Speed work in the heat!

I used my lunch break today to squeeze in my speed workout on the Eastside of Central Park. The workout was a 1.5 mile warm up, followed by 3 x (1200m at 10K race pace + 90 sec rest + 400m at 5k race pace + 3 min rest) followed by a cool down. It was tough, especially with the heat. My times were:

1200 - 3:53
400 - 76
1200 - 3:56
400 - 77
1200 - 3:52
400 - 74

All said, I totalled over 7 miles of training, plus, later in the day, i ran a few miles of Ash's easy workout with her. Soon, this heat wave will be gone!

Still tired

I'm still feeling off from my long run. Tonight I went out and did an easy 8 miles. I really did not feel like running at all, but I know I need to. So, it's finished, hopefully by tomorrow, my legs are feeling a little more flexible and loose. I'm hoping to soon get back to morning running. I tried his morning, but as I was waking up watching the morning news and preparing to go out and run at 5 am, y son decided it was time for him to get up......and not go back to sleep. Oh well, such is life.

Laying low

Last nites long run took it out of me. Today I felt awful and really got nothing accomplished. We ended up getting out and jogging a couple miles to get loose, but that was about it. It's been a long time since a long run beat me up so bad.

Late Night Long Run

Lately I have been running at night because of many things. I don't mind it, but it's not a workable solution once school gets cranking up again. I got up early today to do my long run, but by mile 2, my sokcs were rubbing my heels weird, that feeling that if today's run were a 7 mile run, I would be okay, but no way I could cover 20 feeling that way. I cut it short, goin home after only 4 miles.

After a full day, i gave the long run another shot at 10 pm! My plan was to run (4) 5.2 mile laps in Central Park, which is dreadfully boring. My goal was to run between 7:00 and 6:45 minutes a mile. My first lap was slow, above 7 minutes. For lap 2, i sped up, running faster than 6:45. By lap 3, feeling tired, I managed to pick up the pace a little more. By lap 4, I was exhausted and almost did not start! I convinced myself I could do 1 more. By mile 19, i was spent, and bonked a litte. I slowed down my last lap, but still managed to run faster than the first. So, I managed a 21 mile run, with a total time less than 7 minutes a mile, and for the day, I totaled 25 miles. I finished running about 12:30 am, and had some eggs and cheese to keep myself from going to bed starving. What an exhasuting night, at least I got my run in. My splits are as follows:

(1) - 37:06 (7:06/mile)
(2) - 34:29 (6:38/mile)
(3) - 34:16 (6:35/mile)
(4) - 35:48 (6:51/mile)

Total - 20.8 miles in 6:49/mile pace

Easy Day

So, we were busy today, plus I was tired from my tempo last night, so, today, Ash and I combined for a 4.6 mile run/walk. It was relazing, plus we got to take G to the park and go hang out with my coworkers at the Boat Basin on the way. I'll take it

10 mile 10:00 pm Tempo run

Tonight, consistent with how this week has been going, i did my tempo run late tonight. I did a 2 mile warmup up, then (4) consecutive 1.75 mile loops, then a 1 mile cool down. My lap times were:

9:55
10:01
9:44
9:50

These times are right in the neighborhood of 5:38-5:44 per mile, which is exactly what I needed to be doing. I'm pleased with my run, especially since I figured I would actually only do 6 miles because I was so tired!

Time for some hills

I split my 10 miles tonight between running hills with Ash and G and running by myself. I helped Ash through half of er workout, then took G to Safari Park to play with hippos. After we got home and got G fed, bathed, read to, and in bed, I went out and did 6 miles before we ate dinner. Bust night, but you do what you have to do!

Need some motivation

I needed some motivation tonight, so as I ran my 9 mile run, I covered the last 2 miles of the NYC marathon. I love to swing through the bottom of the park and imagine how I will be feeling at the end of the race in November. I do this from time to time to keep me focused on why I'm training. It was a nice run!

Rest and Recovery

So, we got into New York around 4 pm today after running a few errans in NJ on the way in. I am just completely wiped, and even though i hate to take 2 days in a row off, I must. Hope to get back on it tomorrow.

The Traveling Blues

The first of two days of travel, and I am sore from the race. SOooooo....no running for me today. Instead, 10 hours in the car and a stop over in Harrisburg, PA for the night.

Long run with Ash

Ash and I are both running in the NYC Marathon in November. Because of travel, she had to do her long run this morning. SO, since I am running a race tomorrow, i decided i would run her long run with her. So, we got out on the road by 6:30, we drove to the dam, which has a 2 mile protected section across it(There is hardly anywhere to run around here with out the threat of being run over). But, it was so boring and so full of cars that our original plan of running across it twice and back was just not going to cut it. We opted instead for the "Run as far across this bridge till the sidewalk runs out" plan, which put us into Lexington. We did a 10.2 miles plus another .6 cool down. I would call it 11 for the day. It hurt, the whole run was on concrete sidewalks. We will be in Central Park soon.......

Tired and bored

I got up this morning and was going to do a 10 mile tempo run. I tried, but I was so bored and tired and running in the dark, I opted for the 10 mile easy run. I think the 5K race this weekend will serve as my tempo run

Stranded in the Desert......

Today was plain awful. I needed 10 miles easy, so I went with Ash to run her time trial on the track. After our mile interval and WU and Cd, I needed 7 more miles. So, I thought i would run the long way home from the track, doing a wide, 7 mile loop on a road called "Shady Grove". Hilarious enough, no shade to be had. I had no idea at the time that the heat index was 105! I was cooked, by the time I had 2 miles to go, I was already burnt and exhausted. I had no choice but to continue, stopping now and then to rest in the shade. I survived, fortunately, but had a pace north of 7:30 a mile. I was just glad there was a pool waiting on me when i finished!

Fire on the Track

Today was brutal. On the schedule, 2 mile warm up followed by 8 x 800m @ 2:36 with a 90 sec rest followed by 2 mile cool down. So, i ran 3 miles to the track and the started the workout. Unfortunately it was 87 degrees with a heat index of 97! Plus, no shade at all. After the 3rd interval, my times began to slide and i began to wither. By 800 number 5, i had to call it quits. My splits were:

(1) 2:35
(1) 2:34
(1) 2:38
(1) 2:40
(1) 2:45

As you can see, my times were sliding, and are an indicator that i need to stop. I ran 3 home, and called it day.......or not.

About 2 hours later, i went out with Ash for a 7 mile hill run around the streets. It was still brutally hot out, but it was manageable, plus with shotguns and traffic amok, i was not about to let Ash run alone. All in all, 16 miles for the day.

Travel Day

So, our trip to SC extended into a 2nd day, we did not roll in till 1 pm today. I was exhausted and still have a cold (Honestly, who gets a cold in August), so i took a day of rest.

Bronx Half

This was my 4th year running the Bronx half and my best yet. Despite my cold, and sick and teething 15 month old, I scored a 1:16:58, my 4th fastest half marathon! I went out relaxed with the idea of a 5:50 pace as my goal. The first 4 miles came in at or below 5:50, with the next 6 or so around 6:00. I managed to stay competitive throughout, with no one passing me after 4 miles. With 3 miles to go, I had 1 more competitor in front of me within catching distance. I followed closely behind him and with 2 miles to go, took the lead. He drafted off me until the 12 mile mark, then passed me seemingly for good. I stayed about 10 feet back for almost the rest of the race. As we approached the finish line, i was able to pull up right behind him, and as we spotted the 13 mile mark, I put in a sprint to try to lose him. He didn't respond, and i was able to put a 20 foot lead on him, which I held onto till the finish. That effort put me in 21rst place out of 5000+ runners and 7th in my age group. I was very satisfied with this race, especially for this time of year. The only 3 other times I have run faster, it has been with in 2 weeks before a marathon i was training for or the month after a marathon, never this far out (12 weeks). Plus, this was my first race without head phones since 2005. I am trying to get away from running with music and focus on the race at hand, I feel like my head was more in the game and my splits did not fluctuate as usual. My mile splits were:

Mile 1 - 5:40
Mile 2 - 5:46
Mile 3 - 5:44
Mile 4 - 5:50
Mile 5 - 5:59
Mile 6 - 6:01
Mile 7 - 6:01
Mile 8 - 5:58
Mile 9 - 5:51
Mile 10 - 6:00
Mile 11 - 6:01
Mile 12 - 6:01
Mile 13 - 5:44
Mile .1 - 5:20

My time history for this race is:

2007 - 1:21:28
2008 - 1:20:55
2009 - 1:17:35
2010 - 1:16:58

Up next - 5K in Prosperity, SC. Look out, the city slicker is in town!

Sick Day number 2

My head is so congested and my throat feels like i'm swallowing sand. Since I have a race tomorrow, i laid low today, but I still got out and Biked Summer STreets with Ash and Gabriel. It was a nice, relaxing ride.

Calling in Sick

So, everytime Gabriel picks up a cold, I get one 2 days later.......so, of course, i have a scratchy throat and fell not so good. I opted to run 3 miles with Ash and call it a day, i need to rest up for Sunday's race!

Late Night Tempo Run

It was hard to fit in running today. First, after diner, Ash, Gabriel, and I went out and ran 4 miles togther before the sun set. Once we got home, and got him in bed, I went out about 9:30 and tackled my 10 mile tempo run. The first 5 miles were around a 6:45 pace, the I do (2) 1.75 mile loops at the bottom of the park, trying to run fast and hold my pace. Typically, these laps will take me around 10:00 each, my fastest ever being 9:51. Well, tonight, I was feeling good and managed a 9:40 and 9:44. I was tired, but managed to be consistent, and fast. It's looking up for the race this weekend

Hill work

Tonight, I hit the North Hills and put together a 10 mile hillwork out, finshing with a 6-minute last mile. The hills seem to be getting easier. Hopefully, this feeling will conytinue

Inconsistently Average

Today was speed work, unfortunatly I do not have a track near to run on, so i did my mile repeats on the East Drive of Central Park. I was shooting for 3 mile repeats at 5:25. What I did was 5:24, 5:32, and 5:16. So, as far as repeats go, I did not do a great job keeping consistent, but on the average, I hit 5:24. So, good and bad, but I felt satisfied with the effort. I feel my speed coming back, and my legs are beginning to feel stronger. 8 miles down for the day.......

REcovery

After a hard 22 miler, i needed a rest. Gabriel and I decided to take a long, long walk to see Ash at work down at Bryant Park. We toured Central PArk, Times Square, and Bryant Park. Overall, we covered more than 8 miles on foot. It was a nice refreshing day, and some quality time with G!

Bridge run, 2nd time around

Today I did my 22 mile, 5 bridge run for the 2nd time. This time through, I felt a little but stronger than i did last month, although it was still a challenge. I finished in 2:18, which is 6 minutes faster than a month ago. Finally, I am getting into a groove. That capped off a 92 mile week! Next week i will dial back a little in preparation for the Bronx Half next Sunday.