I Probably Should Make My Blog Public again

Felt great today...

My first .3 miles is always slow as I'm loosening up for the workout.  I finished the first mile at 9:00, but I estimate that I was going at about 8:30 pace.

I then did 2 minutes easy and 1 minute hard for 21 minutes.  I could feel myself losing steam, but I just wanted to make it so that I had a 1/2 mile cooldown to do.  I did make it.

My cooldown was about 5 minutes.  Altogether it took me 35 min.  8:45 pace-ish. 

Felt a little slow today while running.  Did the good old run to the farm, except I did it the back way since I just wanted a shorter run.  I felt good going out, but once I hit the wind out on Maplewood, then I was toast. 

I hate those runs where for the majority of the time, you're just thinking about how much longer you have before you're done.  This was one of those days.  Even listening to music didn't help

Today's run felt great.  My only problem is that I feel I can run an 8 minute mile in my sleep.  I think I'm afraid to go faster because I'm an overanalyzer.  I'm so concerned about staying on pace that I panic when I'm too fast or two slow.

Anyway, I ran 1.25 to the track (forgot to start my watch though), ran two mile repeats, one at 8 even (all splits within a second of 2 min) the other at 8:07 (my mind drifted during the second lap--that one was 2:07.  The other 3 were pretty much even).

Then I decided that I just needed to go a little faster.  I did an 800 at 3:45 (1:51, 1:54) and a 400 at 1:47.  I'm think I'm being too cautious.

Then on my cool down I had this weird calf twinge--didn't hurt, but wasn't exactly pleasant.  My calves have been tight the last 2-3 weeks.  Gotta stretch them better.

Ran an easy two--didn't feel like running at first, but once I decided I was going to take it easy, I finished in no time.

First mile: little under 10, second 9.

Didn't want to go on this run AT ALL.  I had to drag out the underarmor...I hate cold.

Once I got going, though, I felt good.  I was going easy--about 9:15 pace, and I was pretty consistent throughout.  I'm glad I got out.

I worked toward the last two miles on my limp-wristed right hand.  For some reason, when I'm not paying attention my right hand goes all cockeyed.  I've seen pictures.  It's not pretty.  Sometimes when I'm running I catch sight of it in my shadow.  The only problem with concentrating on my right arm is that I sacrifice a little bit of speed.  I'll keep working on it so it becomes natural.  I guess I'd rather be efficient right now.  I'm just not that fast.

I'm just guessing at my marathon pace right now.  I'd like to get in a 10K or longer soon so I can have a better idea.  My last 5K I didn't push it at all.  My two goals for the marathon are to finish and to beat Oprah's marathon time.  I know I can finish because I'm dedicated to training, but never having run more than 10 miles, I'm nervous about the Oprah thing.  She probably had the resources to hire one person to force her to pick up her feet, one person to yell at her when she hit the wall, AND one person to slap cookies out of her mouth (not factual, but that would be pretty awesome).  I just have my own nagging voice...

But I am in pretty good shape and I'm getting better as I log more miles.  I do feel guilty about missing Sunday, but I was bad this weekend and graduation took a long time.

Felt like crap today, all day.  My stomach hurt, but I knew I had to get some running in.  I was sloooow (took me 23 min) but I'm glad I went out running.

Ran a warm up mile (9 min) then did two miles 2 min slow, 2 min fast.  Felt pretty good. 

Have to guess on the exact distance.  I know it was just a little over 4 miles, but I was in Michigan. 

The run was hilly.  I'm not used to those (insert cornfield joke here).  It felt great, though.  Even though we (Coach Harris and I) ran a 10 minute mile as a warmup, by the last mile we ran at 8:30 pace, despite the hills. 

Worst run ever.  I went out to run for 2 and Coach Harris shamed me into running more.  As I passed our starting point I really wanted to quit, but allowed myself to be pulled for about another mile.  I'm still guessing at the distance (still in Michigan).

I had to stop and walk at the end, otherwise I would've pooped myself.  No wonder I felt like crap (pun intended).

Kids, I know you've been there before.  Well so have I.  Not the first time that's happened.  Definitely not the last.

I was upset because at the 2 mi, I was right on threshold pace (9 min roughly), but then when I finished, my time was slow (34:30).  I thought this run was only 3.5, and didn't think that I had slowed so much.  But I was happy when I mapped it.  The extra .35 mile means I kept my pace throughout the run.

I'm having trouble figuring out my pace.  Most of my miles are at either threshold or marathon pace.  My slow time is too slow.  I need to run a race to figure my vdot, but I'm too lazy.  And "racing" by myself doesn't sound appealing either.

Ran 2.25 slow miles and then one threshold mile (9:10--8 seconds slow).

I'm still guessing as to my vdot, but I'm too lazy to go out and really run a 5K.  Last one I did, I stayed running with a friend.

I'm planning on going out again today for some repetitions (400s, I think), so I'll update again later.

Gotta love spring in Illinois.  It's Tornado Season!!  I decided against running to the track since the kids were sleeping, making it difficult to catch a ride in case the sky opened up on me, so I opted for running the same mile 3 times. 

When I left the house the sky was black to the north (I live on the edge of town, so I can see for miles to the north) so I didn't think I had too much time to run.  About 1.3 miles into the run, I felt the temp shift abruptly.  Love it when that happens.  By the time I finished, the blackness was no longer to the north.  I probably had time for some more mileage, but I didn't want to push it.

I missed my end time, but I ran about 9:15 pace for the first two and didn't feel any less effort on the 3rd.

First I must say last night I had a terrible night's sleep.  It took me awhile to actually fall asleep, and not long after, Caleb woke up crying.  After he was safely tucked back into bed, it again took me awhile to get back to sleep, and then Caleb woke up again.  I was too tired to put him back in his bed, so the rest of the night was all elbows and feet in my back, until the train woke me up at 5:47, just like always, even though the tracks are a mile from my house.  Argh.

This was my mentality upon waking:  the last thing I want to do is run.  I tried to tame my wild garden in the morning, my allergies are bothering me...I had so many excuses.

Then I sqeezed in a nap while the kids were sleeping, and I felt a litle better.  I still didn't want to run and put it off, even though Mr. Neitzel took the kids to the farm so I could get in a run, but I thought about Sasha encouraging me to run 6 days a week.  So I went out.

My run was an easy one.  Ran to the track, ran 1.5 miles on the track (faster 400 with slower 100--all 400s at 2 min or under), ran home.  Glad I went out.