It ain't Chinese algebra!

15 miles this morning around Phoenix and north on the bike path.  Felt good through 13 but then I could tell I hadn't eaten much yesterday.  My new ipod is pretty sweet and these shoes are nearly finished...

White (484)

5 more miles tonight.  I ran 1 mile from the Walker's to North High School, 8 laps around the track, 1 mile barefoot and 1 mile back home.  The weather was just too nice to stay inside.

Y2 (148)

Ugh.  I'm tired.  I think the increased mileage from the last few weeks are starting to take their toll on my legs.  I was dragging this morning through the first 5 miles, felt better the next 5 and was really struggling the last 4.  Really struggling.  Maybe hitting 90 miles this week is out of the question....  Course was through downtown and the first 1.5 miles of the Pear Blossom course, north to the mall and Fred Meyer and back home via Biddle and Providence Hospital.

Boston (175)

*Officially my highest mileage month ever.  Previously my high was 258 (Nov 2008) as I built up for the California International Marathon the following month.  March 2009 was 339 miles, an increase of 81 miles from my previous high.  Hopefully it pays off in Eugene...

I went swimming last night with nieces and nephews @ Jason's hotel and got a major cramp in my left calf as I dove into the pool.  Not cool.  Cramps in the legs are the WORST!  It didn't feel good last night but it was manageable this morning and I figured I'd just run what I could and stop whenever I needed to.  4 miles to the Walker's as my leg loosened up, then 5 miles with my dad.  I grabbed some water and then picked up the pace for a 5 miles tempo run home.

• 6:18
• 5:41
• 5:35
• 5:41
• 5:36

That first mile surprised me--I guess I just wasn't ready to pick up the pace quite yet.  I'm most pleased with the last 2 miles as they were ran the length of Barnett, from the dog park to my home and it's uphill for 1.8 miles, the last .2 flat on Golf View Dr.  Also, I'm happy that my legs didn't have the sluggish feel today like they did yesterday.  Hope that continues...  1 mile to cool-down.

White (499)

Simple morning; 4 to the Walker's, 4 with my dad and 4 home.  Pace was slow from start to finish as I averaged 7:59/mile but that's more than fine with me.  Despite the sluggish Tuesday I'm still on pace for 90 this week, something I never thought possible.

Boston (187)

8 miles this morning as I ran the St. Mary's/Albertsons loop twice.  Legs felt a bit sluggish the first couple miles but then they came around and felt great.  New pair of Cumulus 9's on my feet helped, I'm sure.

Cumulus (8)

90 miles this week which, for me, is an all-time high.  I think that personal record will stand for quite a while--I'm beat.  I ran 2 miles around the Albertsons loop and then 4 miles into the city center and jumped on the Pear Blossom route for next Saturday.  The course is 5 miles out, 5 miles back and I threw in a 6 mile tempo run after 3 miles on the course:

• 5:53
• 5:50
• 6:01
• 5:52
• 5:59
• 5:46

The quicker pace felt somewhat easy until the end and my hips tightened up and I was ready to be done.  That wasn't a good thing as I had 6 more miles to go before I was home.  I ran to the Comfort Inn by Harry & David and grabbed some water and downed some Gu and then ran the last 3 miles fairly rejuvenated. Overall pace for the run was 6:59; maybe a little too fast.  I didn't mean for that to happen so....woops.

Y2 (169)