Like I said, not a big difference.  For a while, I was waffling between the Garmin and Timex bodylink series, but this has so much more to offer, plus a huge screen.  Enough about my new toy.  I should get it sometime next week.  Tomorrow and Saturday may be treadmill days, because it is already 11:25 PM here, and I won't get enough sleep if I get up at 5:00 to run.  Lybi is going to meet me at work tomorrow and I will take her and her grandpa to the airport, and then it is just me and the boys all weekend long.

Ran a mile with the boys earlier in the evening, then ran 4.0 miles on the treadmill after I got them all to bed.  I ran at 7 mph on the treadmill (8:34/mile) with no incline.  Wore the HR monitor out of curiosity.  I could definitely tell that running on the treadmill was easier on my cardiovascular system.  Average HR for the run was 152, max HR was 160.  This is all about 7-8 bpm lower than when I run on the streets.  This seems to be a confirmation that if you are going to run a marathon on a treadmill, training on a treadmill would be adequate, but if you are running a marathon on the road, then you should train on the road (or running trails, etc.).  My body is still holding up well - calves are feeling a tiny bit sore, but I will stretch them out good.  My wife arrived safely in Denver and is at her sister and brother-in-law's house.  Tomorrow's run will have to be on the treadmill as well.  We need to get Sam a new pair of shoes tomorrow - he has a habit of scuffing his heels when he runs, and as a result, has worn all the way through the outsole of both heels.  Well, that's all for tonight - lots to do tomorrow with the boys.

Ran 4.5 miles on the treadmill after putting the boys down.  Did not run with them today, as Sam was feeling a bit under the weather.  Ran with the HR monitor again.  First 4 miles were at 7 mph (8:34/mile).  Average HR for the first 4 miles was 154.  I experimented a bit with my breathing, and came to the conclusion that I am trying to breathe too deeply and too long.  I match my breathing to my stride, and I have been trying to inhale for 6 steps and then exhale for 6 steps.  It has actually been a bit laborious at times.  Experimented with going back to inhaling for 4 steps and then exhaling for 4 steps.  Seemed to make a difference in my HR, and boy, did it make a difference in terms of how easy it was to just breathe.  I think it actually helped me to relax a bit more, so I am going to stick with this rhythm.  I don't think that extending the time of each breath was actuallly getting more oxygen into my lungs.  Picked up the tempo after 4 miles to 8 mph (7:30 pace) for the last 1/2 mile.  Was pleasantly surprised to see that my HR held steady at around 165.  Average HR for the last 1/2 mile was 164.  Hot dog!  Of course, since this was on the treadmill, I fully believe that were this on the road, my HR would have been between 5-10 bpm higher.  Need to reprogram my HR monitor to make use of the HR zones (it has 3).  Missing the wife, probably ate less healthy today than I could have.  Hopefully I can get back on track quickly.  I had actually gotten down to 165, and have been hovering at about 166 for the last week or so.  I would still like to lose between 5-10 pounds.  As my mileage increases, I am pretty sure some of that will come off naturally.  I have figured that I need to be running about 8 miles/day, plus a Saturday long run of up to 20 miles to be prepared for St. George this year.  That equates to a 60 mile week.  At that point, I am pretty sure I will be burning up the calories pretty good.