The Long Run

Another Monday morning indoor/outdoor run.  After the big warm up routine, did 3.5 miles on the treadmill at an average 8:34 pace, then headed outside.  Did another 3.75 miles outside at about a 7:45 pace.

It was nice and cool outside.  While I had been on the treadmill I felt sluggish and unmotivated but felt much better once I got outside, it was like night and day.

Met up with Dixie at 6:00, he was on time today!  We ran out to the lake park and back.  My legs didn't feel much like running on the trip out.  Temp was a nice 50 degrees but it was a bit damp so it felt slightly cooler than that.   Felt pretty good on the return trip.  Halfway out the average pace was 8:54 but it had dropped to 8:20 by the time we finished.

I met up with Keith and Dixie at the Y this morning just before 6:00.  It was a cool 38 degrees but I was ready for it today and actually felt comfortable with two long sleeve shirts, hat, gloves, and shorts.  We ran an easy warm up of about 1.75 miles then started on the tempo.  We were just going to do 3 miles today and wanted a pace between 7:00 and 7:10.  That's what we promised Dixie so as to not scare him away.

Pace felt good, not easy but not quite hard enough to be "comfortably hard", so I'll put these down as marathon pace miles although they are slightly faster than what I'm capable of right now for a marathon.  But, if I call them that long enough I'll start believing it myself hopefully.  We had splits of 7:01, 6:59, and 6:50.  I made an attempt to keep the guys more on pace for the last mile but it was a losing battle.

Average pace for run: 7:59

Wanted to do a little bit longer run today but thought that 10 miles would be just a little bit too long so I settled on 9.  I dressed warm and today was not quite as cold as yesterday, but still a bit chilly.  I went to do a bike warm up around the neighborhood but didn't do the full loop because it felt much colder on the bike.  So, I figured I would just start out slowly.

I went on the out and back course onto SR 54 and up Starkey Blvd along the bike path.  Miles on the way out felt a bit sluggish and my knees felt cold.  After the turn around it felt much nicer.  There was a little bit of sun streaming through the trees making it seem very bright.  My pace gradually got faster and by the time there was just over a mile left, I picked up the pace and finished the last mile in 6:40.  This last mile could go in the "threshold column" but I'm not quite sure.

Average pace: 7:57

Non-running day.  Went to the Y and did some light stuff - weights, stretching, core.

The guys were meeting at 6:20 for a 6:30 run in Starkey park.  This was Jorge's last long run before his marathon.  I had thought about just doing 13 miles, but it's hard to resist running one more mile out when 3 other guys are going one more.  I did have the company Christmas party last night and was careful not to overdo it, but still there was a certain amount of unhealthy eating and drinking.  On the plus side, I did just have a massage on Thursday so the run actually felt extra good.

We went out at a fairly easy pace.  David joined us for 4.5 miles on the way out, and then it was Keith, Dixie, Jorge, and I. This was also this first nice morning weatherwise, just under 60 degrees at the start.  There was a light rain and some wind but didn't feel too bad.  We saw a few deer running across the path and some other runners said they saw a wild boar but we did not.

Picked it up a little bit faster on the way back.  Jorge pulled ahead so I went with him and Keith stayed back with Dixie.  Finished up with a nice strong 6:47 mile.

Average pace: 8:09