Cool Runnings!

AM - ran 5 easy miles, felt good to get out again.  I did not run yesterday because even with sleeping in, I only got about 4 hours of sleep, because of Adam's little throwing up problem.  And we even went to bed at 9:15!  So yesterday was not to be.  I did not want to push it and get myself sick or injured.  Anyways, back to today.  Felt good, started off nice and easy, the pace continued to increase throughout the run.  I feel like I am still reaping benefits from the marathon with an increased aerobic capacity.  Total time for the run was 40:00 flat, average pace of 8:00/mile.  I have found some races for me to do - a 5K in November and a 1/2 marathon/10K in February.  Most of the other races are either extremely far away or on a Sunday.

AM - started out easy, was feeling frisky, decided I would try to do a mile at 5K pace, which would be equivalent to my LT pace.  First mile was about 8:15 or so, second mile I picked it up a bit, in 7:40.  Third mile was my LT mile, was shooting for 5:45, ran 6:00.  This may have partly been due to the previous mile, but I also feel like I need to work on my speed some more between now and my next 5K.  I currently have 3 goals in mind for the 5K in November:

1. Bronze - 19:00

2. Silver - 18:30

3. Gold - 18:00

I know the gold will be pretty difficult to reach (this would be an average of around 5:45/mile), but I feel with some good workouts between now and then, I should be able to get there.  I am open to suggestions about my training.

AM - 6.1 easy miles.  The horses are neighing again already, and I am already excited for the 5K which is almost a month away.  Total time for this morning's run was 48:07, average pace of 7:54/mile.  Picked it up on the last mile, but nothing special.  Legs feel fine after yesterday - no soreness, no dead feeling.  The only thing I have been noticing recently is that the back of my right heel is a little stiffness first thing in the morning, but only when I first start running.  No soreness when I get up, nothing walking on it, and it is fine the rest of the day.  I am not sure what this is - doesn't feel like PF, although I will work to make sure my PF is stretched every day just to make sure.

AM - no running, slept poorly and needed the extra sleep to function.

PM - 6 miles without the Garmin (batteries were low).  I started off at what I thought was a nice easy pace.  When I got to my standard 1 mile mark, I realized that I was actually running sub-8:00 pace (and it felt good, easy), so I decided to make this somewhat of a progressive run.  Only have two splits - first half was in 23:29, avg pace of 7:50, then I picked things up.  Breathing stayed nice and easy, legs could feel it just a little bit.  Second half was in 22:00 flat, 1 1/2 minute negative split, second half avg pace was 7:20.  Total time for the run was 45:30, average pace for the run was 7:35.  Tomorrow will be an *easy* run, I will make sure to take the Garmin and keep my pace at or above 8:30 for good muscle recovery.  On a side note, I thought Holt's observation on Logan's blog was quite interesting, as I have been starting to experience a bit of pain in the back of my right heel, right where my Achilles inserts.  I need to take a look at the mileage on my original trainers, and it is probably time to get another pair.  Cool Runnings!

AM - 8 easy miles.  Managed to keep my overall pace at 8:30/mile exactly (total time was 1:08:03).  Felt pretty good, although my legs were a bit tired from last night's run.  I will try to get in a couple more easy miles this evening.