Reigning It In

OBJECTIVE
13 mi. Slow
6 x 100 meter strides @ 5K pace

ACHIEVED
13.09 mi.@ 8:26/mi.
112 m. 35.94 (8:36/mi.)
112 m. 28.77 (6:53/mi.)
112 m. 29.72 (7:07/mi.)
112 m. 29.24 (7:00/mi.)
112 m. 28.85 (6:54/mi.)
112 m. 26.92 (6:26/mi.)

6:37 AM 61° 81% 7 mph

I ran solo this morning. It some points along the way I was slow and at others I was too fast. It's hard to imagine marathon pace is about a minute per mile slower and the distance is twice as far!

I ran my strides barefoot on what I thought was grass at the YMCA soccer fields. As I ran across the middle of the field, I quickly found it was harder than concrete and a bit bare of grass. I gingerly "strided" across the field; back and forth six times. If anyone at the children's soccer games nearby saw me, I'm sure they had to wonder what in the heck I was doing. This wasn't the best place for strides!

PRE RUN
oatmeal w/brown sugar & skim milk

POST RUN
SlimFast
Later, water, multivitamin, zinc & calcium supplements, vitamin A & D, GrapeNuts w/skim milk

Sleepwalking

OBJECTIVE
3 mi. Slow

ACHIEVED
3.03 mi.@ 8:41/mi.

5:08 AM 54° 94% 6 mph

Just going through the motions to get the run in. It was warm this morning.

PRE RUN
Weight = 160

POST RUN
Water, multivitamin, zinc supplement, HoneyNut Cheerios w/skim milk

Is This a Cold ... or Maybe Allergies ... hmmmm ... ???

OBJECTIVE
3 mi. Slow

ACHIEVED
3.01 mi.@ 8:39/mi.

5:39 AM 36° 93% 4 mph

This run started slow and ended fast. I am still feeling yesterday’s run in my legs … slightly. After running, I did 4 of my 7 ITB physical therapy exercises before rushing off to work.

I’m still not feeling 100% healthy but now I’m wondering if rather than being sick, I’m actually experiencing a major case of allergies.

PRE RUN
Weight = 162
nothing

POST RUN
Water, multivitamin, zinc, vitamin C, oatmeal w/flax, almonds, brown sugar & skim milk

Threshold Intervals

OBJECTIVE
6 mi. incl. Easy 1 warm up; 4 x 1 @ lactate threshold w/2 min. jogging recovery; Easy 1 cool down

Easy = 8:08 – 38/mi.
Lactate Threshold = 6:55/mi.

ACHIEVED
WU: 1 mi.@ 8:37
6:51
6:50
6:52
6:53
CD: 1.10 mi.@ 8:25

5:00 AM 46° 50% 10 mph

Still not feeling too good today but I wasn’t going to let that stop me from getting this lovely little workout in. I did get a decent night’s sleep after going to bed a bit before 9 pm.

I was pressing to hit the pace during the intervals. Breathing wasn’t as easy as it usually is as it felt like the sides of my throat were swollen so much that my airway was restricted. I don’t think that’s a reality … it just felt that way. The 2-minute jogging recovery breaks seemed timed about perfectly. I felt like I needed a bit more of a break but once I started running again I felt much better than I felt when finishing the preceding one.

I was happy with the result and grouping of my times. I wasn’t focused on my watch and watched forcing the paces.

Hopefully I’m feeling a bit healthier with each passing day. I’ve got slow, short runs scheduled for the next couple of days followed by a slow 13-miler on Saturday. The marathon is the following weekend and is currently 81% full. There appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel at work so I’m thinking it’s a better than 50-50 proposition that I’ll be running in Austin.

PRE RUN
Weight = 159
Water

POST RUN
Water, multivitamin, zinc supplement, low fat granola w/1% milk

It's Official ... I'm Sick

OBJECTIVE
7 mi. Slow

ACHIEVED
7.18 mi.@ 8:47/mi.

4:38 AM 30° 93% 0 mph

I've got a full-on head cold which may be moving into my chest. I skipped last night's run in lieu of rest. The first half of the night I slept well but the second half was terrible. Finally, I just got up and ran. I was plodding along at a pedestrian pace wondering if 1) I would be able to even finish the run, and 2) I should have be running given the way I was feeling. I never really know if it's best to rest or run when sick. There's a rule-of-thumb I once read but I can't remember it now. This morning I kept trying to convince myself that running would help flush the cold from my system (whatever that means). Who knows? Hopefully I'm feeling better later today. I know it's hard to focus at work when I feel like this (and I certainly don't need that right now!) and it's difficult to get quality runs in.

PRE RUN
weight = 159.5
low fat granola w/skim milk

POST RUN
All-Bran Flakes w/skim milk
Later, water, multivitamin, zinc & vitamin C

One of Two Runs

OBJECTIVE
3 mi. Slow
3x100 strides @ 5K pace

ACHIEVED
3.02 mi.@ 8:34/mi.
112 m. 23.62 ( 5:39/mi.)
112 m. 23.29 (5:34/mi.)
112 m. 21.82 (5:13/mi.)

4:42 AM 53° 76% 14 mph

I feel like I'm in the early stages of getting sick. This started late Thursday. I've held it in check but it's still threatening. I slept a lot yesterday ... even missing the first half of the Super Bowl. I hope to shake it soon. I believe my work situation and running have just combined to physically overstress my body. Hopefully work settles down this week and the taper allows my body to catch up and get back to normal soon.

PRE RUN
water

POST RUN
weight 158.5
water, multivitamin, zinc & oatmeal w/flax, brown sugar & skim milk

February 1 - 7 Training Schedule

Sun. Rest
Mon. 2 Runs: 3 mi. Slow; 3x100 strides @ 5K pace
Tue. 7 mi. Slow
Wed. 6 mi. incl. 1 Easy, 4x1 @ Lactate Threshold, 1 Easy; 4x30 strides
Thu. 3 mi. Slow
Fri. 3 mi. Slow
Sat. 13 mi. Slow; 6x100 strides @ 5K pace