My Running Log

I woke up this morning, and my toe was throbbing. I have had a blister that has been festering under my toenail for a week or two, and it was acting up again. So I used that as an excuse not to get out and run early in the morning.

After spending time with my wife and daughter this evening, I had about 70 minutes to get in my run before my wife had to leave for the airport. So I decided I'd try to squeeze my tempo run in and that I would push the pace to see if I could do ten miles. I did it on the treadmill again (a habit lately). I felt really strong the entire time. I ran the first mile at 8:00 pace, the next 4 miles at 7:00 pace. I didn't feel like I was breathing too hard or struggling. So I pushed the pace to 6:22 per mile and was able to hold that for the next 4.75 miles. Then I did a short cooldown and hurried home.

I realize that these times do not necessary translate to times outside, but comparing this with myself, it was an excellent run for me. The 6:22 miles were hard, but I wasn't breathing super hard. I could handle it so much better than earlier this year.

I feel like I am now making some real breakthroughs in my training after training sold for many months and not feeling like I was making much progress. So I hope to continue it forward. 

Ran the 123rd South loop (10.85 miles). I ran outside in the dark, which is not preferrable, but that's ok. It was a beautiful night. Felt nice and relaxed. Form felt good. Average pace: 7:49.

I've been trying to get myself to the track for a speed workout, but it has been hard to fit it in, so I've done them on the grass or road. Tonight I got myself out there and did a full-blown track workout. It was 10x800m with 400m rest. My commitment to myself was that I would break 3:00 for the first time this year.

Here are my splits:

3:14 (getting a feel for it)

3:14 (felt faster than this)

3:11 (dropped a little)

3:08 (dropped a little more)

3:05 (half way done, not so bad)

3:02 (I can feel it now)

2:58 (was running against some teenagers who were running a mile or something and that pushed me forward to hit my goal!!)

3:01 (consistent)

3:02 (consistent)

3:01 (felt like I pushed hard enough to be faster than this, so I must have had a good workout)

I was happy with this workout. I'm glad to have shown myself that I can run faster than 3:00 for an 800m. My average was 3:06 per 800m. So if you believe Bart Yasso, this would suggest I'm capable of running a marathon in 3 hours, 6 minutes. I hope to prove him right!

6 miles easy on the treadmill. Was very conservative, partially because my right (not left) achilles felt a little iffy. Might be because I wore my old shoes. 50 minutes of running. 

I could be wrong, but I am pretty sure my body was telling me not to run today. I could have gone, but I thought it might be prevent me from having a good run on Saturday, so I stayed home with my wife.

In my original marathon training plan that I devised for myself, I wanted to build up to a 24-mile long run. I am not sure whether such a long run is necessary, but I wanted to experiment with it.

It is supposed to get above 100 degrees this afternoon, so i was worried it would be warm morning. So I started at 5:20 am. Crazy stuff.

I ran a similar route as the last long run. This time I turned around at 4500 South 2700 East. It turned out to be 24 miles. The pace for every mile was between 8:00 and 9:00. The average pace was 8:22. I didn't feel nearly as good this time as on the last long run, but it wasn't bad.

I ate Jelly Belly sport beans. They tasted better than the GU Chomps, but they were harder to eat. It was harder to get them out of the bag and there were more of them to eat.

I didn't get my goal of 70 miles for the week (64). But I had 3 really good hard workouts. The rest was just details. Now it's all downhill for the next six weeks until St. George.