I got out later than usual today because I've taken the week between Christmas and New Years Day off of work and decided to sleep in this morning. I started my run at about 9:30. It was a nice change from Tuesday's weather at about 44 degrees.
I set out to do another 33 minutes today. I did it, but I didn't think I was going to. I got about 3 minutes in and felt like I had already run 30 minutes. I was ready to quit and walk back to the car, but I pushed on through it. My recent running lethargy is bothering me, but I think it's due to poor eating habits over Christmas. I'm hoping to remedy that over the next couple of weeks by getting back into a normal eating routine.
I was back in my home park today. I started out with a couple of warm up laps around the parking lot before setting out on my run. I'm changing up my mileage and timing tracking by only keeping track of what I run and excluding the warm up time & mileage from my total statistics. Having done my warm up in the parking lot instead of doing it along the road through the park I started my run at a different point today. I'm not sure if that threw me off or if my body is really rebelling against my recent unhealthy diet but I was really working to just keep running by the 3 minute mark. I kept going, but the whole run felt like a struggle today.
Today's Stats: I did 2.9 miles in 33 minutes which is 11:23 per mile.
Next Up: I'm hoping to get a good run in on New Years Day. I'm due for a speed day so I'll probably cut the time down to about 20 minutes and push to see how far I can run in that 20 minutes. I ordered my Garmin Forerunner 305 watch Tuesday. I'm hoping it will come in before my first run of 2011, but it's more likely to arrive sometime next week.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Running: 12/28/10
I went to the TTU running track today while away from home for Christmas. It was 14 degrees out but I made myself get out anyway. I needed to work off all the junk I had been eating and was about to eat. It was a hard run, possibly because of the junk in which I had been indulging.
I set out to do 33 minutes and accomplished that goal. Actually, my watch said 32:35 when I stopped running, but it appeared to be running very slowly, especially at first. I think sitting out in the cold car all night effected its performance.
In the 32:35 I did 11 laps in lane 7 of the track. 4 laps in lane 1 equals a mile, so 4 laps in lane 7 equals a little more than a mile, but I'm not sure how much more. I'm just going to go with the 4 laps = a mile equation to be conservative. 11 laps would be 2.75 miles. I was really pushing to keep running by the time I started the last lap but was able to find some reserve energy and really ran the last lap pretty hard.
Today's Stats: I did 2.75 miles in 32:35 for a per mile pace of 11:51.
Next up: Another 33 minute run.
I set out to do 33 minutes and accomplished that goal. Actually, my watch said 32:35 when I stopped running, but it appeared to be running very slowly, especially at first. I think sitting out in the cold car all night effected its performance.
In the 32:35 I did 11 laps in lane 7 of the track. 4 laps in lane 1 equals a mile, so 4 laps in lane 7 equals a little more than a mile, but I'm not sure how much more. I'm just going to go with the 4 laps = a mile equation to be conservative. 11 laps would be 2.75 miles. I was really pushing to keep running by the time I started the last lap but was able to find some reserve energy and really ran the last lap pretty hard.
Today's Stats: I did 2.75 miles in 32:35 for a per mile pace of 11:51.
Next up: Another 33 minute run.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Running: 12/26/2010
I couldn't stand it anymore so I decided to run on the treadmill today. It was snowy out this morning and we decided to postpone our post-Christmas Christmas celebration by a day. I decided to do 33 minutes today and had no problem with it. I breathed pretty easily all the way through. The treadmill said I was running at about 4.6 mph and did about 2.75 miles in the 38 minutes. That's 5 minutes walking and 33 minutes running. I was a little surprised at the short distance again so I did a little experiment to test the accuracy of our treadmill. I made a mark on the base and a mark on the tread with White Out and counted the number of times it went around in a minute and then counted the number of times it went around over what it measured as a quarter of a mile. Turns out the ol' treadmill is accurate within about 3%, so over the course of 3 miles, it might be off by as much as a tenth of a mile. That's really not too bad, and not nearly as inaccurate as I thought it might be. The only other factor that might be playing into it is the weight of a person running. I did the measurements without a load, and it's possible that could change things. It did make some sense, though. I was breathing easily for most of the run and my pulse was pretty low, too. I intentionally kept the effort on the low side today to make sure I made it the full 33 minutes. The last time I ran on the treadmill, I took it way too fast and was worn out before I got halfway through my planned run. Not a bad run, though.
Today's stats: I did 2.75 miles in 38 minutes.
Next Up: Another 33 minutes, this time hopefully outside and hopefully covering a little more distance.
Today's stats: I did 2.75 miles in 38 minutes.
Next Up: Another 33 minutes, this time hopefully outside and hopefully covering a little more distance.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Running: 12/23/2010
I've been having a little off and on very minor pain in my left IT band for the last few days. I'm not sure what's causing it. I've added swimming to my routine. Also I'm running in the cold, which is said to possibly irritate the IT band. I'm stretching it well before and after and it never bothers me during a run. I really only notice it when I've been sitting for awhile.
That said, I decided to shorten today's run slightly and I'll be taking tomorrow and possibly Saturday completely off all exercise. I don't want to have to take another month off to heal.
Since I was shortening my run somewhat, I decided to pick up the tempo a bit. That may have negated any healing that I hoped to allow my IT band to do, but I couldn't just let myself take it easy. That's just not my style.
I picked a spot in my head at which I would turn around. I ran the first five minutes at a slightly faster than normal pace (165ish strides per minute) and then accelerated to significantly faster (175ish spm) than what I'm used to for the next three minutes. I dropped the pace back down to the slightly faster than normal pace for most of the remainder of the run until I topped the final hill into the parking lot where I was barely able to push up to an all out run for the last 100 yards or so.
Today's Stats: I did 2.35 miles in 26:02 for a pace of 11:04/mile. That's over 10 seconds faster per mile than my best time. I was pleased with that, and hope to start varying my runs a little bit. Rather than just training to increase distance with each run, I'm thinking I'll try to work in a shorter/faster run in each week. Hopefully that will increase my pace over the longer distances as well. If nothing else, it's a good cardio workout.
Next Up: The weather is supposed to get pretty ugly here Friday night and into Saturday. I had hoped to be able to go for a run outside on Christmas day, but if the weatherman is right, I may be in for some treadmill time, as much as I hate it.
That said, I decided to shorten today's run slightly and I'll be taking tomorrow and possibly Saturday completely off all exercise. I don't want to have to take another month off to heal.
Since I was shortening my run somewhat, I decided to pick up the tempo a bit. That may have negated any healing that I hoped to allow my IT band to do, but I couldn't just let myself take it easy. That's just not my style.
I picked a spot in my head at which I would turn around. I ran the first five minutes at a slightly faster than normal pace (165ish strides per minute) and then accelerated to significantly faster (175ish spm) than what I'm used to for the next three minutes. I dropped the pace back down to the slightly faster than normal pace for most of the remainder of the run until I topped the final hill into the parking lot where I was barely able to push up to an all out run for the last 100 yards or so.
Today's Stats: I did 2.35 miles in 26:02 for a pace of 11:04/mile. That's over 10 seconds faster per mile than my best time. I was pleased with that, and hope to start varying my runs a little bit. Rather than just training to increase distance with each run, I'm thinking I'll try to work in a shorter/faster run in each week. Hopefully that will increase my pace over the longer distances as well. If nothing else, it's a good cardio workout.
Next Up: The weather is supposed to get pretty ugly here Friday night and into Saturday. I had hoped to be able to go for a run outside on Christmas day, but if the weatherman is right, I may be in for some treadmill time, as much as I hate it.
Swimming: Zero to 1650 12/22/2010
Last night's swim was better than expected and considerably better than Monday night. I've found that just like running, part of the process of increasing stamina is learning to pace myself. I've noticed a tendency to start out at a nice easy pace and slowly swim faster and faster as I get closer to the end of the pool. Last night I concentrated on maintaining the easy pace all the way to the end of the pool. I was able to do over 75% of my swim freestyle just by making a conscious effort to maintain a slower pace.
I'm not sure when I'm going to get back to the pool. It's closed for a three day weekend starting tomorrow (Christmas Eve). We'll be spending some time with family over the following week.
I'm thinking I'll continue the current routine for two or three more swims. I want to be able to do the whole 700 yard workout freestyle before moving on.
I'm not sure when I'm going to get back to the pool. It's closed for a three day weekend starting tomorrow (Christmas Eve). We'll be spending some time with family over the following week.
I'm thinking I'll continue the current routine for two or three more swims. I want to be able to do the whole 700 yard workout freestyle before moving on.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Couch to 5K: Week 9, Day 3
I graduated today. There was no cap and gown, no Pomp and Circumstance, no streamers or confetti or wild all night parties. It was just me, the ducks and herons, the squirrels, what was probably a skunk (smelled but not seen) and the rain. Yes, it rained on my final day of the C25K program. I don't recall having run in the rain previously. It wasn't bad at all. In fact, I sort of enjoyed it. If it had been much colder out, it may have gotten uncomfortable. Thankfully, it was just a light rain and I didn't end up soaked. My socks stayed dry, so no soggy squishy feeling with each step.
I've learned that I love the feeling I have right after a run. It's like I can taste the oxygen in the air and my head is completely clear. I'm looking forward to increasing my distance and hopefully my speed.
Other than the rain, there was nothing remarkable about today's run. I started running, I got tired, I pushed myself to keep going anyway, everything felt just right for a few minutes, I realized I was close to the 30 minute mark so I ran faster, then I was done. I didn't have to run around the parking lot as much today. Just a small circle at the end to run out the last few seconds was all I needed. I tried to maintain the same pace as Sunday but was obviously a little slower. I'm to the point where I need a good fitness watch to monitor at least my pace and distance. Estimating based on strides per minute is okay but I want to know exactly how fast and how far I'm running. That may have to be an after Christmas gift to myself.
Today's stats: 2.85 miles in 34 minutes. That's a pace of 11:56/mile.
Next Up: I'm going to continue to add time at the rate of 10% per week. So, my next three runs will be 33 minutes each. The following week will be 36 and the following week will be 40. I may stop at 40 and start working more on speed at that point. I'm still searching for a 5K around the first of the year. There are several in the area in January and February, but I haven't picked one yet.
I've learned that I love the feeling I have right after a run. It's like I can taste the oxygen in the air and my head is completely clear. I'm looking forward to increasing my distance and hopefully my speed.
Other than the rain, there was nothing remarkable about today's run. I started running, I got tired, I pushed myself to keep going anyway, everything felt just right for a few minutes, I realized I was close to the 30 minute mark so I ran faster, then I was done. I didn't have to run around the parking lot as much today. Just a small circle at the end to run out the last few seconds was all I needed. I tried to maintain the same pace as Sunday but was obviously a little slower. I'm to the point where I need a good fitness watch to monitor at least my pace and distance. Estimating based on strides per minute is okay but I want to know exactly how fast and how far I'm running. That may have to be an after Christmas gift to myself.
Today's stats: 2.85 miles in 34 minutes. That's a pace of 11:56/mile.
Next Up: I'm going to continue to add time at the rate of 10% per week. So, my next three runs will be 33 minutes each. The following week will be 36 and the following week will be 40. I may stop at 40 and start working more on speed at that point. I'm still searching for a 5K around the first of the year. There are several in the area in January and February, but I haven't picked one yet.
Swimming: Zero to 1650 12/20/2010
DecI got back to the pool last night. I have to say that swimming in a bubble covered pool is quite dull. My only company was the small group of older ladies doing their water aerobics workout. While I'm proud of them for doing something good for their bodies, they didn't add much to my 700 yard swim.
I almost feel like I'm not pushing myself hard enough in the pool, but the last time I pushed myself as hard as I felt like I should I ended up light headed and nauseous. For now I'm just going to concentrate on swimming 700 yards until I can do it without feeling utterly exhausted afterwards. Then I'll work on adding distance.
Last night's swim was the first in over a week, so I really didn't expect much. I alternated freestyle with backstroke. In running terms, freestyle is the run portion and backstroke is the walk portion. I'm splitting them about half and half right now, with complete stops to catch my breath in between sets. I'll be pretty excited when I can do 100 yards freestyle. Hopefully that's not too far off.
I almost feel like I'm not pushing myself hard enough in the pool, but the last time I pushed myself as hard as I felt like I should I ended up light headed and nauseous. For now I'm just going to concentrate on swimming 700 yards until I can do it without feeling utterly exhausted afterwards. Then I'll work on adding distance.
Last night's swim was the first in over a week, so I really didn't expect much. I alternated freestyle with backstroke. In running terms, freestyle is the run portion and backstroke is the walk portion. I'm splitting them about half and half right now, with complete stops to catch my breath in between sets. I'll be pretty excited when I can do 100 yards freestyle. Hopefully that's not too far off.
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