Run Buffs Run!

Ran 8.0 miles today in in great weather (about 70 degrees F). The course I ran was a fairly abrupt series of dirt hills, meaning that I went up one side and down the other, up another hill and again, down the backside. This was tough, especially since some of the hills were very steep. Although half of the run was downhill, it seems that the long uphills completely eliminate any stamina I had going. I ran the 8 miles in 47 minutes, but am very happy with my time due to the extensive twisting, turning and ups/downs of the hills. I am also practicing a new type of strategy for racing. At the beginning I run fast, but not at threshold. As the run proceeds, I slowly pull down on the trigger, attempting to run the last mile in under 5:30 pace. I think that this can help build up stamina and aerobic threshold.

Ran 8 miles total today. I ran 7 miles at 6:45/7:00 pace and finished with one mile at 5:15 pace. In all, legs felt heavy and the run felt very forced.

Ran 8.5 miles today at 6:45/7:00 pace. Felt grueling at first, but after two miles or so I felt ok.

Ran 3x1600 meters today with a 400 meter jog between intervals. I forgot my watch (of course you forget it when you need it), but my body clock told me that I was running in the neighborhood of a 5:15 mile. Although the workout did not last a particularly long time, it sucked all the strength out of me by the last 800 meters. I believe this occurs because of the rest time (slow jog between intervals). My heart rate slows down and body becomes more relaxed, so when I take off again, my body needs to work hard to get back up to high "rpm's". I ran a one mile warm up and a one mile cool down.

Ran the Evergreen 10k today, which was quite a race. THe race took place at an elevation of 7,700 feet, but much of the couse was downhill.

I tried to retain myself from exploding off of the starting line, which I partially did, but it seems that some instincts can not be fully removed. I had to put the pedal to the floor. I clocked the first two miles in 10:06, a blistering pace of a 5:03 per mile. My 5k split was exactly 16:00, which is a personal best so far in my running "career". At this point I was currently in fifth, but at mile four, this grueling pace caught up with me. I let one runner pass, but remained confident that no one else was going to overtake me. In the last mile, a runner of my similar age was gaining. With 800 meters left he made his move. Sensing that he would soon pass me, I turned forward, eyed the finish, and turned on the afterburners. I don't know quite how fast I ran the last 800 meters, but rest assured it was sub 4:45 pace. I had held him off, finishing with a personal record time of 33:40. Only later did he tell me that he, being my same age, was top ten in the state in the 10,000 meter his senior year of high school. Knowing this, I figured that I did well, especially since I have only been training (at a decently high level) for the last two months. I beat my personal best for the 10k by almost by 5:00 and my personal best for the 5k by 24 seconds, not bad for a single days work. I knew that my training was increasing my speed, but only now do I realize the extent to which it has helped me grow as a runner. At this rate, I would like to break 30:00 in the next six months. If I could do that, there is no way that the CU varsity squad could turn me down.

Ran 8 miles today at slow pace. Legs are very sore and feel tired. Not a bad run, but it felt very forced.

Ran 8.0 miles today at 6:30/6:45 pace. In all, felt good, but legs are still a bit slow to respond. Not a bad run, though.

Ran 11.5 total miles today in the mountains (Rockies) at 7:00 am. I am currently on a fly fishing trip with friends, and the area we are staying in has excellent trails for running. The trails consist mostly of dirt/gravel that have been packed down by cars. They weave through nice scenery, bridging three or four small streams while remaining relatively flat. In the morning, the air is cool and the trees are damp from the previous nights mist. It seems as though you almost forget that you are even running while winding through this serene setting. Unfortunately, a small shin-splint seemed to slow me down towards the end of the run. For being so small, those things can hurt like hell. Besides that, however, this mornings run was great!

Did 3 miles of speed workouts today (12x400). Unfortunately, since I am in the mountains I have no access to a track, so I sprinted one minute, jogged for two minutes, and repeated this 12 times. I am guessing that it is about 6500 ft. up here, so today was a very challenging workout. Unfortunately, I was unable to run yesterday because of a shin splint. I still felt it today, but I could put up with it. Yesterday, I was ready to run, but when I began the pain was too sharp to persevere through it. It seems more of a nuisance than anything else. It really did not hurt that bad, but it was just enough to prohibit me from running. In a way, it was almost good, though, because today I felt like I could give the speed workout my full potential. I felt like I gave the sprints all that I had, leaving me feeling very tired at the end. In all, a good workout!

Ran nine miles total today. It was cool because I met a girl that is the sister of a previous CU varsity runner. Severy (the runners last name), is in the book called Running with the Buffaloes, which I am currently reading. It is cool to meet someone that has had hands on experience with the CU running team. From the sounds of it, the program is very intense, but Mark Wetmore (CU coach) will turn you into an all- american in no time, if you don't get injured. In all, a good day of running.

Ran 8 miles total today, 6.5 of which at 6:45 pace and 1.5 miles at 6:00 pace. I ran the fastest at the end to try and build up my aerobic capacity, since I feel that it is my limiting factor.

Ran 5 miles at 5:30 pace today, which was decently difficult becasause I was running on loose gravel/dirt. Ran a one mile warm up.

Only ran 4.5 miles today at easy pace because I did not have much spare time. I will make up for the short run tommorrow, though. I plan on running 11+ miles.

My longest run yet! I ran 15 miles on a dirt/gravel trail along the highline canal. The canal has mile markers, so I went up to 7.5 and back. I completed the full run in 1:38 flat, which averages out to a 6:32 mile. By about mile 13, I was ready to fall over and die, but I managed to squeeze every ounce of energy out of myself to finish the run. I think that runs such as this will help build my aerobic capacity to where it should be. What a workout!

Ran 6.5 miles today in 37:44, which averages out to about a 5:50 average mile. I felt bad, however, during the run. Since I ran 15 miles on Friday, my stamina seems to be shot. I tried to hold on to a faster paced mile but it was unsuccessfull. It felt as if I were pushing against a stone wall every time that I took a new step. I guess my time was not bad, but I know that if I had full strength then I would be able to push harder. I ran a .5 mile cool down.

Ran 8.0 miles today at easy pace (7:00 min mile). Of course, I forgot about the temp. at mid-day and ran at 3:00 pm. It was nearly 90 degrees (F) and I ate lunch about an hour before, so the run did not feel so good. I don't know what comes over me sometimes, but I make some poor decisions when choosing a time to run. In hot weather, after eating lunch is definitely one such example. I completed the run on pace, but it felt much more forced than it should have.

Ran 3 miles of speed workouts consisting of 6x800 meters with a 400 meter jog at 7:30 mile pace in between intervals. I don't know what it is, but this workout killed me. I pushed as hard as I could, and still did not achieve any extraordinary times. My splits were as follows: 2:22, 2:30, 2:32, 2:34, 2:37, 2:37. This was dissapointing because I would have liked to break 5:00 min mile pace, but thats the way running is sometimes. I think that the lack of a good recovery before the following interval is what really did it. Previously, when I did speed workouts, I would only run 12x400 with a half lap walk, which gave me plenty of time to recover. Today, I felt tired even before beginning the next interval. Even though my times were dissapointing, I still felt like I got a good workout.

Ran 8.0 miles today. For the first four I ran about a 6:30 mile, and I picked it up for the last four, completing them at an average of a 6:10 mile. I am trying to pick up pace as the run goes on to build up more stamina. A little windy, but overall a good run. I am happy because I am starting to get back into the groove of things. After I outdid myself with the 15 miler last week, I felt bad the next couple of runs. I feel like I have powered through the "slump" that I have been in since that run, so I can tell that my body is becoming more familiar with working hard.

Ran 6.7 miles total today. The first 3.5 I ran at a 6:30 pace, when I found a good field to do some sprints. I was unsure of exact distance, so I decided to do five, ten second sprints (maybe a little less than 100 meters). I ran these at about the fastest that I possibly can. It felt good to really take mey legs to their maximum potential. Between intervals, I ran 50 seconds at about 8:00 min mile pace. After these, I continued the run for about 3 miles at 7:00 pace. In all, a good workout.

I moved back into the dorms in Boulder, CO today to begin the next school year. It feels great tobe back up in such an athletic town, filled with talented runners. I ran ten miles today, starting with three easy miles (at about 7:00 pace to get warmed up), followed by seven miles at six minute pace. I felt good throught the whole run, especially at the end. After eight miles, I began to feel that I had a good rhythmn going and cruised through the finish in 1:03:29. What felt particularly good was that I had the ability to really push at the end of the run. I don't really know why this occured. I like to think that it is "all my hard work and training paying off", but I think that it has to do more with the fact that I did not run yesterday and my legs were itching to be used. My tryout for the CU team is a week from tommorrow. I feel anxious, nervous and excited all at the same time. Most of all, I feel like I have the determination and desire, but now I have to prove that my abilities are up to par. I feel like I have a good pair of legs backing me up, and good heart and lung capacity to keep me going, but now I have to prove to the coaches that I am worthy of making their team, which is no easy task. On Monday, I am going to the coaches office to pick up a map of the trial race. I intend on running the course before next Saturday to get a good feel for it, and to know how hard to push. All I can do now is channel my anxiety into hard training and see where it might take me...

Ran 8.0 miles today in the morning. It was cool and overcast, which made it very good weather for running. I ran all eight miles at approx. 6:15 pace and felt good. I did not feel like I had to over-strain myself to keep up a good pace. In all, a good run.

Only ran 3.5 miles today. I ran two miles of speed workouts (8x400m) to keep my legs sharp. My splits were as follows: 68,67,69,70,70,70,70,68. I did not feel like I ran particularly fast today, but somedays that just happens. I am not going to run anything extraordinary this week, or push myself to the max because I want to be prepared for next Saturdays time trial. As the week goes on, I am going to taper my workouts.

Ran 9 miles total today at an average of a 5:50 mile. I began at a slower pace 6:30 and eased my way into a faster pace, clocking miles 6-8 at a blistering 5:35 pace. It felt good to work give my legs a good workout, though. I also met a friend that I knew last year in engineering while running. He only runs twice or three times a week recreationally, but ran with the cross country team for a day last year. He said that the training is very intense, and he ran with them on one of their "easy days". In all, my run today was a very good workout. It especially helps when you have someone else to talk to and keep your mind off of the pain.

Ran the CU time trial course today, but did so at very slow pace (7:00 min mile) to get a good feel for Saturday. The course is kind of bumpy, and has a good amount and ups and downs. It seems tough to get a good time, but I am sure that when that adrenalin starts pumping it will seem far more achievable. I ran with another prospective team member, who is also trying out for the first time. He was an 800 meter runner in high school and seemed like he was decent. In all, an easy workout. I am beginning to taper my workouts so that I can perform my best on Saturday.

Ran 8 miles total today at about 6:45 pace. Nothing special, but a good leg-stretching run. Felt very good and I was never short of breath, which is good because when I first started running, I felt winded after two miles at this pace. I finished with an 800 meter sprint.

It was very difficult to pay attention during class today with such an important run awaiting me tommorrow (differential equations can wait!). I feel nervous knowing that this run can determine such a great deal about my running future here at CU. I ran yesterday for three miles at very easy pace, just to keep my body in rythmn, and took today off. I know that I worked very hard to get into the shape that I am in, so I guess that I need to trust in my training, and let that take me where it may.