The Next Step

Another incredible day for running in Indiana.  It was about 47 with some light wind.  I felt better this morning and today wanted to do my longer run since tomorrow is going to be a really busy day.  I started off real easy to get warmed up and gradually picked up the pace as I went along.  I felt good the last few miles but could feel the distance in my legs because I haven't ran this far in awhile.  I am really glad to get a long run in.

1:59:25 (7:58 avg) 

It was cool (48) and overcast this morning.  I just did an easy recovery run today.  I started off super easy to get warmed up and felt pretty good.  I am still having some issues with my achilles but it is usually better after I get warmed up.  Today I also had some pain in my right hip.  That is where I had the problem before so I hope it doesn't come back. I need to spend more time stretching and strengthening it.  Glad I got the longer run in yesterday since today is going to be busy plus it is supposed to rain later.

56:09 (8:01 avg) 

I was in the Smoky Mountains hiking the last three days and then today had to leave on a quick trip to Syracuse, NY.  I was able to get a quick run in on the TM before a dinner meeting.  I felt good and ran easy.  The legs felt better than expected after hiking in the mountains.  I don't get a lot of hills in Indiana so the legs are not usually used to going up but felt good.  Had a good time hiking.  There was snow at the higher elevations which was cool.  It was the first time I had done much hiking in the snow so was glad it worked out.  Now need to get back into the running mode.

 39:05 (7:49 avg) 

Syracuse, NY:  It was raining this morning so stayed in and ran on the hotel TM.  I was tired this morning for some reason and had a hard time getting going.  I had planned on doing a tempo this morning but I just never could get going and decided to wait.  Instead I just took it easy.  I also had to cut the run short because of meetings.

49:06 (8:12 avg) 

Back in Indiana this morning and it was very nice.  It was in the mid 40's with just a light wind.  I felt pretty good this morning but still started off real slow just to get warmed up.  I felt better as I went along and toward the end added in 8 x 100m strides.  Those were good and it felt good to get the legs moving faster.

64:09 (8:01 avg) 

Had a lot of family activites today and just never got any time to get out.  Disappointed that I didn't get the run in but had a good day with the family.

It was a nice day with temps in the mid 50's.  It has been unseasonably warm the last few days but nice in the mornings.  I just took it easy today and trying to get back into a routine.  Last week was a really bad week for running.  It was really busy week and just a lot going on.  Hopefully, this week will be much better.  

Felt good today but kept it easy.  I am planning to do some faster running tomorrow so hopefully that will work out.

63:21 (7:56 avg) 

Didn't feel good today.  I had some stomach issues and bad headache so skipped the run.

Still not feeling great this morning but got out for a few miles.  I felt very sluggish which was probably due to being under the weather.  I took it super easy and didn't want to wear myself down any more.  Just glad to be able to get out.

41:05 (8:13 avg) 

Still not feeling good.  This stomach bug is taking a while to get over.  I am supposed to run in a half marathon on Sat but don't really feel ready for it.  I have missed a lot of days lately and not been running as many miles.  Also, not sure about this stomach issue.  Right now planning to run but just keep it low key.  To test the legs out today I did a couple of 1/2 miles at tempo pace  and that felt pretty good.  I felt good running but still have the stomach issues while running.  Hopefully, I will feel better by Sat.

45:31 (7:36 avg) 

Stomach is almost back to normal today.  But I still felt very sluggish and tired.  Since I am running the half tomorrow I just decided to take it easy today and see if I could be fresh for the race tomorrow.  It was a nice morning around 48 but windy.  Hopefully the wind dies down before tomorrow.  I have very low expectations for the race tomorrow.  I think I will treat it like a long MP run and see how I feel.  If I feel better tomorrow I may push it a little but would be happy if I ran around 1:35.  In one way I wish I hadn't signed up for the race but it is probably good to get a race in and get me back into a better frame of mind for my running.  I just haven't had the same focus that I did earlier in the year.  So I guess I will just see how it goes.

31:51 (7:58 avg) 

I was not really sure what to expect today from this race.  The last couple of weeks have not been good running weeks and I was not feeling well this week.  Also, my daughters were in a wedding last night and we didn't get home from the reception until around midnight.  Considering all of this I just wanted to keep the race low key and see what happen.  

It was an absolutely perfect day for running.  Temps in the mid 40's and no wind with beautiful blue skies.  Also, this is a pretty course to run with all the leaves changing colors.

 I felt pretty decent on the warmup and decided to go out conseratively and then see how I felt after a few miles.  I got to start in the first corral so I was able to get out and establish a comfortable pace pretty quickly.  I haven't ran a race since Boston this spring so the legs felt a little weird and took some time to get moving good.  Part of the second mile was downhill so that helped stretch the legs out.  Right after that we went back uphill and I tried to conserve energy as I was going up.  After the 5th mile I was feeling pretty good and thought I should have a shot at sub 1:30 which would be good for me considering my recent training.  Miles 5 through 9 I felt real good and was starting to pick up the pace.  However, at 10 and 11 we went back uphill and that took quiet a bit out of me.  I was able to recover from that and felt like I finished pretty good.  Overall, I am very happy with the result.  My training has been hit and miss all summer so no surprise that I am a few minutes off of my PR.  This does give me a good idea of where I am at and what I need to do to get to where I want to be.   Time to get back on a more consistent training program!

Here are my splits: 

1st - 6:49

2nd - 6:39 (downhill)

3rd - 7:09 (uphill)

4th- 6:48

5th - 6:40

6th - 6:46

7th - 6:46

8th - 6:34 (downhill)

9th - 6:36

10th - 6:46

11th - 7:11 (uphill)

12th - 6:55

13th - 6:43

Great morning for running.  It was 48 and just light wind.  I was stiff and a little sore from the race on Sat so started off real easy.  I left the Garmin at home today and just wanted to run by feel.  That was a good decision and led to just a very peaceful morning run.  I did feel a lot better after a few miles and it really loosened the legs back up.  I keep the run real easy the whole way and a good way to start the week.

Nice day for running and felt good today.  The pace seemed easy so I decided to run the last few miles around MP.  I picked it up each of the 3 MP miles and ran them in 7:18, 7:12, 7:07.  I love days like this when the running seems easy and the miles just click off.  I didn't want to push it too much since I just ran the Half on Sat. but looking forward to getting the training back on track and seeing what the results are.  I am planning on target a 10k in the middle of Nov as my key race this fall.  I haven't ran a 10k in a long time and want to work some on my speed.  I have also been thinking about next year and right now feeling like working on a solid half in the spring and then come back in the fall and try to run a fast marathon.  I'm not sure how many more opportunities I will have to run a sub 3 so thinking of giving it a real shot next year.  I need to get my mileage up and be more consistent.  It seems like a long way out but it will pass quickly I'm sure.

60:22 (7:36 avg) 

It was cool this morning with temps in the mid 30's.  This is my first time out this fall with the temp below 40.  I have really been enjoying these perfect running days the last few weeks and today was a reminder that winter is around the corner.  I was sluggish getting going this morning and just started off slow and pretty much stayed that way the whole way.  It was good to get in some extra miles and I just tried to relax and enjoy the morning.  I am working to get my mileage back up and try to keep it there.  Off to a good start this week.

1:29:28 (8:08 avg) 

It was cool and very windy this morning.  I felt stiff and tired this morning so started off easy but felt much better after a couple of miles and picked up the pace.  Nothing special but did add in 6 x 100m strides toward the end.  I ran these pretty hard to work on my speed and strength in the legs.  I am getting back the pain in the achilles again.  Nothing bad but enough to notice.

62:29 (7:49 avg) 

It was really cool this morning (32) but luckily no wind.  This is the first good frost that we have had this year.  I felt pretty good this morning after getting a good night's sleep.  That always helps.  I just took it nice and easy this morning and enjoyed the crisp fall air.  I still have some pain in my achilles.  It bothers me for about the first half mile then it is no problem.  I need to continue with the ice and anti-inflamatory to try to get it straightened out.  Just kind of lingering along which cannot be good.

62:35 (7:50 avg) 

I had a really busy day with the family and didn't think I would get a run in but was able to get out late tonight.  It was dark and just ran laps around my neighborhood.  I really wanted to get in more miles today but was glad to just get  a run in.  I felt good running with a lot of energy but had to get back for family movie night that I promised the kids.  Hopefully, I can get out tomorrow and get in a longer run.

38:29 (7:42 avg) 

It was a warm (72) nice day out with a lot of wind.  I ran down at Southeastway park.  Just ran laps around the park and through the woods.  I almost stepped on a snake but luckily it was very big and was heading the other way.  Other than that just a nice relaxing run enjoying all the fall colors in the woods.  I was a little sluggish running.  I just kind of felt tired today.  I am back traveling this week so need to focus on staying on schedule.

63:07 (7:54 avg) 

I had to fly to Philadelphia today so had a little time this morning before the flight and was able to get in 6 miles.  It was a long day in Philly and got back to my hotel at 9 so no run tonight.  I felt pretty good this morning and I ran around the neighborhood since it was very dark out today with all of the clouds.  I was glad to be able to get a run in before I left because I knew it would be a long day.  

48:08 (8:01 avg) 

Philadelphia, PA:  It was nice this morning.  The temp was in the mid 50's and their was some wind.  I felt pretty good getting going this morning other than the normal pain in the achilles starting out.  That got better quickly and then I felt good.  I did 3 miles easy for a warmup and then did 4 miles at tempo pace.  My goal today was somewhere around 6:45.  Here are my splits for the tempo:  6:41, 6:41, 6:36, 6:41.  It amazes me that 3 out of the 4 were the same.  Wasn't really focused that much on it but glad to keep it consistent.  I felt pretty good during the tempo but was pushing pretty good on the last mile as it was uphill and into the wind.  Cooled down with 2 miles back through the city.  

65:45 (7:25 avg) 

Philadelphia, PA:  Did an easy recovery run today.  I actually felt pretty good but started off real easy and then picked it up the last 3 miles.  I still had the pain in the achilles for about a 1/2 mile but then felt better the rest of the way.  It doesn't seem to be getting worse or better just staying the same.  One more day in Philly and looking forward to heading home tomorrow.

57:31 (8:13 avg) 

Philadelphia, PA:  It was warm (65) and felt humid today.  It didn't feel like a normal fall day.  I felt pretty good this morning and the achilles didn't bother me too much.  I did about a 3 mile warmup and then did 12 x 40 sec with about a minute recovery.  I ran the intervals at around 5:40 pace and was trying to get the legs used to running a faster pace.  These all went pretty good and then a  couple of miles for the cool down.  I stopped my watch at a light on the way back and forgot to start it again so didn't get my overall time.  Turned out to be a pretty good run.

Back in Indiana and it was a lot cooler.  I just did an easy run today.  I had more problems than normal with the achilles today.  Yesterday while boarding the rental car bus at the airport I got my foot turned in a funny way and tweaked the sore achilles.  Today it was sore and took a little longer than normal for the pain to go away.  More ice and treatment this weekend to see if I can get it back under control.  Glad to be able to get in the run today.

54:10 (7:45 avg) 

It was a cold (32) fall morning.  I am still fighting getting out the winter gear so ran in shorts today which turned out to be ok since it warmed up some during the run.  I felt ok this morning but started off easy to see how the achilles was going to be.  It was better today and didn't bother me much after the first 1/2 mile.  I don't know what was going on this morning but saw 7 other people out running.  I usually don't see anyone since we live outside the city.  Must be a running boom in New Palestine.  The run went good.  I did feel a little tired toward the end.  I think just a long week catching up to me.

1:35:35 (7:57 avg)