Training Time

I wanted to run longer this morning, but I woke up late.  I have taken it pretty easy the last two days, so I will likely just go a little longer tomorrow to make up the mileage from today.

It was another nice morning for a run, although the wind was considerably stronger today.  I did an easy warm up mile then did five miles at marathon pace.  I backed off the pace for the remainder of the run.  Overall, I am feeling rather blah this week.  I am not sure if it is because of the race last weekend or something else.  I think I will try to get to bed early tonight and see if some extra sleep helps.

I ran right before lunch with the kids.  I pushed one in the jogger stroller and a second biked with me for the first mile and a half.  For the remainder, I had my eldest bike with me.  It was a bit windy and cool today, so I wasn't too motivated.  I also have a twenty mile run tomorrow, so I took it real slow.

The wind was really whipping this morning during my run.  Needless to say this was a tough long run.  I made things twice as hard by running a loop course, so my mind was constantly in a state of "are we done yet."  Oh well, I made it and the legs feel reasonably well, so I really cannot complain too much.

Happy Easter Everyone!!

This was going to be a nice easy run, but it started raining half-way through so I pushed the pace just to get done.  My legs responded better than I expected as they were still a bit heavy from the long run on Sunday plus all the playing and walking we did the past few days on vacation.

A very consistent run tonight in the rain and wind.  All mile splits were between 7:52 and 7:58.  

A nice hard run with Josh.  It is always easier to push the pace when you are running with someone else especially when that person is faster.

Just an easy run around town to keep the legs loose.  I am anxious for my first 5K of the year tomorrow.  Hopefully a PR is in the cards as well.

I finally ran a sub 20 minute 5K!!!

This was obviously a great race for me.  I arrived about forty minutes before the race started.  I got my bib and then did a warm up over the first half-mile of the course and I felt very comfortable and ready. The weather was a very pleasant 45 at the start of the race and the sun was shining brightly.  This race takes place at the local minor league baseball stadium.

I started the race closer to the front than I normally do but was still a good six rows back from the front.  I don't really like getting much closer to the front than that in fear that I will go out too quick.  Anyways, the race starts out with a slight uphill and winds through the stadium parking lot for the first quarter mile and then connects with a trail that leads to a nearby college.  The trail goes over a major highway so there is a short but steep up and down right around the half mile mark.  Besides heading back over that highway, the course is basically flat.  I went through mile one in 6:13 and was a little concerned that I went out too fast.  I was pretty much on cruise control for mile two.  There were quite a few sharp turns throughout this mile as we wound our way around the college campus.  I finished up mile two in 6:19.  I was really starting to feel it at this point but was still able to gain on the runners in front of me.  Mile three had fewer turns but that return trip over the highway hit me hard.  I finished mile three in 6:28.  The last tenth is run on the warning track of the baseball field, so I kicked it as hard as I could and did the last stretch in 54 seconds which equates to a 5:46 mile pace.  I was exhausted at the finish line but was able to recover pretty quickly by eating some of the post race food and drinking some water.  Two of my kids did the fun run that followed the 5K.  They really enjoy just being out there and getting a t-shirt and medal for finishing.  The added bonus for this race is a free ticket to a baseball game.

After the kids were done with their races, I decided I would run the roughly ten miles home.  Despite the hard race, the longer run felt really good.  I now have five weeks to my first marathon in seven years, so that will be my sole focus. 

My calves were really sore this morning, but they loosened up nicely as I ran.  I treated this as a recovery run after the hard race yesterday.  It was a beautiful morning so it was nice to look around and listen to the birds.

I wanted to get a few more miles in this morning but I woke up late. I might try to do my first double run later today.  Anyways, I just took it easy again today.

This was a nice little run around town this morning.  The weather was beautiful and it was nice to watch the sun rise as I ran.  I felt stronger as the run went along and was able to maintain a per mile pace of 7:45 throughout.

It was a gorgeous morning to run with the temps in the 50s and clear skies.  I felt pretty good so I dropped the pace to roughly marathon pace.  It felt comfortable throughout, so I am starting to feel confident that I might be able to run the marathon in four weeks at around a 7:30 pace.

Another easy run this morning.  I felt really good throughout but held back in order to conserve energy for my long run tomorrow.  It sounds like it will be a beautiful weekend weather wise, so I am going to get my running done early, so I can spend the rest of the day with the family.

I woke up at 4:45am this morning so I could eat a bagel and banana before heading to De Pere for the weekly training run for the Green Bay Marathon.  I had not gone before so I didn't really know what to expect.  There was a good-sized crowd and we started the 16.5 mile run at 7am.  I wasn't feeling all that great at the beginning even though the pace was really slow for me.  After the first couple of miles I got in a rhythm and felt a little better.  I hung out with a couple other runners for this portion and ran these miles around 8:15 for the most part.  At mile seven, I stopped for water and took a Gu.  This seemed to give me a boost as I started to feel stronger.  I decided I wanted to push the pace a little bit to see if I could get my average pace under 8 by the end of the run.  I usually struggle to run faster if I start out slow, but that was not the case today.  I logged some really strong miles after that and even put in an extra mile and a half.  Overall it turned out to be a good run and another confidence booster.  It has been roughly three hours since I finished up the run and while I am tired and could use a nap I do not have any significant soreness in my legs.  Below are my mile splits.

Mile 1 - 8:46
Mile 2 - 8:25
Mile 3 - 8:13
Mile 4 - 8:14
Mile 5 - 8:23
Mile 6 - 8:17
Mile 7 - 8:10
Mile 8 - 8:16
Mile 9 - 7:57
Mile 10 - 7:50
Mile 11 - 7:34
Mile 12 - 7:24
Mile 13 - 7:29
Mile 14 - 7:31
Mile 15 - 7:23
Mile 16 - 7:23
Mile 17 - 7:23
Mile 18 - 7:16

A calm and beautiful morning to just run.  I was able to get in some nice easy miles this morning and now I am following the Boston Marathon online.  A great way to start the week.

I headed out with Josh at 5am this morning. There was no wind again so

it was a great day to run. We ran towards the High School and

then back. We ran some really solid miles in the middle and then slowed

down slightly towards the end. It wasn't an overly challenging run but

the legs were heavy at times and I got a side stitch that came and went

from mile seven till the end.  Now I am going to take it easy for three days and then on Saturday do my final 20+ mile training run.  Then I will have just three weeks till the marathon.

Another early morning run...my left ankle was bothering me a little bit but I don't think it is anything significant.  My guess is that I did something funky during my up tempo run yesterday.  I am not worried about it at this point.

Ugh, this was not a very enjoyable run.  The legs were out of it, my stomach was upset and my mind was elsewhere.  At least I was able to get some miles in.  I really need to focus on hydrating today so that the long run tomorrow goes better than this.