My Running Log

Did the loop down to 12300 south on 1300 east and returned on 700 east. This is the one that I couldn't complete last weeK because my calf flared up. This time it went great. No calf pain whatsoever. I'm really, really glad. I didn't run any super fast miles, but the whole run was at a very steady, strong pace. The first mile was 8:15. The overall pace was 7:45 per mile. The fastest mile was about 7:10. Good start to the running weeK.

Listened to podcasts again. 

Had to squeeze my run in between school and dinner. It was hot, so I ran on the treadmill. It probably would have been nice outside, because at least I would have had a breeze to cool me down. I sweat sooo much this time.

Anyway, I did a 2-mile warmup at about 8:10 pace average. Then I did the random hill worKout on the treadmill on level 5. I ran 7:30 pace for the first half and then slowed down to 8:00 pace for the last half.

I have done this worKout before on a harder level, but today it hurt more than usual. Yesterday was a medium effort day, so I made today the same. But it was a little harder effort than anticipated. Oh well. It feels great now.

So far I have two double-digit running days this weeK. That's my first time this year doing that on Monday/Tuesday. 

I started running outside, and I felt good from the beginning, so I tried to continue with a good pace. The first mile was 7:30, which is a little fast for a warmup, but oh well. The next two miles had a slight downhill, and I was able to run about 7:20-7:25 for those. Then on the way home, I was able to continue at 7:20-7:25 pace for the next three miles. The last 0.4 miles were slower for a cooldown. Total 6.4 miles. Overall average pace: 7:31.

I just felt great tonight, and my times reflected it. Burt must have inspired me to run some faster mileage since he did the same. I was breathing somewhat hard at times, but never was it super hard.

No left calf pain for third straight day! Minor aches and pains here and there, but doing great!

I brought my stuff to campus today and ran on the grass field by the Engineering building. It was about 0.4 miles around. The grass was cut short in some places but not others. I decided that rather than going for distance I would go for time. So I did 8 reps of 5 minutes each with 2 minutes jogging rest. I didn't really keep track of how far I went on each one, but I think they ranged between 0.65 miles and 0.8 miles. I got progressively slower. So at best I was running about 6:30 pace and at worst around 8:00 pace. Not super impressive, but I was mostly worried about effort rather than distance. I won't say it was the world's best effort, but I was really dragging at the end, so I must have pushed myself fairly hard. And conditions were not ideal (hot, grass, slight hills). Total was 10.8 miles.

Third day this week with double digit miles. 

5 easy miles at about 8:00 pace on the treadmill. I remember at the beginning of the year, this was my most challenging run of the week. Now it's the easiest. So that's progress. Other than that, I will enjoy resting up until tomorrow when I will attempt my first 20 miler of the year.

Today my goal was to run 20 miles in preparation for the marathon. 

I got up this morning at 6 am. That turned out to be a good decision, because it was cool and a gorgeous morning. I didn't need (partially because I couldn't find a place to get it) water until mile 19, so that tells you how much less I sweat today compared to Thursday. Anyway, I turned on my Garmin, and it said the battery was low. Bummer!! I thought it would have plenty of juice. So it only lasted a mile. Then I had to go by how far I thought it would be based on what I had seen on Google Maps last night. And I wasn't sure what my pace was going, so I just ran what felt right. I went north via 1000 East, Creek Rd, Highland Dr, Bengal Blvd, 2300 East, and Holladay Blvd, up to 4500 South. Then returned the same way. I felt soooo good the entire way. It was nice to run among trees and little traffic and hills but not too many. It was nice to see a few other runners out, too. Couldn't have been more beautiful. At the end I felt a little sore but not that tired.

When I got home, I mapped out the specific route I took, and according to Google it was 22.5 miles! I ran extra without even knowing it. And the crazy thing was that I felt like I could have kept going another 5 or 10 without a problem. So maybe things are starting to come together. I'm going to call it 22 miles just in case Google was off. It took me exactly 3 hours, with about 5 miles of stoppage. So that would be about 8 minute pace.

I ate some GU Chomps three times along the way. It was easiest to eat while running downhill because I could just go on autopilot.

I also ran into a big dog with big teeth that barked at me a lot. It went on long enough that I started to lose my temper. Good thing the dog gave up at about that point! But at least it gave me an adrenaline boost going up the hill.

Bottom line: this was the best run of the year for me. It has given me a lot of confidence for the marathon.

This was an awesome week of running. 65 miles. That's more than I've run in a week since I was 18. Next week will be lower mileage.