The Long Run

Today's run went really well.  It was pretty nice running weather, low 50's, although the air was a bit damp making it feel cooler, and of course damp.  I met up with Dixie right about 6:00 at the Y.  He was up for some easy miles today and so was I.  Usually between the two of us, some of the miles end up being too fast.  But not today.  At one point the pace started to creep up but then I backed it down.  It felt good to know that my body wanted to go faster and was capable of going faster but I chose not to.  I have come to believe more and more that one of the "secrets" to improvement is going slower on easy days and fast on hard days.

The 6:00 start time allowed time for a little bit of weights and cross training after the run while still getting back home a few minutes ahead of schedule.

Average pace: 8:25

Asics gt-2120 

I wore my new pair of Brooks Adrenaline today.  I had wanted to buy another pair of Glycerin but the store I went to did not have them so I got these instead.  Good price and they feel about the same so far.   I woke up at 6:05 this morning and decided to run from home.  I would do a big loop out to the neighborhood I usually run at when I start from the Y.

I took the first mile slow (9:27) and went a little bit faster for the second mile (8:22), and then tried to settle in around there.   The weather was once again very nice out.  About 60° and none of the dampness from yesterday.  I was also fortunate again to not have uncomfortable beginning miles.  Nothing worse than slow and uncomfortable, not enjoyable at all.  I've been doing better since I remembered to do that stretch where you trace out the alphabet with each foot.

I had my fuel belt with me so I took a couple of sips of accelerade about each mile.  The 4th mile was a bit faster than I wanted for "easy" pace (7:31), so I backed it down to about an 8:00.

My goal for today was to do at least 8.5 so I was able to do that and just a little bit more.  Did some striders during the last mile which felt great.

Average pace: 8:05 

I finally switched over my template so I can keep track of shoe miles easier.  Trainer 1 will be the Adrenalines and Trainer 2 will be the Asics gt-2120.
 

Keith had wanted to do I tempo run today so I figured this would be a good time to start easing back into these.  He had to be someplace early so I met him at the Y about 5:20 so we could start at 5:30 sharp.

We warmed up with about 1.5 miles at an easy pace (9:00-9:30), then started our tempo run with a goal of 7:10 at 3 miles.  Most of the first mile the garmin said 7:05 so that seemed about right, but then at the end it jumped up a little bit and that mile ended up being 6:59.   Second mile was basically the same story but that one was 6:52.  By the third mile we were both feeling pretty good, pace picked up some more especially in the last .25 mile, the last mile was in 6:41.

We then slowed down and headed back to the parking lot. 

I went inside did a little bit of cardio cross training and some upper body weights.  It was nice to get all of this done and still be back home earlier than usual. 

Good basic run this morning.  More good weather, I am really cherishing this time of year.  I ran from home which made things simple.  My warm up and stretch routines paid off once again.  First mile felt easy and was a good pace for a first mile - 8:26.   I turned on my music after two miles.  My pace kept on creeping up, I backed it down once but it kept up again.  If my pace keeps creeping up I'll take it.

Average pace: 7:54 

Took the boys to school so Jenny and Amy could get their run in a little bit early.  Her Mom and other two sisters arrive this afternoon then they are all off to Disney tomorrow morning for the half marathon, the first one for all of them. 

Just a little over four easy miles this morning.  I managed to keep the pace easy which was good since the tendons on my feet were starting to feel a little sore from yesterday's "easy" run which was probably too fast especially since it followed after Wednesday's tempo run.

Goal for tomorrow will be 10-12 miles at an easy pace. 

 Average pace: 8:34
 

I had woken up about 15 minutes before the alarm clock.  My sister-in-law was up early as she is still on Belgium time as well as my mother-in-law who always seems to be up early.  There was lots of excitement as my wife, her 3 sisters and their Mom were getting ready to head out to Orlando for the Disney half marathon tomorrow.  They've all trained really hard.  It's amazing to see what sounded like a crazy idea almost two years ago now turn into reality.  I'll be watching for their times tomorrow morning. 

Jenny was over in Orlando this morning with her mom and 3 sisters, starting out on the Disney half marathon as I was driving to Starkey park for my Saturday run.  I got the first 5K update for Jenny just as I was getting there (I had signed up for text messages to my cellphone). 29:31 for the first 5K - a little bit slower pace than she wanted but I knew how crowded the start would be for her.

Keith and Dixie had gotten to the park early and had already started out when I got there.  Eric was there so he invited me along to run a couple of miles with him.  He was doing 15 and I'm not quite yet ready to keep up with him for an entire run.  About 1.2 miles into the run my phone pinged again for another update.  So, I said good bye to Eric and pulled my phone out of my belt to read the next pace.  10K time was 59:32, a little bit slower.  I didn't think it would still be crowded at 10K, but I would later find out that it was.

I ran into Keith and Dixie heading back in so I turned around and ran with them for a bit.  As we were getting back near the parking lot, Nelson was heading out so I switched directions again and ran with him for a bit.  He wasn't going very far today so I was soon on my own again.  My phone pinged again, Jenny was holding her pace.

I made it out to my turnaround point and headed back in.  I ran another mile and stopped to retie my shoe on my right foot, it was starting to hurt me.  Retying it seemed to help.  I saw Bob up ahead but he was pulling away from me as I was stopped.  So, I picked it up and caught up with him and ran in with him the rest of the way.

As we ran back to the end I got the final update for Jenny, she had made it in 2:10:42 for her first half marathon.  It was a little bit slower than what she wanted (she was hoping for between 2:00 and 2:09), but I think it was good especially considering the crowds that she had to fight through.  All of her sisters and her mom also finished in the times they wanted.

Between the cellphone pages and the different people I ran with it was definitely not a boring run for me.

Average pace: 8:08

I headed back home and took my mom and my kids out to breakfast at the Village Inn.  Thanks mom for coming over at 6:30 this morning to watch the kids for me!