More Like It

I went out late today, around 4:15 PM. I didn't run over the weekend. I worked hard on Saturday to finish my yard work. Today was the first run of the 09-10 winter running season as far as I'm concerned: sub-40 F, dark, snow on the ground, badly shoveled sidewalks in places, hat gloves tights, shell & reflector. I had no real route in mind, I just went out and did my thing and ended up having a beaut of a run in the 4 mile neighborhood. I even threw in my end of 10K hills and did well. Last week may have been an anomaly, it may have been the week off, too much food at Thanksgiving, I don't know. My body reacted well and I enjoyed tonight. I felt quick, I liked my tempo, my CV felt good, my legs were solid. Mrs. A is happy to see us back on the blog.

Hike/Run

Not sure if this mornings jaunt was a run or a hike. Managed to survive without killing myself. It was VERY slippery. Ran the usual Monday morning 4.5. Managed to find a clear path for most of the run. However, there were a couple of stretches that hadn't been plowed with no alternative route. Zero with the windchill. Brrrrr.

Post Turkey Day Run

New route in the burbs. Added a 1/2 mile to the beginning and end of the local 10k race course. 1:10/7.5 miles/9:20. Very hilly with two brutal hills. Calf muscles are still sore today. Miserable weather as well.

Mid run brain cramp

Still keeping to the plan. Ran my Esplanade 7.5 mile route today at 9:20 pace. This is the best pace I've had on an run greater than 4.5 miles...and it wasn't a hard run at all. I still freak out a bit during the 3-4.5 mile stretch. I start noticing aches and pains, questioning if I'm being too aggressive on the pace or distance, yadda yadda yadda. Once I hit 5, no pain, good pace, bounce in my step. I had negative splits from mile 4 all the way in. I'm going to have to get past this if I'm ever going to run a marathon. All in all, it was a good run.
Tomorrow's supposed to be a cross training day. I've yet to get off my ass on a Saturday. Might try a short trail run behind my house depending on how I feel.

Question: Anyone use a Garmin 405? Know someone who has? Had a casualty today, my HRM belt. Snapped the clasp before the run. I'm now suffering from data deprivation.

Four Days

Ran my Greenway 3 mile route this morning at the normal time. Cold and windy! Temps in mid 20s with 15 mph wind, which somehow always seemed to be in my face. Moderate tempo run for me at 8:45 pace. Really starting to feel the legs get stronger this week. Tomorrow is an off day before a slow 6-8 on Friday. This is the first time I've run 4 days in a row. Later.

Too early

Due to scheduling issues with Mrs. BR, I had to finish my run by 5:30 AM today. Not having the commute to work to wake up during definitely had an impact on the legs. I had planned on an easy 3. Ended up with an easy 2 at 9:30 pace (HR avg 151). Without the usual warm up, I was concerned about injury. However, hamstrings and ankle were fine. Considering yesterdays run, I'm hoping I'm well on the road to recovery from these two nagging issues. Shins were a bit of a problem today. Not going to worry about it since it could have been the result of the change in schedule, the new shoes or yesterday's run.

There are signs...

Oversleeping today resulted in a late 7:00 start. Its much harder to run during this hour as I have to dodge cars, delivery trucks, pedestrians, etc. PITA. My goal was to run my 4.5 mile Boston Common route at 9:00 pace. I've been running easy for the last couple of weeks and had an itch to run faster/harder. My recovery from last Friday's long run was much shorter and contributed to my desire to get out there. Ended up running 40:22/8:58 pace...PR for the route by almost 2 minutes. I was quite pleased with myself for a few reasons.

1. Hit my target time on the nose despite having to run around obstacles.
2. Maintained the same split times during the hill segments (splits were 8:59, 8:59, 8:57, 8:58, 4:29)
3. No issues with the hamstrings. Ankle only a little sore
4. Hucked a lungy a good 15 feet mid stride!

All good signs that I'm starting to get my legs back. Hopefully tomorrow morning doesn't bring any new aches and pains.

You can never have enough gear.

Ran an easy 2.1 miles today at 9:00 pace. This is the longest loop I can run in my neighborhood without risking life and limb on the road into my neighborhood. Still fighting the same nagging aches and pains but nothing serious. 17.1 for the week, new PR. Next week is an important week for keeping the mileage up. The week after is Thanksgiving and some vacation days. The week after that is a trip to the far east. Not good for someone who needs structure.

I took Phat Runner's advice and added some shoes to the collection. One extra road pair and a trail pair. Plan is to run the golf course (~5 miles) on weekends once it closes. You can never have enough gear! I'm keeping Marathon Sports in business.

Question: for those of you who run longer distances, at what distance do you carry water and/or other nourishment?

Real Runners

Today was a day I would have bagged if I wasn't following a plan. Watched the Pat's game until the unfortunate end, slight stomach issues and lots to do at work. My program recommended 6, I planned on 4, ended up running 7.5. Longest since running Boyden Street run back in college. (That was a 10 mile route that required you to finish running up Boyden Street...the steepest hill in the area.) Headed out from the office around 5:45. Ran at a very comfortable 10 minute pace. There are 2 things holding me back from picking up the pace: hamstrings and Hal Higdon's Marathon Training book. I'm hoping the increased stretching alleviates the hamstrings soon. The increased mileage was due to mapmyrun.com underestimating the distance on the course I laid out. Much of the route was along the Charles and it wasn't easy to map the winding paths. It was along the Charles that I passed many a serious runner. BAA logos on their gear were like badges of honor...and a signal to get out of their way. I have to admit, I was somewhat intimidated. I haven't had much experience running by or with others given the time I run and my initial routes. It's been a reality check running in the more popular areas. On a more positive note, today I realized that, halfway through the month, I have over 32 miles logged. I was averaging 24, per month, during Aug.-Oct. Hopefully the holidays and upcoming travel don't derail me.

100 Miles

Today's 3 miles pushed me over the 100 mile (36 run) mark since I started. Easy run today as I hope to run harder tomorrow, 4th day in a row. Ankle was much better, but the hammy was still tight. Hopefully it is related to compensating for the ankle and will improve as the ankle does. Only ran at 9:30 pace. However, HR avg and max where the lowest they've ever been for any distance or pace. Gonna keep it slow for a while until completely healthy again. As Agricola has advised...just building the base. Shooting for 18 miles this week and 20 next. Plan is to range between 15 and 20 through the end of the year.

Pushing through the pain...

Followed the plan yesterday with an easy 2. Pushed C1 for the first mile and C2 on the second. C1 also rode her bike for mile 2 which dropped the pace down. It was great to get out with them on the road and a good test for longer runs in the future. My program has Saturdays as an off day and Sunday as a short easy run before a "sort of long run" on Mondays. I'm going to try to alternate the kids every other week but may have to get a dual stroller to avoid juvenile conflict.

Today's run was the 4.5 Common route. Late start today at 6:45 meant heavy pedestrian traffic to dodge. Kept it easy, but not too easy for me, at 9:30 pace. I'm more concerned with the mileage than the time...at least thorough the end of the year. Left hammy was still tight. However, the left ankle is more troublesome. Still can't figure out if its the ankle or shin splints. Hopefully an easy pace / ice regimen will be enough to cure it. Otherwise I feel great. Last week's total of 16 is a PR.

Tough Run

Weather wasn't great, was suffering from some weird vertigo thing, left hammy (not the previously injured one) was tight and left ankle was sore. I also went out last night and threw back a couple for the first time in months. Still managed to get an early 6.3 miles in. My plan was to run slow anyway, trying to keep the HR in the 155-160 zone rather than the 160 - 170 zone. My average ended up being 159, down from 165. To do it, I had to practically crawl the route. Not that I could have done much better considering the issues above. Pace was about 9:55. While I could have held a conversation during the run and never felt the urge to stop, I felt as if the slower pace resulted in more of a pounding on the legs. I'm thinking this will be the bottom end of my pace range going forward. Need to balance the HR zones and the stress to the joints.

Hard Run

I was only supposed to run an easy 3 today (and a hard 3 tomorrow). Ended up running with one of my staff (all the treadmills were used). While I ran harder than anticipated, 8:45 pace and almost as fast(or slow) as my 5k race, it didn't seem as hard. Always easier to run with someone. Another new route today along the Greenway. I may skip tomorrow depending on how I feel. Three consecutive days running is the most I've done since starting this whole running thing again...4 may be pushing it too early. 10 miles is almost the most I've done in any week. However, I feel much better than I thought I would and the ankle is much better. I'm thinking reality will set in next week.

Nocturnal Runner

New 4.5 mile route (42:00) from the office to, and around, the common. I'm liking the downtown routes more than the southie routes. Feels a little safer. I can also work in more hills which has been sorely lacking in my other routes. The common is definitely an upgrade in "scenery."

Ankle is still a little sore, but didn't really bother my until the last 1.5 miles. Unfortunately, icing is a challenge in the office and will have to wait until tonight.

I've determined I'm a nocturnal runner. Yesterdays midday 1.5 mile run seemed much more strained than today's run. I just feel more relaxed and comfortable running pre-dawn. However, it was cool to see the sunrise again at the end of the run with the time change.

Question for those with HRMs. What is your average HR during a 4 mile/moderate run? What is your resting and max HR? Based on my calc's, my max HR should be 185. If I'm to believe the workout HR bands and what I should be targeting, I need to slow down. My average seems to always be around 165 with a max of 170 - 178. Just trying not to drop dead.

It starts

Started the winter program today. Easy 1.5 miles. May have tweaked the ankle. Need to stretch out more. Plan calls for 18.5 for the week starting tomorrow. I may reduce the distance depending on how I feel for the first couple of weeks.