Keeping it up

To run more, you must run more.
To run faster, you must run faster.

That's all the wisdom I have for today...I did 6 over the weekend and 3.5 this morning, but then witnessed a full-blown epileptic seizure in our dog, who is getting measurably worse. He got put on prednisone today and that is supposed to help, but we will have to keep upping the dose as his body gets used to it. This stinks.

Slow Down To Go Faster

I did a 3-mile tempo run today. Except I stopped after 2.75 miles because I was so worn out. I walked for a bit, and then sprinted the last 0.21 miles, hitting a new top speed (6:55 miles!) and running the whole shebang at a 7:50 pace.

I just think these numbers look weird.

Mile 1: 10:19, 143 bpm

This is usual for my first mile - a decent pace and a low heart rate.

Mile 2: 10:49, 157 bpm

Slower pace, higher heart rate - I am working harder. Plus there are more and larger hills in this mile.

Mile 3: 11:01, 160 bpm

This is the reverse of Mile 1, basically - it has at least two good uphills in it, but still - my heart rate is 160 and all I can manage is 11:01??

THEN, after a short walk:

Mile 0.21: 7:50, 160 bpm

So - my heart rate is the same as it was when I was pooping out bigtime, yet my pace is more than 2 minutes per mile faster? And BTW I felt great during this sprint. The rest seemed to be just what I needed to regroup.

What is this about? Is it just the course I'm running? Is there nothing really all that mysterious here and I'm just reading too much into it?

I know I run best after I've been running for about 30 minutes. Miles 4 to 7 have always been my "best" in any longer run. I feel good, am warmed up and loose, and my body has adjusted to running.

Anyway...the full stats are 31:04, 2.96 miles, 10:29 pace, 153 bpm and 601 calories burned.

Numbers

I am a numbers geek, but I never really realized it until I became a runner, too. I love keeping track of my pace per mile, my heart rate, calories burned, and all those other statistics. And it's all good, since sometimes the only thing that motivates me to get out and run is the thought of collecting more data.

(Why did I drop out of grad school, though? Because I didn't like analyzing and collecting data! Isn't life just a puzzle.)

Yesterday's run:
3.38 miles
38:06
11:17 pace
151 bpm

8:56 max pace
163 max bpm

686 cal

Mile 1: 10:43, 142 bpm
Mile 2: 11:24, 152 bpm
Mile 3: 11:39, 157 bpm
partial:11:32, 157 bpm

Today I did quarter-mile repeats on the road, rather than on the treadmill. I did four of them and was pleasantly surprised at my speed. On the treadmill I was between about 2:17 and 2:25, so I was quite a bit faster today. Part of it is just the nature of the treadmill - you can't just start running fast, it has to work its way up to the speed I want. Also, the repeats seemed much shorter on the road -- probably because I wasn't watching that little progress bar all the time!

First I did an easy jog down to where I was going to do repeats. I say "easy" but it was 10:19 (0.84 miles), which is actually rather speedy for me. I felt good, though.

Repeats:
1: 1:59:68, 7:50 pace, 144 bpm
2: 2:00:60, 8:18 pace, 165
3: 2:07:17, 8:19 pace, 162
4: 2:06:95, 8:27 pace, 167

Repeat 2 was actually 0.24 miles and Repeat 3 was 0.26, but it was close enough for government work. I am amazed at the low heart rate on the first repeat!

Then I jogged back: 10:44 pace and 155 bpm. Burned 690 calories. I just made banana bread so I can "give back" some of those calories as soon as it cools!

I've Got Rhythm

Three and a third miles in the middle of the day - hot. Kind of slow, but not terrible. I could tell I ate about 20 pounds of food between Friday night and Sunday night!

S. is taking swimming lessons, and I thought her dad had to be in the pool with her. In fact, he is not allowed in the pool. So he can take little Z. with him and I will have 90 minutes in which to run, shower and get dressed. EVERY morning this week, and four mornings next week.

Grand!

Back in the Saddle

Is it okay to use a horse metaphor for running? Sure, why not.

So, I didn't run Wednesday or Thursday. Friday I left for a long "girls' weekend" in New Hampshire. Four of us did run on Saturday morning. I did just over 2 miles at a nice, talk-while-you-run pace. Of course I had ideas about running 8 miles on Saturday, but that was just not to be. First, my Garmin failed me again - it doesn't seem to hold a charge well at all once you take it off the charging dock. Second, well, I was just having too much fun to spend 90 minutes away from the lake and my friends. Oh well.

I am 14 weeks from Leaf Peepers, so my goal is to get started on the 10-week plan this week and then repeat some of the weeks once I get closer to the race. I found one other appealing-looking race in the fall, but it is in Lowell, Mass., which is a hike.

Four Miles and a Rest

I did 4 miles yesterday and felt good. Unfortunately, this morning I'm feeling oogy. So no quarter-mile repeats for me.

Stats from yesterday:
4.2 mi
45:16
10:49 pace
149 bpm

8:24 max pace
173 max bpm

884 cal

Mile 1: 10:52, 137 bpm
Mile 2: 10:46, 149 bpm
Mile 3: 11:01, 153 bpm
Mile 4: 10:51, 157 bpm
Mi 0.2: 9:42, 170 bpm

The Power of Two

I did two miles today. After work. I never run at that time of day because I want to spend time with the kids, and give DH a break from SAHDdom. But I felt like I *needed* to run. So I did (with DH's blessing...at least I think it was his blessing...he said I could go!). It was good. Even just 22 minutes of running makes a big difference. I need to try to go running every day, or almost every day - I think that is the only way to see progress and changes.

I will add the stats later - it was close to an 11:00 pace, possibly because I was uncaffeinated and hadn't had anything substantial to eat in the previous 5 hours.

Sunday Sunday Sunday

I did six miles today - my foray back into "long" runs (though six miles is starting to seem not all that long - I guess that's a good thing). I saw a running friend of mine, which never happens, so that was kind of cool. What was NOT cool was the weather - super hot and sticky, even at 9-10 am.

Stats:

6 miles
71:49
11:49 pace
148 bpm

9:04 max pace
165 max bpm

1,331 cal

Mile 1: 11:28, 139 bpm
Mile 2: 12:05, 146 bpm
Mile 3: 11:31, 149 bpm
Mile 4: 11:57, 149 bpm
Mile 5: 11:21, 151 bpm
Mile 6: 12:29, 156 bpm (2 big hills + no water = slow)

More is Better

Three miles today - this is the fourth run this week! I was feeling worn out yesterday, so didn't run. (Is it coincidence that I ate badly yesterday, too?)

Hot, sunny, breezy, nice. No Porkchop.

Stats:
3.1 miles
34:06
10:59 pace
154 bpm

8:17 max pace
172 max bpm

841 calories

Mile 1: 10:41, 144 bpm
Mile 2: 11:03, 156 bpm
Mile 3: 11:27, 161 bpm
Mi 0.1: 8:39, 170 bpm

Putting in the Miles

Four miles today in sunny, breezy conditions. I thought it was kind of hot, but then I don't do really well with warm weather. Um, or cold weather. My "weather band" for optimal running is pretty narrow.

Still, I ran faster today than yesterday (when it was warmer), while keeping my HR basically the same.

I was thinking on my run today about how often I short-change myself. I decide to run 4 miles and run 3.8 instead. I decide to do six repeats and do five instead. What is that about? Fear of success? That's almost laughable - I mean, I am so far from a professional runner!

But maybe there is something to it - once you set and meet a goal, what happens then? Set another goal, for sure - but often there's a lull when you feel sort of untethered. I had that lull after the half marathon. Yes, I had a cough (and still do, but notice I am running anyway now), but I think I used that as an excuse to not run, because I had lost my motivation after the race. I don't have another concrete goal yet, though the Leaf Peepers half (late September) is a definite for me. I'd like to set another race goal before that, though.

Stats for today:
4.07 mi
45:57
11:18 pace
6:43 max pace (smokin'!)

149 bpm
173 max bpm

928 cal

Mile 1: 11:01, 137 bpm
Mile 2: 11:05, 151 bpm
Mile 3: 11:38, 153 bpm
Mile 4: 11:46, 156 bpm
0.07: 6:53, 169 bpm

Early Morning Run

The dog had to go to the vet this morning for an 8 am blood draw (fasting glucose), so while the rest of the family took him, I ran 4 miles. I thought it would be "cool" (we are having a heat wave, with 90-degree temps the past 3 days), but it wasn't! I'm glad I got the run in, anyway, since by noon it would have been even hotter.

Porkchop ran with me most of the way - she is a beagle mix and one of my favorite running partners. (Well, I don't have any human ones....) We saw a turtle, and that was about it for wildlife.

Stats:

4.22 mi
50:14
11:53 pace
150 bpm

7:43 max pace
167 max bpm

992 calories

Mile 1: 11:18, 140 bpm
Mile 2: 11:38, 148 bpm
Mile 3: 12:07, 157 bpm
Mile 4: 12:39, 154 bpm
M 0.22: 11:14, 158 bpm

It should cool off today after some late T-storms and be sunny and in the 70s for the rest of the week!

Hot!

The weather, not me. :) Just did 3.33 miles in the hot noonday sun. It's close to 90 out there, and has been for three days!

Stats:

3.33 miles
38:19
11:28 pace
827 cal

Mile 1: 10:28 (hey, this isn't so bad)
Mile 2: 11:46 (wow, it's hot)
Mile 3: 12:05 (really, really hot)
Mile 0.33: 11:49 (whew - I'm done!)

I forgot the HRM, which was probably a good thing - I'm sure my HR was way, way up there.

My summer goal is to run 5 times a week. Preferably in the morning, but I'll see what I can do.

Treadmilling With Angel

Just watched a Buffy episode (called "Angel") and ran/walked 3 miles in about 40 minutes. It felt okay, not too much coughing during the run, but now I'm hacking. Nice.

I have given up caffeine for my blood pressure's sake...I'm hoping it'll also help me eat healthier and be less moody. This is day 5 of no caffeinated coffee, and I definitely have withdrawal symptoms still. I hope they go away VERY soon.

Lull

Still coughing, so I haven't been running. I'm planning to go tomorrow and see how it goes. I'm also in the process of giving up coffee...I say "process" because even though I haven't had any since Friday or Saturday, I still have a headache. YUCK. But it raises my blood pressure to unhealthy levels, and what's the point of exercising to get healthy if a cup or two of coffee is going to negate that?

I miss it, though.

I'm thinking of looking for another half marathon to do in the fall. Leaf Peepers is always an option if I don't find another one.