Cool Runnings!

Ran 7 easy miles this morning.  Woke up tired, took me a bit to get going on the run.  After about a mile, I was able to settle into a pretty good rhythm.  Total time for the run was 57:39, average pace of 8:14/mile.  Glad I got out to run this morning, rather than in the evening.  It is still too hot in the evening, even at 9:00.  I need to work on getting to bed early enough this week.  Nothing much else to talk about - nothing special about this run.  I intend to make this entire week an easy week in terms of pace - no tempo runs, just get in the mileage.  Planning on 50+ miles this week - I am absolutely amazed at how I have gotten here.

Ran 8 miles this morning.  I did not quite get to bed at 9:30, but I did get to bed by 9:45.  I figure that was pretty good.  Woke up early, felt better than yesterday.  Started off easy, then picked up the pace after about a mile to around 8:15/mile.  It was hot and sticky this morning, about 90 degrees, and humidity was higher as well.  My legs got kind of tired towards the end, probably from the combination of heat and humidity, but I slogged on to finish the entire 8 miles.  Glad I finished.  I am planning on doing 8 the rest of this week as well, and will plan on 12-13 on Saturday to get me over 50 for the week.  Total tme for the run was 1:06:23, average pace of 8:18/mile.

Ran 6 miles this morning.  Got out the door a little late, and decided that it might be time to change to two runs per day, ratherthan trying to get in all the miles at one time. I think I would still prefer to get in the bulk of the miles in the morning, due to the cooler weather, and am still undecided about the idea, but right now I am thinking that I may do around 5-6 miles in the morning, and then 2-3 miles in the evening.  We will have to see how that works out.  I will definitely be putting in a couple miles this evening to get in at least 8 miles for the day.  Total time this morning was 48:25, average pace of 8:04/mile.  The run felt good, it seemed to be a tad cooler this morning - certainly felt less sticky than yesterday.  I did get a fairly good amount of sleep as well - got to bed by 10:00.  I would still like to get to bed a bit earlier - 9:30 is a good goal for me, I think.

PM - ran an additional 2.05 miles this evening - temperature was 108 degrees, took it easy.  Body did not get overheated, because it was only 2 miles, and on the way back, I was grateful for a headwind, even thought it felt hot.  Total time for the 2.05 miles was 17:19, average pace of 8:27/mile.  Believe it or not, that felt like it was easy.  The biggest indication it was really hot outside was when I came back in and started sweating like a pig. 

AM - Ran 7 miles this morning - the alarm went off at 4:30, and I hit the snooze until 4:45.  Once I got up, I felt very awake.  Due to a lack of time, I ran 7 instead of 8 miles, and may try to get in a couple more this evening - we will see.  The run felt good today - it was still warmer than I like, and the humidity was higher, but my average pace has been continuing to increase, even on the longer runs, without any extra effort on my part.  I am confident this means that my aerobic fitness is continuing to improve.  Total time for the run today was 56:25, average pace of 8:04/mile.  I stepped up the tempo for the last mile and ended up running around MP for the last mile.

PM - Ran 2 miles this evening - temperature was 104 degrees, a little cooler than yesterday, but not much.  As I was running, I could see a big storm coming - Hallelujah!  Total time for the run was 15:54, average pace of 7:57/mile.  Glad I was only running 2 miles.  I had not yet had dinner, as I had Webelos Scouts at 6, and didn't want to eat right before I ran.  Could feel my stomach growling as I was running - bad tummy!  (j/k).  I think I am going to continue to follow this plan of splitting my runs.  This will allow me to wake up a little later (4:50 instead of 4:30), and put less stress on my body at one time. 

AM - ran 6 easy miles.  We had a nice thunderstorm last night, and it cooled things down a little bit this morning.  Started out my run, warmed up the first mile, then settled into my pace.  This was another one of those runs where I couldn't quite find my rhythm, and I realized towards the end that even though it was a bit cooler, it was also quite a bit more humid (found out on the radio on the way to work that the humidity was 54% - this is way humid for Arizona!).  Legs felt kind of dead after about 4 miles although I was not pushing the pace.  Kept going, finished the run in 49:03, average pace of 8:11/mile.  Will plan on doing another 2-3 miles this evening - I will make sure they are VERY easy so I don't wear myself out for tomorrow's long run.  Good luck to all those who are running Draper Days.

PM - ran another 2.1 easy miles.  Weather was a bit nicer - only 102 today!  Took it easy, but found my pace was faster than I had wanted even though I was trying to run slow.  Had dinner at 5:30 - I could feel my dinner a little bit, althogh I tried to eat a light dinner, and will eat a little more later tonight.  Total time was 17:00 exactly for the 2.1 mile run, average pace of 8:06/mile.  At least it was slower than yesterday's 2 mile run . . . :)  Looking forward to my long run tomorrow, during which I plan to focus on running around 8:30/mile.  Also looking forward to getting my final Harry Potter book!  No, I am not standing in line at one of the bookstores, waiting for the 12:01 release - I will get mine delivered tomorrow (sometime), and plan on immediately sitting down and starting to read.  Should be a nice, relaxing day.  Only other thing I need to do is to take my car to get the oil changed.  I will drop it off in the morning as soon as the shop opens and hope it will be done in a couple of hours (I don't believe in paying 35.00 for an oil change, I either take it to a place I know that does it for about 15.00 and also rotates the tires and checks the brakes, or I will take it to a place where I know we have a couple free oil changes coming.

Sasha - I thought of another idea for the blog - maybe you could make a way to restart the mileage counter on the trainers and racers to account for new shoes replacing old ones . . . 

Ran 12 miles this morning - it was cooler from another storm last night, but boy was it MMMUUUUGGGYYY!  Took it easy, first four miles averaged about 8:30/mile, which took me to the track.  Stretched out at the track, ran another 4 miles on the track.  Averaged about 8:20 for the first 3 miles, then picked up the pace and did my last mile at the track at MP - 7:30.  This was pretty much the point where I realized it was pretty muggy outside - my shorts and running shirt were both soaked.  I took off my shirt, and it felt like it weighed about 5 pounds.  Ran back home, trying to take it easy, because I realized I was probably a bit dehydrated, and my legs were pretty tired, no matter how hard I tried, the pace stayed around 8:20-8:30/mile.  Got home, guzzled down the rest of my gatorade, then went and weighed myself - 162.6 - this is a new low for me.  I haven't been at that weight since I was first married.  I am guessing I probably lost about 4 pounds on this run, although I didn't weigh myself before I went out.  I was exhausted after this run - I attribute this to the weather, and not to my fitness.  Hit my weekly mileage goal of 52 - woohoo!  Next week I will put in a long run of 16 miles - this will be my longest run of the year so far.  Things are really coming together for me.