on the road again

So after a few days off I came back to the running world for a nice easy s-l-o-w run this morning. The weatherman was saying it was 44 degrees, but with a wind chill it felt like 33.

What?! Did he say "wind chill"? Yep. With wind gusting at 17 mph, it was a brisk one out there in the dark, but dressed with a hat and gloves I was fine.

I even ran without my music or my watch - it was actually quite nice. It was a bright, full moon and a clear sky. It was also very quite - almost too quiet, but it was great.

This weekend I am going to attempt to get back to my roots. By roots I mean trails, by trails I mean going for a trail run. My last trail run was back in June some time. I have missed two races that I had planned at the beginning of the year to run, but marathon training got in the way. With all of that aside now, I need to get reacquainted.

That's all for now... Best of luck to Yumke as runs the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday!

recovery + speed

This seemed like a weird combination in a workout, but I followed through with it. The recovery part was the easy part - I was still a little sore/tired from the 20 miler on Saturday. When it came to the 100m strides, it was a little more work, but I got through them.

I also was FINALLY able to get new shoes! I had problems last time around because I was told that Asics did not make my size in the updated version of the Gel Fortitudes... well they do, they just didn't publish that information. So here they are in an updated look - no more orange and grey:

strides and recovery

After my race/long run Sunday, I took Monday off as a rest day. And, quite honestly, much needed. My knee was "complaining" a little - most noticeably on stairs. Then yesterday, it was fine. When I set out for my run I tried to take it somewhat easy, knowing that I needed to do my 100m strides. I was able to do my strides relatively easy, though the last one I definitely felt. Today was an easy 3 mile recovery run and I had a hard time keeping an easy slow pace. Felt good during the run, muscles still a little sore, but otherwise felt good. Tomorrow's run is another general aerobic run. Looks like it might even be in the rain... can't wait.

wet behind the ears

and everywhere else...

I started out my recovery run yesterday morning at 5:30am, squeezing it in before I had to be at work to head up to Michigan. I checked the radar before I left and the rain looked to be north of me, so no big deal. One mile into my run it started to rain, then pour. Seeing that I could not possibly get home without being drenched anyway, I continued my run to get my 4 miles in. I actually enjoyed running in the rain. The only downside was the "squish, squish" as I ran...

Looking to do 8 miles this afternoon if all goes well... maybe it will even rain on me...

scorched earth

It was a hot one today, or so it seemed to me, so I headed to my favorite running spot for an easy 4 mile recovery run. My legs were pretty sore from yesterday's "homework" so I tried to take it easy. At first I felt like I was awkward and my form was that of a novice. I could not seem to find a rhythm, so I kept pushing on. I felt slow and I thought I was doing a good job of taking it nice and easy, but when I was finished I found out that my splits were a little fast...

1. 9:12/mile
2. 9:04/mile
3. 9:15/mile
4. 9:09/mile

Unless... maybe I am getting that fast that a 9 min/mile pace is slow...

recovery run with nature

Trying to stick to a schedule and get serious about my running again, I got home early enough to go for a run. In my infinite wisdom I decided that it made logical sense to do my recovery run on a trail -- it is softer, I generally run slower because of the terrain and it was also cooler in the woods...

I just did three miles, but it was a nice change of pace from road running. I think I'll be doing this more often for recovery runs. I am going to try to squeeze in a couple more mid-week runs and then figure out what to do for my weekend run. There is a 5k race at the state park by me that I might do because this is a step back week for me, but we'll see.

slow and steady

I had decided it was time to get serious about my running again. Having been miserable without running I knew I had to get something started. After 5 miles on Sunday and working in the yard all day, I was a little tired and a little sore. This week is a perfect time for a step back week, but with a couple of short, easy mid-week runs in to get a routine established again.

So it began this morning. The alarm went off at 4:30 am and I was up and out the door by 5:00. It was dark and a very cool, comfortable 61 degrees. I told myself that this was a recovery run and just to take it easy. So I started out very comfortably at about a 10:30/mile pace. It felt great, I was surprised how easy it was to maintain an even pace. There were a few times I wanted to push it a little more, but I was able to keep my pace in check, telling myself I had nothing to prove, I knew I could pick up the pace if I wanted, but that was not the goal of the run. Mission accomplished. I think I am getting wiser with each run and certainly stronger.

Happy running to all.