16 miles plus two for good luck.

Saturdays long run was just what I needed. I will admit that I was discouraged last week especially after the rather sad tempo run I had on Friday. To be honest Friday evening before my long run was not shaping up much better. During my tempo run on Friday my IPod started to make strange static noises which I figured was a problem with the headphones. I thought that was the problem until I could not get the mp3 player to even turn on! Now if you know me you that when it comes to my running I am a creature of habit bordering on compulsive so having one thing go wrong before my longest run of the year did not please me. If that was not bad enough I also realized I had no cereal to eat which is my traditional pre run meal. What to do? I improvised by pulling out my old mp3 player that doesn't hold as much music and grabbing a single serving pack of Golden Grahams!

Maybe it was the Golden Grahams but I actually felt pretty good as I started out running. A couple of miles into the run I began thinking that I felt good enough to attempt eighteen miles instead of sixteen. I kept telling myself that it was too soon to make a decision regarding extending an already long run. Because this route was a modified out and back I decided to run as if I were going to run eighteen miles and if I did not feel up to it the worst that would happen is I would have a two mile cool down. There was no need to worry as I ran the eighteen miles and felt pretty decent. My splits weren't exactly negative but I did well with them for the first twelve miles and they were not ridiculously off the rest of the run.

My question now is should I run eighteen miles this weekend which is what I am scheduled to do or should I up it to twenty and get in two twenty milers and a twenty two miler as part of my training. I am inclined to attempt to run the twenty but a lot will depend on how I feel. I am extremely happy to have run the eighteen miles though. As I recall last year sixteen was a distance I struggled with so to be able to feel good enough to go two more miles is excellent.

18 miles in 2:31:17

My unexpected running partner.

Wednesday I woke up to run seven miles not knowing that I would have a surprise about half way through the run. First though I left the house and was greeted by a wall of humidity. I figured that it would be hot because I checked the temperature before breakfast and it was already eighty degrees outside. This was a very different run from the previous day which was wet and not as humid because of the rain. My seven miler on the other hand was not only humid but dry. I set out to run at a comfortable pace so as to take my time and enjoy it. Plus my legs were still feeling fatigued something I hope that I remedied by taking Thursday off and drinking Cytomax after the run to help with my recovery. I was almost as soaked as I was the day before but this time due to all of my perspiring. The real suprise came at mile four.

I had just completed mile four of seven and was running around a cul de sac to turn around when I saw either a beagle or a basset hound trotting towards me. It was about six in the morning and she was wearing a collar with a sensor that looked like she had escaped from one of the invisible fences. Well, I coaxed her over even though both of us were unsure of the other and I tried to get a look at her tags. She was still a little skiddish so I didn't get a look at the tags although I did notice her nails were painted pink. Around this time she grew bored of me and took off into someones backyard. I thought about following her because I felt bad just leaving her even though it was not a busy traffic area and I figured she did not wander far as it is pretty secluded where I was running. As a pet owner I can only imagine what it is like to lose one. I thought better of it though, running through peoples backyards at six in the morning after a strange animal is probably not wise. So what was I doing? Oh yeah, running! For a moment I thought about running back home from where I was which would have given me over five miles when all was said and done. The five minute break had reguvinated me however so I decided to run the whole seven, a wise choice, and mile five was actually quite fast. I have an off day today, Thursday, and then I want to squeeze in my tempo run on Friday followed by my scary sixteen miler on Saturday.

7 miles in 58:09

A wet run.

This mornings six miler was a satisfying run because I did it even though I didn't feel like it and conditions were anything but ideal. I was up a lot last night because there were bad storms so when the alarm went off I was pretty tired. As I moped down the stairs I had to look at a clock several times because I could not believe it was really five o'clock. In the winter it is pitch black at five but in the summer it is supposed to be light out. Not today though it was dark and dreary. I fought a slow steady rain and puddles in non wicking socks so my feet were soaked by the end of this run. Note to self I really need to buy more wicking socks.

Now that I am done whining I will admit there were a lot of good parts to this run too. I am rotating my Asics Gel Nimbus' and a new pair of Mizuno Wave Creation 7s. Today was my first day in the new Wave Creation 7s and they felt great. I don't know why I ever thought about trying something new, these shoes fit like they were made just for me. I didn't even feel like they needed to be broken in they just felt right. In fact they felt so good that I am planning to wear them for the marathon, assuming I stay healthy.

Sometimes the most rewarding part of a run is being the only one out there. I usually see a couple other runners and cyclists or at the very least people out for a walk with their dogs. This morning though I was the only one out there dripping wet and loving it. Well maybe not loving it but revelling in it for sure. After being sidelined by an injury I don't want to take even one run for granted and I am really trying to soak up every step of my training this year. Overall the run was fine, not one of my finest but a good workout. Since my legs were still a little stiff I decided to hold off on the tempo run until Friday and run my six miler today. I will log seven, hopefully dry miles tomorrow and then get a day off.

6 miles in 50:15

Pull back long run.

This weekends run called for me to run ten miles. Since it was a "shorter" distance than my last two long runs and definitely shorter than my next two I decided to push the pace. Yesterday I planned out my pace for each mile but by the time I headed out the door this morning that all went out the window.

I woke up at five thirty and it was storming so I decided to try to sleep another half hour in the hopes that things would clear up. No such luck. It was raining even harder at six so I got dressed, ate and picked up our youngest who was fussing. We hung out until around ten until seven when everyone in the house was awake. At that point the rain was not as bad so I decided to set out. It was still raining harder than a drizzle but a couple of miles into the run the rain had stopped. Unfortunately, that still left a lot of puddles to deal with but my socks and shoes held up well.

When I was laying out my pacing plan yesterday I could not remember what mile of thsi run was the tough one, mile seven or mile eight. I will not be making that mistake again, mile eight was brutal with lots of hills including one in particular which felt like I was running straight up. I survived although with a slower time for mile eight but all in all I am quite satisfied with my time. I have a couple of weeks until my half marathon to add mileage and more speed work so I hope to improve on my solid base.

Tomorrow is an off day and then I have a tempo run on Tuesday. I must admit I enjoy doing my long runs more on Saturdays but with my work schedule I will more than likely be stuck running them on Sundays the rest of this month. I guess that will be good preparation for the half marathon which is on a Sunday.

10 miles in 1:19:20

Keep on keeping on.

Not much to report today. I ran six miles this morning, they felt alright but not as good as yesterdays. I have been debating when to do my long of ten miles. I prefer to get my long runs out of the way on Saturdays but my legs have been feeling a little fatigued this week and I want to run these ten miles at a faster pace so waiting until Sunday makes more sense. Unfortunately, Sunday is a much busier day and it is going to be at least ten degrees warmer on Sunday than it is on Saturday. My plan is to be cautious and run Sunday, take off Monday and get back to it Tuesday.

6 miles in 48:24

A strange run with a typical running "injury".

I ran for the first time in a couple of days as I felt that I needed the rest and it felt strange like I had taken a couple of weeks off. I started off feeling pretty fresh but by mile three I kind of felt like I was running out of energy. It was not quite that feeling though and I can't quite explain it. I was not fatigued and was able increase my pace comfortably but it was like my legs were detached from the rest of me and just kept going. I think a lot of it had to do with what I ate last night. I pigged out on a giant gyro and onion rings and was feeling it when I woke up this morning. Sleep has been a premium too as our youngest has been waking up more often lately. I was glad to get this run in and to run it in a average pace of 8:04 minutes per mile. My weekend long run is ten miles and I am hoping to run that close to my goal half marathon pace of 8:00 minutes per mile or faster. After todays run I feel like I have a good chance of accomplishing that goal.

As for my "injury" I put that in quotes because I say injury with tongue firmly planted in cheek. I wore my white Nike running shirt today and after my cool down I noticed there was a red stain on the right side of my shirt. My nipple was rubbing against the shirt and must have started bleeding. Another knock on yet another Nike product, I am done with them. I have never had a problem with rubbing when I wear my other technical shirts. It is no big deal it just means I will be using Body Glide or wear a band aid until it heals.

I will run six miles tomorrow followed by my ten miler Saturday or Sunday.

7 miles in 56:28