The Long Run

Did 5.3 easy miles on the treadmill.  The first mile was pretty slow with a buildup to an 8:35 pace which I held until the last mile, with a slight increase to 8:20.  Enjoyed the slower and steady pace.  I'm not sure I broke much of a sweat.  But it felt good just the same.

The air felt very thick this morning. Temp was about 79°, humidity about 82%

Not terrible I suppose in that it will get worse. Also I looked up heat index chart and it said that any heat below 80° does not have a significant heat index.

Dixie, Randall, Randy, Keith, David and myself - a pretty good attendance for a Tuesday.

6.2 mile loop, first mile at 8:28 , second mile at 8:10 but it felt much harder. Started to pick up the pace. When I looked at my Garmin the pace was usually about 20 seconds slower than it felt. Had a nice strong finish at the end.

7:49 pace overall.

Today was a much nicer day for running.  Even though I started later this morning than yesterday it was much cooler, about 73°.  I think it rained a bit just before I woke up this morning.  Did one easy mile, then did 4 miles at a faster pace, backed down slightly for the 5th mile then took it easy for the last half mile.   Maintained a good pace but didn't feel like I was pushing too hard.

Average pace was 7:27 

Another very pleasant morning for running.  Actually, another few degrees cooler and it would have almost been chilly.  Met up at David's house again this morning.  Also there were Raj, Randy, and Keith.  Up Starkey Blvd bike trail for 3.25 miles and then back, up and a little bit of the back were at an easy pace, then we started to pick up on the way back for a strong finish.

Average pace: 7:37 

My left foot was bothering me a little bit yesterday.  It's not really hurt just bothering me, so I took it a little bit easy today without totally skipping a run.

4.5 easy miles on the treadmill, about an 8:35 pace.

I'm hoping to be nice and fresh for tomorrow's 5K.   I'm interested to see what if any improvements I've made in the last two months since the last 5K.  I certainly feel a lot stronger now. 

I wanted one more 5K before I start my "official" Chicago marathon training next week.  It was a very small race sponsored by the local Habitat for Humanity so it was also for a good cause.  There were about 30 runners including myself and Randall (who has often run with me the last 2 months).  The race took place in Starkey park which has a nice paved bike trail.  The course was pretty much straight out and back except for the first .1 miles and last .1 miles.  I warmed up with 2.5 mile at 9:00 pace.  It was already starting to get warmer, about 85° by the time the race started.  There was some shade on the way out but full sun on the way back in.  I did better on the first two miles but slowed down a little on the last mile.   I had a new problem today, I didn't have anyone to chase down so it was just me against myself.  Maybe I could have gone faster if there was someone else out in front but not having anyone in front was also nice.  I'm not too far off from one of my goals of breaking 20:00 5k.

I won a $50 gift certificate to Dick's Sporting Goods and a nice engraved hammer as the "trophy" 

Now I can concentrate more on endurance because due to many different charts my 5K time reasonably predicts that I have the capability with the proper training of getting a 3:20.  This 5K was 38 seconds faster after two pretty solid months of steady running.