The Next Step

The calendar says it is still fall but it sure felt like winter out there today. It was 30 degrees very windy and started sleeting about half way through my run. I think I am already ready for spring.

I did an easy long run today. I went out into the wind so the first half of the run was pretty tough. I am never sure how much I should slow down to offset the effect of the wind. I kept an eye on my HR and made sure it stayed in the easy range. After I turned around and headed back the run was much better. I started to warm up with the wind to my back and the effort felt much easier. Overall it was a good run and I felt good afterward which I think is a good sign.

13 miles, 1:42:59

Another cold and windy day. I did an easy 7 miles today. Felt good and no problems. The only thing of note is I found a man's wallet/driver's license on the side of the road. Picked it up to turn into the police.

I have signed up for a 5k race this weekend and plan on it being the final race of 2007. I will have to wait and see what the weather will be to set expectations. I would like to close out the year with a PR in the 5k but will have to see if the conditions will be working against me.

7 miles, 56:48

I did a mixed interval session today on the track. The weather was finally better (30 degrees with light wind) so made the speedwork go better. The plan for today was mixed distance intervals just to keep sharp for Saturday's race without over doing it. I planned 1 mile at 10k pace, 1k at 5k pace, 600m at 3k pace and 400m at mile pace. All of these followed by a 200m recovery. I did about 2.5 mile warmup then ran the intervals in the following:

1 mile - 6:29

1k - 3:52

600m - 3:16

400m - 86

The 200m recovery averaged around 1:20. The intervals didn't feel too bad but my legs just kind of felt sluggish. Not sure what this is about but plan on just taking an easy run tomorrow.

7 miles, 54:15

We got about 4 inches of snow overnight so I was forced to the treadmill. I mananged 7 miles at an easy pace. Hopefully, I can get outside tomorrow.

7 miles, 57:34

Still very icy and very foggy this morning so ran on the treadmill. I did a couple of 3:00 pickup to try and keep my legs feeling fresh/active. Otherwise easy run and felt good.

5 miles, 39:47

Another 3 inches of snow last night so back on the treadmill again today. I am going to have to find some places to run outside when the weather is bad. Unfortunately there are not any trails or running paths close to where I live. My only option is country roads which are not very clear and dangerous when cars are passing so for now I guess I am stuck on the treadmill.

Also, I am skipping the 5k race tomorrow. The only reason that I wanted to run it was to see if I could beat my 5k PR. Forecast for tomorrow morning is frezing rain so don't think I could do my best on potentially slick roads. Also, thanks to some feedback from Sasha and Cody I am going to kick it into aerobic base building mode so I might as well start tomorrow.

6 miles, 48:12

Finally got a break in the weather. It rained last night and cleared off a lot of the snow from the roads. Was supposed to be freezing rain but lucky that it missed us.

Started off real easy and tried to settle into a comfortable pace for the run. I didn't feel particually great today. The legs just felt tired and not a lot of energy. I did pick up the pace after the half way point but kept it easy since I wasn't feeling the best. I wanted to go a couple of more miles but had to get back for a family Christmas get together.

On a side note I was excited to see Mike Fout from Indiana win the Footlocker XC Nationals. Very talented kid.

12, 1:39:02, 8:15 avg

Nice easy run today. It was 34 degrees with a very light wind. Nice day for a run. We have had rain for the last couple of days but luckly it stopped sometime in the night and was able to get out this morning with no rain. I felt real good today. It was one of those days where you feel like you could really push the pace but I kept it easy like the plan called for.

7 miles, 55:49

Today it was 42, windy with misty rain.  As I started out my legs felt very weak.  It is amazing to me how I felt so good yesterday but didn't feel good today after an easy 7 yesterday.  Anyway, I got into the run and it seemed to get better after a couple of miles so just settled into a nice easy pace.  I added 8 x 100 m strides on at the end of the run which went good.

8 miles, 64:25

Today I did the exact same run as yesterday. Same distance, same route. The amazing thing is I ran it within 2 seconds of yesterdays run. I was just out running at my normal easy pace and this it the result. The body is an amazing thing!

Today I felt pretty good through out the run. It was very relaxed and easy. I am taking this week to just run easy and establish a base mileage to build off. I plan on keeping the same mileage for a couple of weeks and then increasing from there.

8 miles, 64:23

I normally do my long run for the week on Sat but this weekend we are going out of town to visit family for Christmas and knew I wouldn't be able to get in a long run. I was able to get out this morning for my long run. The weather was 37 degrees, windy and misty rain.

I felt good starting out on the run. I tried to keep a conservitive pace for the first part. Around 8 miles I was heading straight back into the wind which was making me work harder. Around 10 miles my legs started to feel real tired. I am not sure if this was from the increased effort of the wind or the fact that I felt like I was running out of energy and needed some food. Could have been both. Anyway, I kept about the same pace and was glad to get the long run in the books this week.

13 miles, 1:46:17, 8:11 avg

I ran an easy 6 miler today. This is the first time that I have ran the day after a long run in quite awhile. Normally I run my long run on Sat then take Sun off. Since I ran my ran long yesterday I felt kind of stiff and tight the whole way. It was good to do back to back run because after I felt like it really loosened me up. The weather was 32 degrees and windy.

6 miles, 49:28

I was out of town today visiting my family for Christmas so I was very happy to get in the 8 miles today. I wasn't sure if I would be able to run this weekend but brought the running clothes just in case. I was able to get out while everyone was getting ready for the day. It was 37 degrees and windy. Also, since I was out of town I got to run more hills then usual so that made it even a better workout. I felt good today but the legs were a little tired toward the end. Probably the effects of my first 50 mile week in a couple of months!

8 miles, 66:23

6 inches of snow + roads = treadmill

I did an easy 8 miles on the treadmill this morning. I felt good the whole way and really wished I could have been outside. I just don't feel like I can trust my effort on the treadmill as much as I can when I am outside. Anyway, glad to get the week off to a good start with the bad weather.

8 miles, 64:38

I was able to get outside today. Still a few slick spots before the most part everything was clear (32 degrees, light wind). Today I did a 8 mile progression run. After a warmup I tried to run each mile faster with the last couple at tempo pace. I felt good as I got going and the pace felt easy. I had no problem until the last couple of miles and then my legs felt a little tired/sluggish. I haven't done a tempo in awhile so it was good pick up the pace. Here is the breakdown:

1 mile warmup

Mile 2 - 7:42

Mile 3 - 7:34

Mile 4 - 7:08

Mile 5 - 7:01

Mile 6 - 6:50

Mile 7 - 6:38

Mile 8 - warmdown

8 miles, 59:18

Did an easy run today.  Weather was good (32, light wind) and roads much better.  Felt good today.  I thought I would only have time to get in 7 today but was to get out a little early so made it 8 miles.  Looks like the weather is going to get better the rest of the week so I am hoping I can stay on schedule and stay outside.

8 miles, 64:56

Since the last few days have been getting warmer I dressed lighter today without really looking at the weather. I felt pretty cold when I got out but figured I would warm up. What I didn't realize is that the wind was blowing harder today. So I was pretty cold running the first 4 miles into the wind. Coming back I felt ok. Other than that it was a good run and I felt good throughout. I did 8 x 100m strides for the during the last 1.5 miles.

8 miles, 63:02

Great day to run today. It was about 40 degrees with no wind. Definitely a great day in Indiana in Dec. I felt good today and the run went very easy. One thing that I am noticing is that my avg pace is going down and my avg HR is staying the same. So I am running faster with the same effort. A very good sign that the consistancy is starting to pay off. Just have to stick with it through the winter and see the results this spring. I hope to get a long run in tomorrow. The schedule is starting to get very tight with lots of Christmas plans. Hopefully, next week will be better since I am off from work.

7 miles, 55:38

The weather definitely cooporated today for my long run. It was 50 degrees but very windy. I really appreciate every run I can do in the winter without having to bundle up.

I started real easy today and worked up to my long run pace after a couple of miles. I felt good throughout the run and enjoyed just having time to relax and think. With all of the busy activities of this month it is good to break away for awhile and not worry about all that needs to be done. Today I did plan to do 4 miles at marathon pace so after 9 miles I started picking up the pace. I felt pretty good on these miles but this is not something that I have done a lot so I was trying to judge my pace and effort. I ran the first mile in 7:27 which was good but probably got a little carried away on the second mile because I ran it in 7:02. I settled down on the third and ran it in 7:19 then finished strong on the last mile in 7:07. I would have liked these to be better paced but not having done very many of these tempos on tired legs I was having a harder time judging my effort. Anyway, it was a good workout and finished up a good week of training.

14 miles, 1:50:42, 7:54 avg

Cold and very windy today. It was an easy 8 miles but I ran about 3 miles straight into the wind. It felt like I was standing still. This was a big change from my run on Saturday in shorts. Glad to get in the run on a really raw day. I will take tomorrow off for Christmas then get back into my normal schedule.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!!

8 miles, 65:07

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. My family certainly did. It makes me realize how blessed I truly am.

Today was an absolute great day to run. It was 42 degrees, sunny and no wind. This is one of those days that I feel like I am smiling the whole way through the run. I just chugged along and enjoyed being outside in the beautiful surroundings. I did notice a ache in my thigh the last couple of miles but it was nothing too bad. Hopefully, it is just a tight muscle or something.

10 miles, 1:19:50

One day can sure make a big difference in Indiana. Yesterday's weather was great today it was snowy, cold and the wind was back.

I did a 4 mile tempo run today. After looking back at my training over the last 6 months the tempo runs is an area that I need to work on. Today I wanted to run the tempo around 6:45 pace. After a warmup I started the tempo effort. My legs felt heavy and didn't want to respond but the pace was good and I ended up running the first mile in 6:37 (this mile was downwind). I turned around on my route so the next 3 miles were into the wind. I was starting to feel better and the 2nd mile went much easier in 6:51 so I slowed down more than I wanted to. Mile 3 went good in 6:44 petty much on pace and I started feeling the effort on the 4th mile but held it together good to finish off the last mile in 6:42. I felt really good with the run. This is probably one of my best tempo runs ever. I just haven't been doing many so it is hard to compare since it was so long ago. I will use this run as a baseline and see how it goes over the next few weeks.

8 miles, 59:34

4 mile tempo

1 - 6:37

2 - 6:51

3 - 6:44

4 - 6:42

After yesterday's tempo run I took my daughter's ice staking for 2 hours. As I started my run today I could tell that I used a few muscles ice skating that I don't running. I was a little sore and stiff but after a few miles I felt better. Only other issue was that it was 38 and raining. Not my favorite running weather. Anyway the run went off with no problems.

8 miles, 63:54

Long run today. It was 32 light wind. Just took it easy the whole way today and felt good. I took water with me today and ended up having to stop twice in the woods. I guess I am not sweating as much in the cold.

This turned out to be a pretty good week. I ended up with 48 miles on only 5 days of running since I took Christmas day off. I am looking forward to the New Year to see if I can keep up and even increase my current level.

1:54:10, 8:09 pace

Today I wanted to take a look back at my running in 2007. Tomorrow I will talk about goals for 2008. Here is a look back....

I ran a total of 1716 miles for the year. This is the most I have ever ran in a year. When I look back it is more impressive to me since I only avg 91 miles per month for the first 6 months of the year. I avg 196 miles per month the last 6 months of the year. I finished off the year in Dec with my highest mileage month ever with 216 miles. This increase in mileage had a big impact on my times for the year. I ran a PR in the 10k and close to a PR in the half marathon. The half marathon was in Oct so I was still in the middle of the mileage build up and am looking forward to my next race to see the results of consistently running more miles. One thing I have noticed is the increase in pace of my easy and long runs. I monitor these on with my heart rate monitor and I am running 30 sec per mile faster at the same HP then I was in June. So all in all I am please with the results of the year. Now I must continue to remain consistent in my mileage. This has always been my problem I get in good shape and then drop off for awhile. I want to see where I can go if I put together a year like I did the last 6 months.

Today's run was an easy 8 miles.

63:24