sub-3 or blow-up trying

Had my best day running in years

Jogged 3.5 miles at about an 8 1/2 min pace up to a race course

Decided to run our city's 3-mile run on my own...started out with a good, strong pace.  Thought I'd see how far I could take it.  Began to second guess my pace on an uphill slope on the second mile...put my head down and stayed strong.  Kept my pace throughout the third mile and coasted in for the finish.  Had to double check my watch...18:21!  What?  Sure enough, 3 miles in 18:21.  I'm starting to feel a second gear that hadn't existed since college. 

Ran one 400 on the track to see what I could do...69 seconds.  Decided I'd save speedwork for later in the week.  Jogged 3.5 miles home.

Big correction to make...went out and measure this "3-mile" course and it was more like 2.8.  Still an improvement to me, yet would translate to closer to 19 1/2 minutes.

Ran over lunch break...very hot and humid- 5 miles at a 9 min. pace

Walked a quarter mile and then ran a three mile tempo to see if yesterday was a fluke...absolutely not!  Ran it in 19:04.  I feeling more comfortable with my new weight and am beginning to "find" my legs.  In college, did a lot of conditioning for baseball, but never distance running.  In the off-season, we would do plyametrics + a weekly 3-mile run...never broke 20-minutes.  This is all new territory for me.  Haven't weighed 185 since high school- 20 years ago!

This blog has been a good way to keep motivated.  Not only charting my own progress, but gaining insight through observation of other people's work-out schedules. 

Ran 5 miles at 8 min. pace

Did 30 min. of leg work

Ran 6 miles at 9 min. pace with friend

Had a great run today!

Planned to do a slow run on course with steep hills

Noticed a 7 1/2 time at the point of mile one and decided to test my improvement

Kept 7 1/2 minute pace through first 3 miles- fairly flat

Kicked it in an extra gear for 2 miles worth of steep incline- accomplished a 38:12 time through mile 5 (at the top of the hill)- 7:38 overall pace; my best previous time for this distance was 45 minutes

Kept just under a 7:30 pace for just over 4 miles (2 miles being a fairly strong decline) on the final part of the course- total time= 1:08:25 for a little bit over 9 miles- felt strong at the end

Well, ran 4 miles on treadmill at the gym on the treadmill after some upper-body work and was planning to run in a 5k...unfortunately it's cancelled due to thunderstorms

Plan B- do my long run tomorrow instead of Saturday...hopefully my legs will be fresh

My 5k got rained out yesterday, probably for the better (was curious to see my improvement)

Did a progressive long run today- weather was overcast and wet (good running conditions)

First mile warm-up- 9  min pace

Hit a 5-mile course and did first lap in 46:30- tired and groggy

2nd 5 miles- 41:40- much more comfortable pace

3rd 5 miles- 36:03- felt fine- shorts were soaked, so legs began to feel heavy

Slowed down for the last 5- 48 min

walked final mile home

Total of 21 miles run- 3:01:13

Tired, but a good tired.  Forgot power bars, but survived on 2- 20 ounce gatorades stashed at the loop.  Legs felt good,  but heavy due to soaked shorts and shoes.

This will put me over 60-miles in a week for the first time ever!

Rest!

I'll be back at it tomorrow.  Feel good.