Mostly on posts. Short work weeks and going out of town are distractions from regular posting.
I did run last Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday was a slower than normal pace, at least slower than recently. I guessed at total time since it was the 29 minute OHR Week 4 run. I suppose it's entirely possible I ran it faster, but I prefer to assume I ran about a 10 minute pace.
I didn't count Thursday toward OHR because I only timed my first 1.2 miles because I wanted to run it at a fast pace. Ran an 8:32 pace for the first mile then finished up the normal 3 mile run and went home. I assume my pace was about the same as the run for justice.
I planned to run Saturday, but I woke up with a headache that just wouldn't go away. It was bad enough to put me back in bed to try to sleep it off, which I never do. Was going to make up for it today, but the little one woke up at 1am again and that threw my whole sleep schedule off so I decided to push it to tomorrow morning. I'll run Tues, Thurs, Sat the next 2 weeks since I have a 5k on the 11th. May throw a light Sunday run in there on the 5th just to do it.
I may try driving to a run site tomorrow morning. It's only about a mile away and it lets me run for 2 miles before I turn and go back instead of the .4 mile turns I normally do.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
My second "race"
Yesterday was the Run for Justice 5k. There wasn't enough parking when I got there so I had to walk about half a mile to check in. Then back to my car to drop off my t-shirt. I probably should have taken off the long sleeve shirt I was wearing as a base layer, but I was stupid. Back to the start to warm up and try to meet some lawyers. They seemed to congregate in groups by firm and not let anyone in.
They announced the start of the race and walked us a half a mile to the line. Wish I'd known that in advance, I would have gone over there early. Luckily, most of the walkers, doggers, and strollers went to the back of the pack so I didn't have to dodge too many people to get to an open space to run. I'll admit my competitive spirit kicked in at the beginning and I pushed a little hard to keep up with some folks. Finally got control again about half a mile in and found my stride. I picked two people to try to keep up with who seemed to be about my speed. Unfortunately I lost one of them after the first big hill. It was ungodly steep so I slowed at the top to recuperate a bit. One of the people I was marking did the same, the other held pace and disappeared around a turn. About the 1 mile mark, my legs were back so I sped back up to what felt like my desired pace. I dropped the other person I marked, so I picked 2 more.
The second mile was pretty calm. I had to make sure I wasn't plodding. One of the people I marked after the hill started to fall away about 1.5 miles in, so I had to pick another person. I was also hot by then. The long sleeve shirt and the wool socks were great at 7am when I was getting ready but too much after more than a mile of running in the morning sun. Pulled my sleeves up as high as I could and kept going. Was pretty much in mindless running mode by that point. If I hadn't been trying to keep up with people, I probably would have slowed down.
Mile three started with a climb. I half expected another really steep one, but it was just a gradual uphill. Made me glad I'd started running the hill in my neighborhood over the last two weeks. Kept my pace pretty well and passed one of my marks. Passed a few other people on the downhill as we came to the end. Made myself speed up when I saw the cone for the 3 mile. I was trying to pass two people, but one of them apparently decided to stay ahead of me. When I saw the time was 28 minutes as I got close, I was actually disappointed since my only real goal for the run was sub 28.
Consensus on the course was that it was hilly. I only remember the two hills. However, I'll listen to the people who said it was hilly. My next 5k is the same course as my first one so that will be a better indicator of my improvement over the last few weeks.
They announced the start of the race and walked us a half a mile to the line. Wish I'd known that in advance, I would have gone over there early. Luckily, most of the walkers, doggers, and strollers went to the back of the pack so I didn't have to dodge too many people to get to an open space to run. I'll admit my competitive spirit kicked in at the beginning and I pushed a little hard to keep up with some folks. Finally got control again about half a mile in and found my stride. I picked two people to try to keep up with who seemed to be about my speed. Unfortunately I lost one of them after the first big hill. It was ungodly steep so I slowed at the top to recuperate a bit. One of the people I was marking did the same, the other held pace and disappeared around a turn. About the 1 mile mark, my legs were back so I sped back up to what felt like my desired pace. I dropped the other person I marked, so I picked 2 more.
The second mile was pretty calm. I had to make sure I wasn't plodding. One of the people I marked after the hill started to fall away about 1.5 miles in, so I had to pick another person. I was also hot by then. The long sleeve shirt and the wool socks were great at 7am when I was getting ready but too much after more than a mile of running in the morning sun. Pulled my sleeves up as high as I could and kept going. Was pretty much in mindless running mode by that point. If I hadn't been trying to keep up with people, I probably would have slowed down.
Mile three started with a climb. I half expected another really steep one, but it was just a gradual uphill. Made me glad I'd started running the hill in my neighborhood over the last two weeks. Kept my pace pretty well and passed one of my marks. Passed a few other people on the downhill as we came to the end. Made myself speed up when I saw the cone for the 3 mile. I was trying to pass two people, but one of them apparently decided to stay ahead of me. When I saw the time was 28 minutes as I got close, I was actually disappointed since my only real goal for the run was sub 28.
Consensus on the course was that it was hilly. I only remember the two hills. However, I'll listen to the people who said it was hilly. My next 5k is the same course as my first one so that will be a better indicator of my improvement over the last few weeks.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Short run today
Today was the last run before the Saturday 5k so I decided not to run the hill. I planned to do 3.1 miles, but either the cold weather or the fact that I was sweating under my base layer made me cut it short. Could also have been that I started 15 minutes later than I like to. Regardless, I cut the run to 2.5 miles.
It was a fast 2.5 too, probably because I dropped out the hill. I was at 1.2 after 10 minutes and finished the whole thing in 22:02. I thought I was closer to 2.3 when I finished so I was really surprised. At that speed, I'll have 30 seconds of buffer time for the Army Physical Fitness test. More interesting is that it will be a 27:35 5k this weekend, which is about 2.5 minutes faster than the one on Oct 9, which is a huge improvement since my goal was to shave 10 seconds off my mile times by end of November not 50.
I really hope today wasn't an anomaly, some freak occurrence that everything was just right and I'll be lucky to get even close to that time again, mainly because the run felt really good as opposed to trudging through the miles because I had to.
It was a fast 2.5 too, probably because I dropped out the hill. I was at 1.2 after 10 minutes and finished the whole thing in 22:02. I thought I was closer to 2.3 when I finished so I was really surprised. At that speed, I'll have 30 seconds of buffer time for the Army Physical Fitness test. More interesting is that it will be a 27:35 5k this weekend, which is about 2.5 minutes faster than the one on Oct 9, which is a huge improvement since my goal was to shave 10 seconds off my mile times by end of November not 50.
I really hope today wasn't an anomaly, some freak occurrence that everything was just right and I'll be lucky to get even close to that time again, mainly because the run felt really good as opposed to trudging through the miles because I had to.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Finally
Finally ran again today, 3.35 - 3.4 miles in about 32 minutes. I wish Interval Runner tracked time after the scheduled run time passes, though now that I'm officially done with the first 3 weeks of runs, the times get all goofy anyway.
First mile was the hill again. I hit the ten minute mark at about 1.06 or 1.07 miles, which is about .05 miles faster than last week. Not a significant improvement, but I'll take it. And I didn't feel like my legs were going to fall off or catch fire like last week, so that's an even better indicator that the hill run is beneficial.
Got done with the hill and went through the normal run. The 5 minute warnings on the ipod are pretty good for reminding me to focus on speed and stride, but I still feel like I'm slowing down almost right after I speed up. Of course, a minute of running faster then going back to 6mph isn't a bad thing so I suppose I shouldn't worry about it too much. I would be happy just plodding along if it weren't for the time limit on the JAG run. I really need to get out for the run as fast as I can 2 miler soon to get the worry out of my head.
First mile was the hill again. I hit the ten minute mark at about 1.06 or 1.07 miles, which is about .05 miles faster than last week. Not a significant improvement, but I'll take it. And I didn't feel like my legs were going to fall off or catch fire like last week, so that's an even better indicator that the hill run is beneficial.
Got done with the hill and went through the normal run. The 5 minute warnings on the ipod are pretty good for reminding me to focus on speed and stride, but I still feel like I'm slowing down almost right after I speed up. Of course, a minute of running faster then going back to 6mph isn't a bad thing so I suppose I shouldn't worry about it too much. I would be happy just plodding along if it weren't for the time limit on the JAG run. I really need to get out for the run as fast as I can 2 miler soon to get the worry out of my head.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Oops
Ran .33 miles less than I should have. I should have known based on my time that I wasn't at 3 miles, but for some reason my brain said that when I was mapping out routes, the one I was about to finish was 3.0x miles. Instead I did 2.67 miles in 25.5 minutes, not a bad time overall. I'll take that pace when I'm running my next 5k.
I ran the hill loop again today and felt like I was going faster than Tuesday, but I hit the 10 minute point at the exact same spot so either I have no concept of speed or I slowed down at some point without realizing it. I kind of assume I slowed down when the ginormous wrecker started coming down the street and wasn't paying attention whatsoever as he weaved through the neighborhood. Or when I ran by the guy who looked at me like I was crazy for running in shorts and a t-shirt when he had on 18 layers of clothes.
First 10 minutes was 1.02 miles. That means I ran 1.65 miles in 15 minutes or so, which is closer to the speed I need for the Army. Didn't feel like I was putting much effort into that part of the run. I'm sure I could have done the hill loop again, but I have a plan and I'm sticking to it.
Tomorrow or Saturday I'm doing the 2 mile "sprint" for military time. For the test, you run on a flat track, or so I hear, so my slightly hilly route might not be ideal, but I don't feel like driving to the closest track.
I ran the hill loop again today and felt like I was going faster than Tuesday, but I hit the 10 minute point at the exact same spot so either I have no concept of speed or I slowed down at some point without realizing it. I kind of assume I slowed down when the ginormous wrecker started coming down the street and wasn't paying attention whatsoever as he weaved through the neighborhood. Or when I ran by the guy who looked at me like I was crazy for running in shorts and a t-shirt when he had on 18 layers of clothes.
First 10 minutes was 1.02 miles. That means I ran 1.65 miles in 15 minutes or so, which is closer to the speed I need for the Army. Didn't feel like I was putting much effort into that part of the run. I'm sure I could have done the hill loop again, but I have a plan and I'm sticking to it.
Tomorrow or Saturday I'm doing the 2 mile "sprint" for military time. For the test, you run on a flat track, or so I hear, so my slightly hilly route might not be ideal, but I don't feel like driving to the closest track.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Two runs this week
I use that term loosely for Sunday. That was supposed to be my I'm going to run until my legs fall off day. Unfortunately, they fell off after about 5 minutes running on uneven grass and dirt. I was going to run on the road, but the third guy who blew past me at 55+ while almost hitting me with his side mirror changed my mind. Just glad it was the middle of the day so that I was visible. Moved into the grassy and every foot fall felt funny (bonus points for alliteration). I couldn't get a rhythm going and generally the run felt weird. So I turned and walked back to my normal route. My shins were killing me as I started to run again so I gave up. I did some intervals as I proceeded to go home to sulk. Shouldn't really surprise me that the drivers weren't particularly polite since this is the same area where people throw stuff at cyclists on the road. Still, I expected at least some consideration.
Today was a much better run. Added in the "big hill" I ran as a test before the 5k. My goal is to be able to run three laps through that neighborhood by the first week of Christmas. I don't think it will be a problem. It was significantly easier to do today than it was a month ago.
Got done with the first mile in just short of 10 minutes. Since that included the new hill, I was okay with that time. Unfortunately, I carried that pace through the rest of my run instead of speeding up once it flattened out again. I think my brain shut down once I got through the 10 minute point because I don't remember hearing the 5 minute announcements that I use to remind me to check my speed. At least not until I got back into the neighborhood and was trying to decide which road to take at the intersection, then my brain turned back on and I heard the 5 minute warning when I was about halfway down the street I chose. Was trying to get back to my street before time ran out, but missed it by about .05 miles. I ran another quarter mile after the 30 minute timer went off and it took about 2 minutes. Have to guess on time based on the song playing at the end of the run. Also, not 100% sure of where I stopped running, so I'm basing it on where I normally stop running.
After a coupe myeh weeks on the road, this one was pretty good. I think I need to sign up for some more races soon to keep the motivation up. Or see some weight loss again since I've plateaued over the last few weeks.
Today was a much better run. Added in the "big hill" I ran as a test before the 5k. My goal is to be able to run three laps through that neighborhood by the first week of Christmas. I don't think it will be a problem. It was significantly easier to do today than it was a month ago.
Got done with the first mile in just short of 10 minutes. Since that included the new hill, I was okay with that time. Unfortunately, I carried that pace through the rest of my run instead of speeding up once it flattened out again. I think my brain shut down once I got through the 10 minute point because I don't remember hearing the 5 minute announcements that I use to remind me to check my speed. At least not until I got back into the neighborhood and was trying to decide which road to take at the intersection, then my brain turned back on and I heard the 5 minute warning when I was about halfway down the street I chose. Was trying to get back to my street before time ran out, but missed it by about .05 miles. I ran another quarter mile after the 30 minute timer went off and it took about 2 minutes. Have to guess on time based on the song playing at the end of the run. Also, not 100% sure of where I stopped running, so I'm basing it on where I normally stop running.
After a coupe myeh weeks on the road, this one was pretty good. I think I need to sign up for some more races soon to keep the motivation up. Or see some weight loss again since I've plateaued over the last few weeks.
Friday, November 5, 2010
I've been slack
Only ran 1.6 miles yesterday because it started to rain on me. Of course, I ran it in 14 minutes flat so that's pretty awesome. I was a bit worried right at the beginning of the run because I thought I felt something pull right when I started. That was not at all comfortable so I briefly contemplated stopping the run and walking to stretch it out. It loosened back up after another minute of jogging so I didn't worry about it. When I got to the main road, the rain started in earnest. I honestly think it changed directions to come rain on me because there was nothing on radar when I looked before I left the house.
I'm not sure if the rain sped me up, the fact that I switched my time reminders to 5 minutes instead of 10, or something else, but I'm pretty happy with that speed. Hopefully I'll be able to get it down from 8:48 to 8:30 and then maintain it for a full 10k.
Today my wife says I turned off my alarm, but I think I forgot to set it. So I'll have to get up earlier than planned tomorrow to get a run in before all the other stuff I have to do. My goal is 3.5 miles in 30 minutes. That's almost right in the middle of yesterday's pace and an 8:30 pace.
I'm not sure if the rain sped me up, the fact that I switched my time reminders to 5 minutes instead of 10, or something else, but I'm pretty happy with that speed. Hopefully I'll be able to get it down from 8:48 to 8:30 and then maintain it for a full 10k.
Today my wife says I turned off my alarm, but I think I forgot to set it. So I'll have to get up earlier than planned tomorrow to get a run in before all the other stuff I have to do. My goal is 3.5 miles in 30 minutes. That's almost right in the middle of yesterday's pace and an 8:30 pace.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
A "fast" 2.8 miles
Since I went back to OHR instead of going on my own plan, I'm still on 30 minute runs. I cut about 4 minutes off that today because of wind and other distractions. Still managed 2.8x miles in 26 minutes so I'm pretty happy with that pace. Proves to me, once again, that I can hold a faster pace than I have been if I just go out and tell myself to speed up. Changing the little computerized voice in Interval Runner to every 5 minutes seems to help with that. My brain is tuned into it now so when I hear it, I know to speed up if I'm plodding. When it was every 10, I wasn't making myself up my pace on the announcements.
My weight finally went down a bit again. I plateaued last week and was a little worried. Of course, I went into my food log for last week and it was noticeably empty. Apparently I stopped tracking my meals and runs after Monday. I can only assume the stress of Bar results distracted me. I'm back to it starting today.
My weight finally went down a bit again. I plateaued last week and was a little worried. Of course, I went into my food log for last week and it was noticeably empty. Apparently I stopped tracking my meals and runs after Monday. I can only assume the stress of Bar results distracted me. I'm back to it starting today.
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