The Next Step

I took the day off from work and took my oldest daughter to Kings Island amusement park.  We had a great time and it was a really fun day.  Will get back to running tomorrow.

Nice morning (65, cloudy).  When I started out I felt very flat.  Could be from be on my feet all day yesterday at the amusement park.  After a couple of miles I started feeling better and by the end of the run I was feeling good and wanted to run faster.  This is probably a result of being off for two days.  I wanted to do some speedwork today but kind of figured I would not be feeling the best early in the morning.  If I can work it in I am going to try to run this afternoon and work in a faster workout.  Hope the schedule doesn't get too crazy.

62:07 (7:46 avg)

It was warm (70) and windy this morning.  I ran over to the track to do some 400s today.  I felt kind of sluggish in the warmup running over to the track and didn't know how the speedwork would go.  I decided to stick with the plan and see how it turned out.  I planned on running 12 x 400 in around 85 sec with equal recovery.  After the 2.5 mile warmup I started the 400s and here are the splits:

1st - 83

2nd - 85

3rd - 86

4th - 84

5th - 83

6th - 85

7th - 83

8th - 84

9th - 84

10th - 85

11th - 84

12th - 85

It seemed like it took the first 3 or 4 to get going.  After that I settled into a good groove but then the last 3 I could really feel it in my legs.  My legs were starting to feel like jelly.  I think it was a good pace and just the right number of repeats.  I don't think I could have done much more and stayed on pace.  I am enjoying the track workouts and feel like they are starting to make a difference.  I think in a few weeks I would like to run a 5k or 10k and see if it translate into a race. 

1:14:20

It was cooler today (65) but very humid.  I was a little stiff and sluggish getting going this morning so I took it real easy at first.  After a few miles I started feeling better and got into a good pace.  Just an easy recovery run but good to get it in.  Some thunderstorms were moving in and I finished just as it started to rain. 

I have been looking at scheduling some upcoming races.  I want to do a marathon this fall but haven't found one that fits into the schedule yet.  We are going to Disney late Oct and I am running a relay with some friends the first part of Oct so Sept would be the best time but there are not many races around this area that time of year.  I may have to go later and run later Nov or Dec.  I am looking for one with decent weather and a fast course to go after a PR.  If anyone has any ideas please let me know.

9.25 miles  73:58 (7:59 avg)

PM:  I want to get my mileage up some so I am going to try running doubles a couple of days a week and see how that goes.  It was warm (80) and humid this afternoon.  I just ran easy.  My legs felt pretty tired so don't want to try to do to much with the increase in volume.  I ran through Fox Cove and added on 3/4 of a mile around the subdivision to get up to 16 for the day.

6.75 miles 54:16 (8:02 avg)

I think summer is here.  It was 78, very humid and windy this morning.  After the long day yesterday I just wanted to run a real easy recovery run but with the heat I am not sure how much of a recovery run it really was.  I felt a little stiff and sluggish getting started so tired to take it slow.  Felt pretty good the middle part of the run but the last couple of miles I was feeling the effects of the weather.  Need to get out earlier which might help some.

66:10 (8:16 avg)

My daugther had a birthday party/sleepover so we a bunch of 12 year olds running around didn't get to sleep until late so sleep in later than I wanted to today.  It was warm, very humid and very windy today.  Not the kind of conditions for a good run.  I decided to just take it easy and get in the miles.  Glad I did because I ran the last 6 miles into a strong head wind and that was tough.  I would have liked to go further today but since I got out later than expected and the conditions I guess I am happy with what I was able to do.  Turned out to be a pretty decent week after a slow start.  Hope to keep it going into next week.

1:45:50 (8:14 avg)