M'kay

LM warmup, 6.12 miles in 46:53, 7:40/mi, HR 158.

Run interrupted.  Came across a stray dog mid-way thru my run. He looked pretty miserable, wet and cold.  Wouldn't come to be so not much I could do.  Kept going, hit the turnaround, and found him a bit further down the road, lying down at a neighbors driveway, with the neighbor and the mail-lady conversing trying to determine if anyone knew the owner.  The short version is that I ran home, got the truck, took him to the vet, spent some $$$, took him home, gave him a bath, and am still searching for an owner, now trying to juggle a 2 dog household where the 2 dogs have not been properly introduced.  Didn't quite get my complete run in... 

LM warmup, 8.09 miles in 1:02:25, 7:43/mi, HR 160, & stretching.

I ran exactly 8.09 miles further than I felt like running.

LM warmup, 14 miles in 1:46:31, 7:37/mi, HR 165, 1.5 mile walk/jog(1mi) w/ dog & stretching.

Cold but nice outside.  Handled the uphill better than I expected and managed to keep the last 6 miles all under a 7 min pace despite tiring and flattening of the downhills.  

LM warmup, 7 miles in 54:18, 7:46/mi, HR 160 w/ 12 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, 2 mile walk/jog with dogs (1.5 miles jogging untimed) & stretching.

A nice fall day  Hill sprints were tough today. 

LM warmup, 8.14 miles in 1:03:06, 7:45/mi, HR 161 w/ 2 mile warmup, 2 x Drills, 6 x Strides, 15 x 1 min on/off Fartleks, 2+ mi cooldown, 1.5 mi dog walk/jog (1 mi jogging), core workout & stretching.

Beautiful fall day...shorts and rolled up long-sleeve shirt weather.  Legs weary but willing.  1 minute repeats better than last week but still gasp-ers with plenty of walking during the recoveries.  Same pattern....13 generally uphill, last 2 downhill.  Didn't quite feel so dead on the cooldown miles though.

LM warmup, 10.04 miles in 1:18:04, 7:47/mi, HR 157 & stretching.

Hit the steep hill loop to start then out and back on the normal route.  Pushed the last couple of miles down into MP.  Managed to just catch the start of the rain. 

LM warmup, 7.13 miles in 55:23, 7:46/mi, HR 154, w/ 12 x 12-15 sec Hill Sprints, 1.5 mile walk/jog (1 mi jogging) w/ dog & stretching.

Another rainy day.  Tired today and feeling the mileage this week.  Tomorrow's should be another hard workout but I'm not sure if I'll be up for that with the increasing mileage yet, so I'll play it by ear.  Discovered that my "12 second" hill sprints were closer to 14 or 15, so I changed finish markers for the last few.  Been that way since moving to the new hill, I guess.  No wonder they're kicking my arse. 

LM warmup, 2.07 miles in 16:45, 8:05/mi, HR 146.

Miserable weather.  Forced myself outside to start today's run but by 2 miles in, knew I just wasn't into an easy workout, much less a hard one.  Legs were complaining loudly the whole time so I bailed.  At least I made it out the door. 

LM warmup, 10.1 miles in 1:15:19, 7:28/mi, HR 160, w/ 2 mile warmup, 6 miles Steady State (4 up, 2 down), 2 mile cooldown.  Core workout & stretching afterwards.

Ugh.  Still not feeling it today, but pushed ahead anyway.  My "steady state" portion was definitely slower than it should be and I would up taking quick breathers every mile, using the mental trick "one more mile and that's it" to get me through to the end.  Not very pretty. 

LM warmup, 20 treadmill miles in 2:36:36, 7:50/mi, w/ increasing incline (1-4 1%, 5-8 2%, 9-12 3%, 13-16 4%, 17-18 5%, 19-20 back to 1%), & stretching.

Couldn't bring myself to face the constant downpour outside, so I resigned myself to the treadmill with some mindless fare to keep me entertained (The Hangover).  Was planning on 16 today, but I managed to talk myself into 18 and then 20, with thoughts of blowing up at Boston if I don't get my running act together dancing through my head.  

LM warmup, 7.03 miles in 54:25, 7:45/mi, HR 151, 12 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, & stretching.

Zapped from yesterday's long run.   

LM warmup, 10.05 miles in 1:18:06, 7:46/mi, HR 151, w/ 2 mile very easy warmup w/ dog, 2 x Drills, 6 x Strides, 10 x 2 min on/off Fartleks (8 uphill, 2 downhill), 2+ mi cooldown, core workout & stretching.

Sunny & mid-50s day.  Legs felt pretty well recovered, so I took advantage with a nice hard fartlek workout.  Repeats were hard but tolerable.  A couple of extra long rest periods to help a DFW officer with some directions, not that I minded too much. 

LM warmup, 12 miles in 1:29:57, 7:27/mi, HR 155 & stretching.

Stayed steady during the first uphill 6 miles, pushing a bit the last steeper mile, then let loose on the steep downhill.  Collected myself for a half mile, then started pushing into MP effort for the last 4.  Finished in the dark.

LM warmup, 8.07 miles in 1:02:13, 7:43/mi, HR 151, w/ 12 x 12 sec Hill Sprints & stretching.

Cloudy and cool but dry.  A bit tired at the start but warmed up into the run nicely.  Hill sprints felt better this week....not great, but they definitely sucked less than they have lately.  Legs still plenty tired by #s 11 & 12. 

LM warmup, 10.09 miles in 1:13:24, 7:17/mi, HR 160, w/ 2 mile warmup, 6 miles steady state (4 uphill, 2 downhill), 2 mile cooldown w/ 6 x Strides, & stretching.

Cool but dry.  Tired today...really felt it in the legs the last mile or so of the steady state portion.  Still, managed a decent SS portion without the stops of the previous week, so I guess things are coming along.  May need to take tomorrow off...will see how things feel then. 

LM warmup, 20 miles in 2:43:17, 8:10/mi, HR 150 & stretching.

Windstorm overnight prevented decent sleep.  Headed into Elbe hills and encountered slick roads and later snow, about 1' deep at the top of the climb.  Watch malfunction lost almost a mile but I've run the route so many times before I know the distance and about how much time I lost.  Wiped afterwards...unfortunately, had to attend a holiday party later that night so no rest for the weary. 

LM warmup, 8 miles in 1:01:43, 7:43/mi, HR 147, 12 x 12 sec Hill Sprints & stretching.

Finally got some sleep, but still felt wretched this morning.  Too much holiday food and was up too late.  Not looking forward to today's run, so an easy effort was in order.  Once I got going, didn't feel too bad.  The hill sprints were pretty ugly though.   

LM warmup, 8.08 miles in 1:01:59, 7:40/mi, HR 157 & stretching.

Another 3 day no-running stretch driven by time, landscapers & crawling around in the attic installing recessed lighting.   

LM warmup, 8.07 miles in 1:01:42, 7:39/mi, HR 152, 1.5 mile walk/jog w/ dog (1 mile) & stretching.

LM warmup, ~ 8 grass sprints (entertaining new puppies), 18 miles in 2:25:22, 8:05/mi, HR 151, w/ last 1.5 miles w/ dog at jogging pace.

Underfueled.  Paid for that with low energy, nausea and unwell feeling into the evening.  Oops. 

LM warmup, 8.07 miles in 1:03:54, 7:55/mi, HR 141, w/ 12 x 12 sec Hill Sprints & stretching.

Tired and slow today.  Left hip hurt the first 6 miles before finally loosening up.  First 3 miles very slow.  Decent hill sprints. 

LM warmup, 9.41 miles in 1:11:58, 7:39/mi, HR 153, w/ 2 mile warmup, 6 x Strides, 2 x Drills, 8 x 3 min on/2 min off Fartleks (6 uphill, 2 downhill), 2+ mile cooldown, core workout & stretching.

Rainy and gusty winds.  Mental challenge to get out and do this workout.  The actual execution went well, aside from getting stood up by the wind a few times.  Plus, sleep wasn't great last night, so I'll take it.  I'll also take some better weather if anyone has any to spare.

LM warmup, 12.08 miles in 1:29:27, 7:24/mi, HR 155, w/ last 4 miles Moderate, & stretching.

Cool but fairly dry.  Run felt really good today.  Hit the turnaround in 50:44 and pushed the last four miles (6:23, 6:18, 6:21, 6:14).  About 30 seconds faster than 2 weeks ago, while keeping the effort much easier on the outbound portion. 

LM warmup, 7.28 miles in 57:08, 7:51/mi, HR 145 & stretching.

New snow on the ground today, but roads were pretty clear.  Legs were very tired today....so I would up cutting the hill sprints and the last 3/4 mile from the run.   

LM warmup, 12 miles in 1:28:53, 7:21/mi, HR 157, w/ 2 mile warmup, 6 x Strides, 2 x Drills, 8 miles Steady State (4 uphill, 2 rolling, 3 downhill), 2+ mile cooldown, core workout & stretching.

More snow overnight and temps dropped into 20s.  Frigid run (at least for this neck of the woods).  Mixed bag for running surface....some bare and wet, some slush, and some compact snow and ice.  Switched to trail shoes (bigger lugs) after warmup to improve traction and pace was pretty decent even in the slick spots, but it did impact the pace (but not the effort).  The jump from 6 to 8 steady state miles is tiring.

LM warmup, 7.15 miles in 56:29, 7:54/mi, HR 141 & stretching.

Almost took a rest day but went really easy instead.  A toasty 32F in the sun.  Brrrr.