Maria's Running Blog

Felt pretty good today, and even ran last 0.2 mi. at 8:05 pace. Hopefully, I'll feel good the rest of the week.

I signed up for the Nike Human Race 10K on August 31. It's a huge event, when they are attempting to kick off races in 24 cities - at the same time, I assume. In London, it's going to be at Wembley Stadium (start and finish), and Paula Radcliffe will lead. Afterwards there will be a free concert by Moby and some other artists. I have no idea who Moby is, but it's going to be a massive race :). They are planning 4 starting waves with a total of 30000 runners. When I was registering I had a choice of wave and I picked wave 1. Maybe I won't be trampled by hordes of people, LOL. Of course, it's more of an event, than a competitive race and no one should expect to run a PR there, but it should be fun. Even if I don't run, Ill get a nice technical shirt and maybe some other goodies, so that should be worth a rather steep fee - 30GBP. But maybe I will actually run, Wembley is not too far from me, only about 20 min. on the tube. Full details: www.nikeplus.com

Total time: 46:34 (9:18 pace).

Another good run. Felt good, lungs only barely noticeable. Again, perfect running weather, low 60s and overcast. I remember how I suffered on my summer runs in NJ! Today also marks the day when I ran 6 days out of the last 7 (starting from last week) with a total of 30 miles.

Total time: 45:38 (9:07 pace)

I felt very good again on my run. I even considered going 7 miles, but decided to be cautious this week. I found myself speeding up during the run, and in the last mile, I threw in 3x80m strides at about 5K pace, just to see how I would feel. Felt fine, although my lungs complained a little at the end of it. My Garmin was showing 8:40-8:45 pace on the last 2 miles, but because I started slower the overall pace is slower as well.

I'm afraid to even say it, but I'm beginning to feel like my old self. I have to see how the rest of the week goes, but I'm getting pretty excited! Maybe I can finally start building my base again.

Total time: 53:47 (8:57 pace).

Decided to go easy today to make sure I'm recovered from my "blazing" fast run yesterday. Also, I increased the number of day running and the mileage, so just wanted to be cautious. To be honest, I didn't feel like running today and my legs did not feel fresh - not really surprising in light of the circumstances above.  I got home and started reading everyone's blogs - NOT a good idea before your own run! There are so many good blogs I want to read now, that it's very easy to get carried away and never go for a run (especially if you are looking for a reason not to go). Finally I peeled myself away from my laptop and got out. I felt okay on the run, tried to take it easy. Legs were a little heavy as expected, but not too bad. I wanted to run 9:30 pace, but ended up faster. Oh well, hopefully the shorter distance will compensate for not slow enough pace.

Total time: 39:45 (9:14 pace).

Today I decided to test the waters and push the pace a little. I decided to do the mildest workout I could think of - 2 miles aerobic threshold run. I wasn't sure I could even do 2, just wanted to see how I would feel. Warmed up for 15 minutes and picked up the pace to what felt like a sustainable faster, but still comfortable, pace. I didn't look at my Garmin till several minutes later because I wanted to run by feel and not try to hit any particular pace. I thought that maybe I can do 8:20-8:25 pace. What I saw was 8:10 pace! First mile was comfortable, but the second one got tougher. I just tried to relax and focus on maintaining the same effort. I was able to finish two miles in 16:20. I had side stitch coming on in the second mile, and generally feeling fatigue - all signs of poor fitness, but I'm still pleased with this run. Finished up with 15 min. cool down.

Total time: 44:07 (8:47 pace).