Philippians 4:13

I waited and went out for a run later in the day when the temps had come up a bit...and after having a chance to sleep in and have some time with the family.  I ran 7.1 miles with Moxie and Andrea at about a 7:36 pace on a warmish but windy afternoon.  Now back to more movie and Wii time with the family. 

Back to work today!  Good early morning run at the gym to try out my new kicks, VFF Bikila's (Kami got them for me for Christmas).  4 mile progression run in the Launch's to get a little speed and warm up my legs for the VFF (time of 26:10).  (Launch)

Changed shoes after 4 miles then 3 miles in the Bikila's in 22:15...felt good and it was kinda fun!  When I got much faster than 7:13 I could feel them more in my feet and could tell that I really had to work harder on my form.  Definitely makes you run with a mid/forefoot strike and you can really feel your feet and calves!  This could actually be fun to have a bit of a change and force me to be true to my midfoot form! (VFF Bikila)

8.5 miles at lunch on a warmer (33 degrees) but very windy day (30+ mph gusts, 20mph steady) in 1:02.  A pain heading out into the headwind and on slick pathways, ran back on the roads which were more clear and with the wind at my back actually got hot.  A good longer run at lunch, trying to get more miles in early this week due to the cold weather predicted for later (-11 degrees low temp predicted for Saturday!).  (Ride Red)

Another early morning run on the TM at the gym.  2 miles at 7:15ish pace in the VFF...decided to do a warmup in these before tempo in my regular shoes.  You really can feel the ground and notice your form...a good thing.  (VFF)

Changed shoes then ran a 6 mile progression run.  After the VFF, my Launch felt like I was running on pillows!  1 mile at slow MP, then a progression from 6:22 to 5:18, bumping up 0.1mph every 400m, then the last 400m, bumping up the same amount every 100m.  Felt good and mostly easy, in a total time of 36:50.  Overall total time for 8 miles of 50:20.  (Launch)

7 miles in 52 minutes at lunch around the river.  Temps were nice, light breeze but the pathway was a bit tricky...light dusting of snow hit the icy spots.  I ran on the road as much as possible to have a clear surface.  Good easy recovery run on the last day before the storm and cold weather hits.  (Ride Red)

Kept waking up early so I ended up getting to the gym early (4:15ish) but had a really hard time getting into the run...almost gave up in the first mile or two.  Finally started waking up around 3 miles then kicked the pace up to MP for miles 4-8 to finish with an average pace of 6:35/mi.  No other runners this morning, kinda a bummer...only the cocky weightlifters whom I regular humble on the TM because the think they are the @#$% and keep laughing and looking over at me as I am pounding out sub 6:30 miles.  They always head to the opposite side of the TM bank to warmup to stay away from me.  Go pump yourself fellas!  As least I didn't have to battle for a TM under the fans with the fat walking lady! (Launch)

6 miles outside on slushy, sloppy roads and pathways in 46:50.  The temps were good and wind wasn't even bad, just slushy...my toes were squishing around inside my shoes at the end of the run!  (Ride Red)

A quick review of my my running stats (for my own validation) since I started training for marathons and really tracking mileage in 2005:

Mileage 2005-2006:   3,878 miles

Mileage 2007-2009: 10,430 miles  (2963-'07, 3706-'08, 3760-'09)

Mileage to date 2010: 3,638 miles

total:                         17,946 miles

Prior to 2005, I didn't track mileage and ran at most 3 times a week for about 2-5M each time for the previous 5 years (2000-2004) as I was more focused on weight lifting at tennis in this period.  Estimate that I ran about 3,000 miles total prior to making running my central athletic focus in 2005.  

So, I am nearing 21,000 miles of running since I started in 2000!

Slept in a bit and got the gym around 5am for my run.  The extra time in the morning, plus coffee and an energy bar certainly helps the enthusiasm and energy level!  2 miles easy wu then 7x1 mile intervals at:  5:46, 5:42, 5:39, 5:36, 5:33, 5:30, 5:50.  400m recovery in between and an easy cooldown gave me my 12.2 miles in 1:14:30. Got my 3650 miles for the year (10 miles a day average)...tomorrow is just gravy!

A good single run for today...now for fun time with the family on my day off!

Last run of 2010...at the gym since it was 5 degrees outside this morning.  Slept in a bit and hit the gym at 5:30 for my "gravy" run today.  2 miles easy warmup, then 7.5 miles at MP between 6:22-5:52 pace, the last 2 miles at sub-6:00 pace.  Total time of 1:00:04 for the run.  

Happy New Year to the FRB'ers and wishing you all God's blessings in 2011!

Went to the gym with the entire running group and other friends...10 marathon runners on the TM's at the same time, we had the entire left bank...Deborah, me, McKay, Lynette, Andrea, Curt, Alana, Shannon plus Marlin and Mauri on a couple of the others.

Most fun and longest I have gone on a TM!  15 miles in 1:36:50 with no head phones as we were chatting and calling out challenges to the group for the entire run.  Each runner would take a turn calling out a training interval (usually 1-2 miles) that each of us would run at our respective paces...is was like a spinning class on the mills!   Had a great time and the run went by extremely quickly and lots of fun!   A great start to the year and a run we all vowed to repeat more often during the winter training season!  Last longer run before the marathon on Jan. 16th.