The Next Step

It was a little warmer today (32) but still very windy so felt cold out. I felt good today so did a little bit of a progression run. I started out around 8:00 pace and finished the last mile at 7:00 with each mile a little faster. It felt good to pick up the pace some but I still didn't push very much. I just want to get a full week under my belt and then take it from there.

Spent most of the day just hanging out around the house doing stuff with the kids. It was a good lazy New Year's day. Since I have a nice long weekend hope to get some more family activities done before hitting it again on Monday.

60:30 (7:33 avg)

Nice day today (36) but still windy. I just did an easy 6 miles and tried to keep the pace very relaxed. I felt good but want to do a longer run tomorrow so took it easy today. It feels good to get some consistent runs in.

48:34 (8:06 avg)

Today completed my first full week of running since the marathon. I am happy to say that I was able to do it all outside without any time on the treadmill. This is definitely a positive this time of year.

Today was a pretty nice day (32) but still had that blasted wind. I complain about it every year but the wind is pretty much a constant this time of year so I guess I ought to accept it. I ran out into the wind so that I could have the run back with the wind. That worked out good so that I was able to pick up the pace on the way back. I felt good throughout the run. Legs got tired some toward the end but nothing bad considering the break.

1:49:30 (7:49 avg)

I was feeling a bit under the weather today. I think I have a stomach bug or something so cut my run short today. It was a nice day today too with no wind so I would have liked to go longer but trying to be smart since it is so early in the year. I felt pretty good most of the way but stomach started acting up again the last mile or so. Hopefully it is just a 24 thing and I can get back on track tomorrow.

38:51 (7:47 avg)

I felt a little better today but not back to 100%. We had freezing rain so stayed inside on the treadmill today. Just took it easy for 6 miles. Not off to a very good start this week. I was hoping to really pick it up this week. Hopefully, I will be able to kick this bug tomorrow and get back on track.

46:51 (7:51 avg)

I felt pretty much back to normal today but was greeted by more snow and ice so back on the treadmill. I decided to do a progression run today to get a little speed in but not push it too hard. I started off easy and then picked up the pace every 1/2 mile. I ended up running the last 3 miles in 7:18, 7:08 and 6:53. Nothing to exciting but it was nice to get the legs moving again. I have ran nothing but easy miles since my marathon so want to start transitioning back into more of a training mode over the next two weeks.

62:57 (7:38 avg)

More light snow overnight temp 15 with wind chill around 0 so stayed inside on the treadmill this morning. I just did an easy run. Felt good with no issues. If the schedule allows it I am going to try a second run this afternoon hopefully outside.

64:20 (8:02 avg)

It was a little nicer outside today (25) but windy. I ran at lunch so it was nice to be able to experience the sun shining. I didn't feel the best today starting out. I had a headache and just felt kind of flat. I had decided to do a progression run today and didn't want to change the plan so just decided to push through the way I was feeling. I did a two mile warmup and started feeling better as I went along. I did a progression run for the next 5 miles and the splits were:

1st - 7:28

2nd - 7:05

3rd - 6:53

4th - 6:43

5th - 6:33

The last couple I didn't feel very good. I felt like stopping after the 4th mile but kept going and I am glad that I did. I felt better after the run and it was good to get a nice solid run in outside.

We are supposed to have freezing rain and snow through the night tonight so may have to do tomorrow's long run on the treadmill. Maybe it will miss us.

58:12 (7:16 avg)

I stayed up late last night going to a friend's wedding so sleep in today later than normal. We had some family activities planned so had to break my long run into two runs. I ran both on the treadmill. In the morning it was 33 with rain/freezing rain and at night is was dark and didn't want to run in the dark. The morning run I just did 9 miles at an comfortable pace and felt good the whole way. On the PM run I did 8 x 2:00 on incline of either 3 or 4%. It was good to break up the run a little. I would have perferred to get one 15 miler in but I guess you take what you can get.

Traveled up to DC today and I am not in the travel mode yet.  I got to the hotel around 7:30 and went down to run on the treadmill for 5 miles.  I was pretty wiped out so I cut it shorter than normal.  Hopefully, I will feel better in the morning and be able to get in a few extra miles.  I guess I am just glad that I got a run in because I was close to bagging it.  So glad I got something in.

40:15

Yesterday I had meetings all day and couldn't quite get a run in.  I was also still tired from Monday so probably didn't try as hard as I should have to work it in.  I was glad to be able to get out early today and at least get in a decent 7 mile run.  For some reason I have had a hard time getting into the routine.  Maybe it is the first trip of the year and just trying to adjust to the crazy schedule.  Hopefully, I can do better because I will be back on the road again next week.  Just felt flat today I was actually hoping to get a second run in today but just now got back to the room from a dinner meeting and don't want to run too late tonight because I have an early morning tomorrow and want to make sure I get that run in. 

56:15

Cold and very windy in DC today so ran on the treadmill at the hotel.  I had some early meetings so didn't get to run as far as I would have liked.  This has been a rough week of travel and I am looking forward to going home tonight.  I felt ok today.  Still a little tired for some reason.  I hope once I get back home I can get in some better running but looks like it will have to be on the treadmill unless I want to brave sub 0 temps.

48:20

Well -10 outside with -25 wind chill this morning so the treadmill was looking real good. Even with the cold temps it is great to be back home. Again today I felt tired when starting out. Not sure what is going on but it has been that way pretty much all week. Because of this decided to just take it easy until I start to feel the legs come back. I did feel better as I went along but still flat through most of the run. I was glad to get 8 in and will try for a longer run tomorrow to see how that goes. Hope everyone is staying warm!

63:14

Another very cold and windy day so ran on the treadmill again. I felt better today but still didn't feel back to normal. I decided to just do another normal run instead of running long today to try to get my legs back. This has turned out to be an easy week so thought I might as well keep it that way and then try to get back on schedule next week.

63:10

Same story weather wise (snowy, cold and windy). I stayed inside on the treadmill but will be traveling south this week so hopefully will be able to get outside some. I felt much better today back to old self so ran comfortably the whole way and picked it up over the last half. I want to get back to normal mileage this week but will be traveling this week so might be tough. We have our national sales meeting this week which means all day meetings and then dinners at night so not a lot of extra time. Hopefully I can get out early and get my running done.

61:54 (7:45 avg)

I had to leave early to go to Huntsville, AL so was lucky to be able to squeeze in a run after meetings today and before dinner.  I ran on the treadmill since it was dark outside and didn't have a route mapped out.  I ran a couple of miles for warmup and the increase the pace every 1/2 mile on the treadmill until I got down to around 7:00 pace.  I didn't feel great.  It seemed harder than I think it should have but haven't done much faster runs lately so that could be the issue. 

53:50 (7:41 avg)

I thought I would get a break in the weather by traveling south but it was 17 degrees this morning so pretty cold.  Is was still good to get outside though and I just did an easy recovery run today.  I felt pretty good and ran easy.  I was hoping to do a second run today but meetings went long and didn't get a chance.  Maybe tomorrow??

48:04 (8:01 avg)

It has been a rough week to stay on schedule.  I am not getting in the kind of runs that I would like to but I am trying to do something in each day.  Today I was only able to squeeze in 6 miles between meetings.  I did a progression run on the treadmill and started after a 2 mile warmup I increased the pace every 1/4 mile and got down to 6:35.  It was the best I could get in with the time constraits.  Hope I can get a run in tomorrow since I have a lot of meetings and have to travel home.

45:03 (7:30 avg)

I didn't have much time this morning but was able to get outside on a nice morning to get a few miles in. It was not the best week of running but I was glad that I could at least run everyday. It has been a long week and I'm really glad to be heading home this afternoon.

40:32

I was hoping to do a longer run today but since I was gone all this week I had a lot of things to do around the house plus I wanted to spend some extra time doing some family activities. I did get in 7 miles and felt real good. I did 6 x hills and picked up the pace toward the end to around 7:15 pace. It was a pretty good run. I am planning on being home all next week so I hope to get back on schedule and get my mileage up.

53:57 (7:45 avg)

I had some extra time today so got in a few extra miles. I felt good today and the run seemed easy. It was probably the result from having an easy week last week. The legs felt fresh so I will try to get back up to normal mileage this week and see what happens.

45:36 (7:36 avg)

It was pretty cold out this morning (15) but not very windy so that helped. Luckily I ran a route where I could go out into the wind and then come back with the wind. I felt pretty good this morning but just ran easy. I am trying to kick the mileage back up this week so want to run mostly easy miles this week because of the increase in mileage. I will see how the body adjust and then add some faster stuff later. We are supposed to be getting some significant snow tomorrow so might have to spend a few days on the treadmill. Hopefully not.

62:20 (7:48 avg)

We didn't get as much snow as expected but enough that I didn't want to get out on the roads and worry about the crazy drivers. I need to find some better routes with less traffic for days like this. Anyway, I ran on the treadmill this morning. I felt pretty good. I had planned on doing some hill repeats but after the first one I had some pain in my right knee so decided I would see if it felt better if I just ran normal. It didn't bother me anymore so I thought it best to just turn this into an easy run and I will try the hill repeats later. We are expecting a more significant snow tonight so have a feeling I will be spending most of my time this week on the treadmill.

62:20 (7:48 avg)

We got about 10 inches of snow last night so no way to get outside today so back to the treadmill. Today I wanted to do a tempo type run so started off with a couple of easy miles then started progressively picking up the pace on the 3rd mile which was probably around marathon pace. Starting on the 4th mile I kicked it up to the tempo pace and ran 4 tempo miles progressively faster in 7:03, 6:50, 6:42, 6:30.

It has been awhile since I ran a tempo and I felt suprisingly good. I wish that I would have ran the first two miles faster and tired to hold it all around 6:40 instead. At least it was good test of my fitness and gave me some confidence to move forward in my training.

57:48 (7:13 avg)

Roads still a mess from the snow so back to the treadmill today. I just did an easy run today after the tempo yesterday. I felt pretty good but was a little sore from shoveling snow for 3 hours yesterday. Probably the best upper body workout that I have had in awhile. Maybe I can get back outside tomorrow.

62:10 (7:47 avg)

Kept the 8 mile streak alive today. I have been tempted to bump up the mileage a couple of days this week but since I haven't done a 60 mile week in awhile I didn't want to over do it. Today was one of those days that I felt good and could have tacked on a few more miles but I will try to remain patient. I did add in 4 x hill intervals along the run. I had some pain in my knee a few days ago when I tried some hill intervals so was happy to get 4 in and will try to slowly increase these over the next few weeks.

I hope to get a longer run in tomorrow so that will really be the key to see if this is a successful week or not. I haven't been getting in many long runs lately so need to get back on track.

61:10 (7:39 avg)

It was good to get back on track with a longer weekend run today. It has been 3 weeks since I did a run over 10 miles and that is not good. I felt pretty good today but I did get some pain in my left calf around 11 miles so backed off the last 3 miles and it didn't bother me anymore. It was just a good steady run today and the pace was a little better than 3 weeks ago. I didn't push at all. Just trying to get the body used to the weekly mileage again. I am happy to hit 60 miles for the week and hope I can build on this next week. It turned out to be an ok month. I had a good week to start the month then a couple of off weeks but finished strong. I need another solid mileage week then I hope to start running more faster stuff.

On a side note I got a Wii Fit for the s but I have enjoyed playing it today as well. I am pretty hooked on the snowboarding.

1:47:54 (7:42 avg)