dedication, perseverance, self-discipline

I ran the first 2 miles with Sasha and Benjamin, the next 10.2 miles with Sasha, and the last 3 miles mostly alone.  Sasha and I ran 1.5 miles hard in the middle of the run, hitting quarters in the low to mid 80's.  During the last quarter I held close to 80 second quarter pace for the first 300, and then ran the last 100 in 14 seconds.  8:17 for 1.5 miles.  I felt really good during the last 100.  I felt really smooth and did not feel like I was really straining as much as I would expect.  I was glad that I could go this fast at the end of a 1.5 mile interval.  Total time for the run was 1:52:11

After running a 14 second last 100 during our interval yesterday, I wanted to see how fast I could run a quarter.  So, Sasha and I ran to the BYU track this morning and I ran an all out 400, while Sasha ran a 200.  I went through the first 100m with a high 13, hit 200m in 28, 300m in 43, and then finished in 57.25.  I was not too happy with the time, but I suspected a result similar to that, as my calves felt really tired this morning, and did not have much pop in them.  This is probably due to running 15 miles yesterday, all of it on my forefoot.  I am still not accustomed to running that far without heel striking at all.  Normally I will switch back and forth to let my calves get a break, while still providing a stimulus that will help me run more efficiently.  I suspect that in better circumstances I could probably run a 54.  I think that I will take a break from forefoot running tomorrow in order to give myself a rest, and I will stay on my heels for the day.

I ran with Sasha this morning, finishing 10 miles in 1:15:14.  My calves are feeling pretty sore near the insertion point into the tibia, so I was heel-striking almost exclusively during the run today.

PM:  I ran 5 miles, running the first with Kimia in 11:48, and finishing 5 miles in 44:49, running the entire time with the running stroller.  I normally do not count miles as slow as the first when adding up daily mileage, but since I had the stroller with me I counted it.

I ran 10.1 miles this morning, finishing in 1:19:57.  My calves were feeling better today than yesterday, but are still sore.  While Sasha was taking a vpb I rubbed my legs down a little bit.  The positive news is that there was no point tenderness on the bone, however I found a big knot in my right calf, and a smaller knot in the left calf.  These knots are the main reasons why my calves have been sore.  I rubbed them out later on in the morning, and it seemed to help a lot.

PM:  I ran 5 miles alone in 37:49.  My calves felt better than they did this morning, however I could still feel some tenderness/weakness while I ran.

I ran 10.1 miles this morning with Sasha.  We kept the pace easy, but for some reason my left calf started to bug me with about a half mile left in the run.  I iced the calf twice during the afternoon and it felt better later on in the afternoon.

I ran with Sasha this morning, finishing the first half of my run in 1:17:20.  We ran slow for the most part, but finished the last 1.25 miles in 7:08.  I then went back out and ran the same course again, but on my own.  I ran 1.5 miles fast about 6 miles into the second half of the run hitting the first mile in 5:33, and then closing with 83, and 81 second quarters for an 8:17, 1.5 mile split.  I also ran the last 1.25 miles of the run fast hitting quarter splits of 80, 82, 77, 78, 80 for a 1.25 mile split of 6:37.  The third quarter did get messed up because there was a local 5k on the river trail that ended during that quarter, and there were people just standing on the trail.  I ended up needing to stop running and I stopped and then restarted my watch as well, thus messing up the split.  Total time for the run was 2:26:47 for 20.35 miles.  

After I got home I ran 1 mile with Kimia in 10:23 while pushing the running stroller.  I am proud of how well Kimia did.  She was only 7 seconds off of her mile pr just a month and a half post gallbladder surgery, and a little over two and a half months post pregnancy.  She also negative split the mile, running the second half in 4:59 which might be her half mile pr.