OK, so here I am, in the office getting some extra work done before the hell of quarter-end begins on Monday. As I wrap up what I wanted to get done today, I remember that I need to get directions to the race for tomorrow. So I go to the website and then it dawns on me: “Did I actually ever register for this race?” I mean, I’ve been thinking about running it for about a month and a half now, but I can’t remember specifically writing a check to mail in or login in to Active.com to register electronically. So I went to Active.com and sure enough, I hadn’t registered electronically. I don’t have my running folder with me that has my registrations in it, so I went to my bank account and searched for the check to no avail.
So, right now, there’s about a 90% chance I never signed up for this race tomorrow. Awesome. I guess after I registered for the Bay Café 5K, my mind assumed that I had registered for the Great Strides as well. At any rate, it never even occurred to me to double check that until about 20 minutes ago. So here I am. I have a few options:
A.) Drive up to Timonium, where runners have to pick up their race packets, and register today and see what happens. A quick side note to say that it’s always annoying to me that you have to pick up a “race packet” (which more times than not is just your shirt and race number) from a location that is nowhere near the actual race, nor near your house. For me, the drive to Timonium is about 20 minutes. Not terrible, but it’s an hour of my Saturday. And even then, about 60% of why I wanted to run was to get a shirt, something that is in serious doubt now.
B.) Screw it. Abandon all plans to do the race tomorrow and instead do my long run. Maybe even get up early and run outside (see past posts for my reasons for not liking running outside in Baltimore city). Save the $20 registration fee for a race in November or the Celtic Solstice in December, not to mention the time, energy and gas money involved just in picking up the “race packet”.
As you might imagine, option B is looking pretty attractive right now. Not only can I save myself the headache of driving to Timonium today and then Towson tomorrow morning, but I can save money that can be used for another race later in the season.
Still, I need to find a system to keep track of my race registrations because I have a lot of things going on in my head (most non-running related) and a lot of ideas for races I want to run. It’s inevitable that some of those would get mixed up.
So, as you can see, I have adjusted my countdown for the Baltimore Running Festival 5K, which I KNOW I have registered for and which will be infinitely more convenient to get to and enjoy. I will be able to walk to the starting line for that one. As it stands now, I think I will go home, go for a short run, and think of the many ways I can spend my new found $20. Sweet.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
T-minus 40 Hours or so
So my race widget is down to about one day, which is crazy. It totally snuck up on me as these past three weeks (since the illustrious Bay Café 5K) have flown by thanks to work being crazy. I almost forgot about the whole thing until earlier in the week. And even then I forgot it wasn’t in Baltimore but up in Towson. Which reminds me AGAIN, that I need to get directions printed out and set before I leave the office today. See, this is what I mean! Sneaking up on me.
So another busy week at work ends and a busy weekend begins. Thankfully, I don’t have any weddings or performances or golf outings or anything to go to until the race on Sunday morning. Tonight Annie is taking the train up to New York for an audition tomorrow so I have to drop her at the station around 7:15 for her 7:55 train. So my basic plan is to go home, eat dinner early and then take her to the train station, come back and get my run in because I’d like to rest tomorrow so I can be as rested as possible for Sunday. My decision now is whether to run the usual 4 miles or to do a long run of 7 miles to get it in for the week without having to spend my strength tomorrow. I am leaning towards the long run simply because I missed last week’s thanks to my sunburns (which are peeling and make me look like a leper).
I took yesterday off, again because Annie and I had errands to do last night. Instead of exercising, we went to Bob Evans. So regardless of how far or fast I run, I have to run tonight.
Sunday will be a good trial run for the Baltimore Running Festival 5K in two weeks’ time. At my first race, I ran just to finish. At the Bay Café 5K I felt like I didn’t run as fast as I could have the entire race. So Sunday I want to push it a little to see how much my body will take because I want to put up a good time in October.
That’s about all I got for now. WVU plays South Florida tonight as well, which is another factor in determining what kind of run I’m going to have tonight. The gym is usually pretty empty on Fridays so maybe I can get a TV changed to ESPN so I can watch the game as I run. If they beat USF, the only real opponent left between WVU and a Big East Championship AND an actual BCS Bowl bid is Rutgers!
Go Mountaineers!
So another busy week at work ends and a busy weekend begins. Thankfully, I don’t have any weddings or performances or golf outings or anything to go to until the race on Sunday morning. Tonight Annie is taking the train up to New York for an audition tomorrow so I have to drop her at the station around 7:15 for her 7:55 train. So my basic plan is to go home, eat dinner early and then take her to the train station, come back and get my run in because I’d like to rest tomorrow so I can be as rested as possible for Sunday. My decision now is whether to run the usual 4 miles or to do a long run of 7 miles to get it in for the week without having to spend my strength tomorrow. I am leaning towards the long run simply because I missed last week’s thanks to my sunburns (which are peeling and make me look like a leper).
I took yesterday off, again because Annie and I had errands to do last night. Instead of exercising, we went to Bob Evans. So regardless of how far or fast I run, I have to run tonight.
Sunday will be a good trial run for the Baltimore Running Festival 5K in two weeks’ time. At my first race, I ran just to finish. At the Bay Café 5K I felt like I didn’t run as fast as I could have the entire race. So Sunday I want to push it a little to see how much my body will take because I want to put up a good time in October.
That’s about all I got for now. WVU plays South Florida tonight as well, which is another factor in determining what kind of run I’m going to have tonight. The gym is usually pretty empty on Fridays so maybe I can get a TV changed to ESPN so I can watch the game as I run. If they beat USF, the only real opponent left between WVU and a Big East Championship AND an actual BCS Bowl bid is Rutgers!
Go Mountaineers!
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Belated Wednesday post
**Editor’s Note: This post was originally written on Wednesday, September 25, 2007**
My recovery has come along nicely the past couple of days. My last post was Sunday, which was a pretty uncomfortable day. My burns got worse throughout the day, despite my attempts at keeping my skin cool. However, I dosed up on Aleve, which helped keep the pain at bay. Sunday night I slept poorly for the same reasons. I was waking up just about every hour to gingerly move into a position where my burns weren’t rubbing against the sheets…I difficult task to do over and over again.
Monday I woke up and felt slightly better. However, wearing a suit and tie most of the day sucked! On top of that, my pulled muscles and tweaked hamstring were not healing as quickly as I would have liked. It was the hamstring that most concerned me since I need it to be at least 90% to run without risking making it worse or doing long term damage (in my humble opinion). Luckily, I didn’t have to be at my school’s Alumni Council meeting until later in the afternoon, so I had much of the day to continue my recovery. I stretched my hamstiung a few times throughout the day to loosen it up and help it heal.
Anyway, by Monday night I was feeling a lot better, and while my burns were still hot, they didn’t hurt nearly as much and actually started to fade so I didn’t look like a lobster anymore! Tuesday night I still didn’t sleep well but not really because of the burns, just a bad night’s sleep. But the burns felt much better and my hamstring, while still a little tight, was less sore than before. As the day went on, it felt great so I was ready to get back to the gym by yesterday evening.
I started out just wanting to get 3 miles in since I hadn’t run all weekend, but I felt OK after 3 and went ahead and finished the prescribed 4 miles. By the end, though, I was at 6.5 mph and was pretty winded, which is just a natural result of not running at all for about 4 days in a row. That’s reversible, though.
Tonight, I’m getting my hair cut at 6, but then maybe I’ll get my run in when I get back around 7 or so. I’d like to do that because tomorrow night I have to take Annie to Bel Air, which means no time for running. Ideally I’d like to run tonight, Friday and maybe even Saturday before the race on Sunday morning.
My recovery has come along nicely the past couple of days. My last post was Sunday, which was a pretty uncomfortable day. My burns got worse throughout the day, despite my attempts at keeping my skin cool. However, I dosed up on Aleve, which helped keep the pain at bay. Sunday night I slept poorly for the same reasons. I was waking up just about every hour to gingerly move into a position where my burns weren’t rubbing against the sheets…I difficult task to do over and over again.
Monday I woke up and felt slightly better. However, wearing a suit and tie most of the day sucked! On top of that, my pulled muscles and tweaked hamstring were not healing as quickly as I would have liked. It was the hamstring that most concerned me since I need it to be at least 90% to run without risking making it worse or doing long term damage (in my humble opinion). Luckily, I didn’t have to be at my school’s Alumni Council meeting until later in the afternoon, so I had much of the day to continue my recovery. I stretched my hamstiung a few times throughout the day to loosen it up and help it heal.
Anyway, by Monday night I was feeling a lot better, and while my burns were still hot, they didn’t hurt nearly as much and actually started to fade so I didn’t look like a lobster anymore! Tuesday night I still didn’t sleep well but not really because of the burns, just a bad night’s sleep. But the burns felt much better and my hamstring, while still a little tight, was less sore than before. As the day went on, it felt great so I was ready to get back to the gym by yesterday evening.
I started out just wanting to get 3 miles in since I hadn’t run all weekend, but I felt OK after 3 and went ahead and finished the prescribed 4 miles. By the end, though, I was at 6.5 mph and was pretty winded, which is just a natural result of not running at all for about 4 days in a row. That’s reversible, though.
Tonight, I’m getting my hair cut at 6, but then maybe I’ll get my run in when I get back around 7 or so. I’d like to do that because tomorrow night I have to take Annie to Bel Air, which means no time for running. Ideally I’d like to run tonight, Friday and maybe even Saturday before the race on Sunday morning.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
I Stood in Front of a Nuclear Reactor
Despite my best efforts, not only was I unable to find enough time and motivation to post more regularly, but it’s been an entire week since I last updated!
This week was busier than I anticipated, particularly where running was concerned. I took Tuesday and Wednesday off for various reasons that couldn’t be helped. I got 4 good miles in on Thursday night but haven’t run since then. Friday night I fully intended to run after work but I came home to take a 15 minute power nap beforehand and ended up sleeping over an hour.
Then yesterday I played in my company’s golf outing, which took all day. Not only that, but I got pretty badly sunburnt because I forgot to put sunscreen on. I know, you ask how I could forget. I ask myself that question but it doesn’t change the fact that I was irradiated yesterday. In addition to the burns on my arms and neck, I managed to pull several muscles in my torso and shoulders that I haven’t used in a long time, as well as tweak my left hamstring somehow. And since each of us in my foursome had about 5 beers throughout the round, I was severely dehydrated when I got home. I was in bad shape yesterday afternoon. So, I came home, showered (painful!), drank a big cup of water and lay down on the couch to watch some college football. I fell asleep and woke up around 7 feeling only marginally better. Annie and I went out for Thai last night, where I drank another 5-6 glasses of water and got some real food in my stomach, which made me feel much better. She had gotten up at 5 AM yesterday to get a shift at Starbucks, so we were both in bed and asleep by 11. Quite a rowdy Saturday night.
Today I have been nursing my injuries. My burns are fairly uncomfortable, but this is not the worst burn I’ve had. It’s more embarrassing than painful and I’d be happy to stay in my apartment and convalesce for the next two days if I could. I popped two extra strength Aleve and have been trying to keep my arms cool with washcloths since they are the most painful. My neck is just sore and should heal first, I think. The muscles and hamstring will just have to heal on their own schedule. The muscles aren't critical to running, of course, but the hamstring has to be 100% before I run, else I risk it always being a risk when I run or race.
Anyway, I need to get another 4 miles in, but I don’t feel like doing it in my current shape. I don’t want to get overheated and have my burnt skin melt off or something and I don't want my tweaked hamstring to become a full out pull. I may just wait until I start to feel a little better before doing anything. I’m actually taking tomorrow off from work to attend my prep school’s alumni council meeting, but that’s not until the afternoon. Thankfully, I don’t have sun poisoning or anything quite so severe as to make me physically sick; I just would prefer to give myself the maximum amount of time to recover. At this point, I am going to wait until tomorrow to see if I feel well enough to make the trip, etc. I’m confident that by Tuesday things will be much better and I’ll be able to get back to running without worrying about catching fire or coming up lame. I’ve got the Great Strides Against Prostate Cancer 5K next Sunday, so I’d like to get a good week of running in before that to prepare. That probably means running Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and taking Saturday off to rest. I promise to update as my recovery continues!
This week was busier than I anticipated, particularly where running was concerned. I took Tuesday and Wednesday off for various reasons that couldn’t be helped. I got 4 good miles in on Thursday night but haven’t run since then. Friday night I fully intended to run after work but I came home to take a 15 minute power nap beforehand and ended up sleeping over an hour.
Then yesterday I played in my company’s golf outing, which took all day. Not only that, but I got pretty badly sunburnt because I forgot to put sunscreen on. I know, you ask how I could forget. I ask myself that question but it doesn’t change the fact that I was irradiated yesterday. In addition to the burns on my arms and neck, I managed to pull several muscles in my torso and shoulders that I haven’t used in a long time, as well as tweak my left hamstring somehow. And since each of us in my foursome had about 5 beers throughout the round, I was severely dehydrated when I got home. I was in bad shape yesterday afternoon. So, I came home, showered (painful!), drank a big cup of water and lay down on the couch to watch some college football. I fell asleep and woke up around 7 feeling only marginally better. Annie and I went out for Thai last night, where I drank another 5-6 glasses of water and got some real food in my stomach, which made me feel much better. She had gotten up at 5 AM yesterday to get a shift at Starbucks, so we were both in bed and asleep by 11. Quite a rowdy Saturday night.
Today I have been nursing my injuries. My burns are fairly uncomfortable, but this is not the worst burn I’ve had. It’s more embarrassing than painful and I’d be happy to stay in my apartment and convalesce for the next two days if I could. I popped two extra strength Aleve and have been trying to keep my arms cool with washcloths since they are the most painful. My neck is just sore and should heal first, I think. The muscles and hamstring will just have to heal on their own schedule. The muscles aren't critical to running, of course, but the hamstring has to be 100% before I run, else I risk it always being a risk when I run or race.
Anyway, I need to get another 4 miles in, but I don’t feel like doing it in my current shape. I don’t want to get overheated and have my burnt skin melt off or something and I don't want my tweaked hamstring to become a full out pull. I may just wait until I start to feel a little better before doing anything. I’m actually taking tomorrow off from work to attend my prep school’s alumni council meeting, but that’s not until the afternoon. Thankfully, I don’t have sun poisoning or anything quite so severe as to make me physically sick; I just would prefer to give myself the maximum amount of time to recover. At this point, I am going to wait until tomorrow to see if I feel well enough to make the trip, etc. I’m confident that by Tuesday things will be much better and I’ll be able to get back to running without worrying about catching fire or coming up lame. I’ve got the Great Strides Against Prostate Cancer 5K next Sunday, so I’d like to get a good week of running in before that to prepare. That probably means running Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and taking Saturday off to rest. I promise to update as my recovery continues!
Sunday, September 16, 2007
New Week, Hopefully Less Chaos
What a week! Each time I had the time/energy/willpower to sit down and update my blog, something else came along to distract me and it just didn’t get done until today. A quick recap:
Wednesday afternoon I found out that the proposal that I thought was due in electronic form on Friday afternoon was in fact due in hard copy form by 3:00 on Friday. This basically moved up the timeline by 24 hours because we had to FedEx everything to both the client and their consultant. Doh! So Wednesday was spent getting the document done and off to the final editing process, which took me until almost 8 PM. That pretty much shot any chance of running that night because by the time I got home and got some dinner, etc, it was 9:00. Thursday was spent getting the proposal ready to go, which didn’t happen until after 5 PM. I had to take Annie to Bel Air that night, so my co-worker had to make the final edits and then drop the packages off at FedEx when everything was finally done at 7:30. Because Annie and I didn’t get back until after 8, running again was pushed off. Also, it was the WVU-Maryland game Thursday night so I had to watch my Mountaineers handle the Terps. It’s too bad that they don’t play again until 2010 because it’s always great to see Maryland lose at the hands of WVU.
So, Friday was really the first day I had that was conducive to running. I left work about 6 PM and got my 3.85 miles in just fine. My legs felt sluggish from the several days off. I ran the first mile at 6.0 mph (10:00 min/mile) and then ran the next 2.10 miles at 6.2 mph (9:40 min/mile) before ramping it up to 6.5 mph by the end. I want to start pushing the speed a little each week to try to get some more speed out of my body before the winter hits. I also want to get my 5K time down to something respectable for my age group (something under 25 minutes would be ideal but that’s several months off, I think).
This weekend we had to go to a wedding for one of her friend’s from graduate school, and Friday night was the rehearsal dinner. Since she had a rehearsal herself from 6-9 PM, I was able to run and shower, etc without being hurried. Saturday was the wedding, but it wasn’t until the afternoon and we weren’t going to the ceremony anyway because Annie had her performance at the same time. Anyway, some of her friends were in town and she met them for lunch before getting ready for the performance. That meant I had the afternoon to myself, which I used to get my long run. I did my prescribed 6.6 miles at a leisurely pace of about 10:30 min/mile. I listened to the latest episode of “This American Life,” which helped the time pass. No real problems since I kept the speed down. Because of the time off, though, my legs were very tired by the time we went to the reception that night. I should have run earlier in the morning so I had more time in the afternoon to rest my legs because I only was able to sit down for about 90 minutes after my run before having to get a shower and then do the 15 minute walk to the performance. Then I walked back, changed into my suit and we went to the reception, which involved sitting for dinner but then dancing, etc. Needless to say, by the time we left last night, my legs were ready to rest for about a day!
Today is a prescribed rest day since it’s after my long run, so I spent my morning watching “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” one of my favourite Westerns. After getting some work done at the office, I’ve been watching the Ravens dismantle the Jets defense.
Hopefully this week will be much less chaotic and I will be able to refocus on my running and spend less time at the office. Perhaps that will allow me to do more than just update my training schedule here and actually write about some running topics. That will be a goal of mine for tomorrow. I have a few ideas bouncing around in my head.
Wednesday afternoon I found out that the proposal that I thought was due in electronic form on Friday afternoon was in fact due in hard copy form by 3:00 on Friday. This basically moved up the timeline by 24 hours because we had to FedEx everything to both the client and their consultant. Doh! So Wednesday was spent getting the document done and off to the final editing process, which took me until almost 8 PM. That pretty much shot any chance of running that night because by the time I got home and got some dinner, etc, it was 9:00. Thursday was spent getting the proposal ready to go, which didn’t happen until after 5 PM. I had to take Annie to Bel Air that night, so my co-worker had to make the final edits and then drop the packages off at FedEx when everything was finally done at 7:30. Because Annie and I didn’t get back until after 8, running again was pushed off. Also, it was the WVU-Maryland game Thursday night so I had to watch my Mountaineers handle the Terps. It’s too bad that they don’t play again until 2010 because it’s always great to see Maryland lose at the hands of WVU.
So, Friday was really the first day I had that was conducive to running. I left work about 6 PM and got my 3.85 miles in just fine. My legs felt sluggish from the several days off. I ran the first mile at 6.0 mph (10:00 min/mile) and then ran the next 2.10 miles at 6.2 mph (9:40 min/mile) before ramping it up to 6.5 mph by the end. I want to start pushing the speed a little each week to try to get some more speed out of my body before the winter hits. I also want to get my 5K time down to something respectable for my age group (something under 25 minutes would be ideal but that’s several months off, I think).
This weekend we had to go to a wedding for one of her friend’s from graduate school, and Friday night was the rehearsal dinner. Since she had a rehearsal herself from 6-9 PM, I was able to run and shower, etc without being hurried. Saturday was the wedding, but it wasn’t until the afternoon and we weren’t going to the ceremony anyway because Annie had her performance at the same time. Anyway, some of her friends were in town and she met them for lunch before getting ready for the performance. That meant I had the afternoon to myself, which I used to get my long run. I did my prescribed 6.6 miles at a leisurely pace of about 10:30 min/mile. I listened to the latest episode of “This American Life,” which helped the time pass. No real problems since I kept the speed down. Because of the time off, though, my legs were very tired by the time we went to the reception that night. I should have run earlier in the morning so I had more time in the afternoon to rest my legs because I only was able to sit down for about 90 minutes after my run before having to get a shower and then do the 15 minute walk to the performance. Then I walked back, changed into my suit and we went to the reception, which involved sitting for dinner but then dancing, etc. Needless to say, by the time we left last night, my legs were ready to rest for about a day!
Today is a prescribed rest day since it’s after my long run, so I spent my morning watching “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” one of my favourite Westerns. After getting some work done at the office, I’ve been watching the Ravens dismantle the Jets defense.
Hopefully this week will be much less chaotic and I will be able to refocus on my running and spend less time at the office. Perhaps that will allow me to do more than just update my training schedule here and actually write about some running topics. That will be a goal of mine for tomorrow. I have a few ideas bouncing around in my head.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Marginal Improvement
OK, so it’s been almost three days since my last post, which is about a day longer than I would have liked. I was aiming to post sometime yesterday morning, but that plan fell by the wayside once I got to work. I was at the office until about 7 last night getting caught up on stuff, and that left little time to update the blog. But today is a little better. I think this afternoon I might actually have some time to relax and not feel like I have 1 million things that must be done by 5 PM.
Monday was a typically crazy day at work and I was really looking forward to getting some QT in on the treadmill. I got home about 6 PM, changed and was out the door and to the gym by roughly 6:15. I was all set to get running when I got to the gym only to discover that every treadmill was occupied. Mondays are always bad at the gym because all the fat people feel bad for sitting on their butts all weekend/their lives and decide to go to the gym on Monday at 6 PM. So they go and walk at 1.3 mph on the treadmill for an hour and then go back home and eat a half-gallon of ice cream. Awesome. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper. (As a side note, I know that that’s just how it is at a gym, etc etc, but this is my blog so I can complain as I see fit) So I got on the stationary bike to go for a nice ride when my iPod decided to freeze and then not reset like it’s supposed to. At that point, I was fit to be tied so I just went home and spent several hours trying to figure out what was wrong with my iPod. Eventually I just let the battery run down and then recharged it at work yesterday. Worked like a charm. This is just one reason why the Mac will never compare with PC’s. I know Macs are great, but when you can’t keep an iPod from freezing, how are you going to keep servers up and running?
Anyway, this has once again opened up the debate over running in the morning or the afternoon and running indoors versus outdoors. Schedule-wise, I like running in the evening because otherwise I have to get up ass early so I can show and be at work by 8-8:15. However, in the morning, no one’s awake and the gym is emptier and my run can be accomplished with minimal interference.
Running indoors is great because it’s a controlled environment that is always available regardless of weather. The downside is that there is a limited quantity of treadmills and treadmill running is still markedly different from running on asphalt or dirt, etc. Running outdoors simulates race conditions and offers lots of variety in running routes. The downsides are unpredictable weather, crowded sidewalks (if running in a city), dodging cars, and not being able to get into a real groove due to pedestrians and cars/intersections. In Baltimore I would add the relative safety of running indoors, although it’s not as if runners are being mugged at will.
So, I am back where I was back in July: To run in the morning or afternoon? Indoors or outside? I won’t go running outside in the afternoon because of the traffic, pedestrians, etc. It’s a waste of time because you’re starting and stopping and dodging and it’s just not running. So that leaves me with running outside in the mornings. We’ll see if I find the motivation to get up and do it, though. Not likely this week since I’ve been pulling long hours at the office each day. Next week promises to be much better so maybe then.
Monday was a typically crazy day at work and I was really looking forward to getting some QT in on the treadmill. I got home about 6 PM, changed and was out the door and to the gym by roughly 6:15. I was all set to get running when I got to the gym only to discover that every treadmill was occupied. Mondays are always bad at the gym because all the fat people feel bad for sitting on their butts all weekend/their lives and decide to go to the gym on Monday at 6 PM. So they go and walk at 1.3 mph on the treadmill for an hour and then go back home and eat a half-gallon of ice cream. Awesome. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper. (As a side note, I know that that’s just how it is at a gym, etc etc, but this is my blog so I can complain as I see fit) So I got on the stationary bike to go for a nice ride when my iPod decided to freeze and then not reset like it’s supposed to. At that point, I was fit to be tied so I just went home and spent several hours trying to figure out what was wrong with my iPod. Eventually I just let the battery run down and then recharged it at work yesterday. Worked like a charm. This is just one reason why the Mac will never compare with PC’s. I know Macs are great, but when you can’t keep an iPod from freezing, how are you going to keep servers up and running?
Anyway, this has once again opened up the debate over running in the morning or the afternoon and running indoors versus outdoors. Schedule-wise, I like running in the evening because otherwise I have to get up ass early so I can show and be at work by 8-8:15. However, in the morning, no one’s awake and the gym is emptier and my run can be accomplished with minimal interference.
Running indoors is great because it’s a controlled environment that is always available regardless of weather. The downside is that there is a limited quantity of treadmills and treadmill running is still markedly different from running on asphalt or dirt, etc. Running outdoors simulates race conditions and offers lots of variety in running routes. The downsides are unpredictable weather, crowded sidewalks (if running in a city), dodging cars, and not being able to get into a real groove due to pedestrians and cars/intersections. In Baltimore I would add the relative safety of running indoors, although it’s not as if runners are being mugged at will.
So, I am back where I was back in July: To run in the morning or afternoon? Indoors or outside? I won’t go running outside in the afternoon because of the traffic, pedestrians, etc. It’s a waste of time because you’re starting and stopping and dodging and it’s just not running. So that leaves me with running outside in the mornings. We’ll see if I find the motivation to get up and do it, though. Not likely this week since I’ve been pulling long hours at the office each day. Next week promises to be much better so maybe then.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
My Half-Half Marathon
Not too much to report from this weekend. Today is my second off day of the week (or first off day of the new week, depending on how you count your weeks) and I have spent much of the day sitting on the couch watching football and catching up on some reading. I have maybe 4 books I’m reading right now and I’ve been very neglectful of them the past few months. I’m going to try to be better about sitting down and getting through them before Christmas, since the holidays always bring me 5-6 new books for the winter hibernation period. This is in addition to the daily reading I have to do for work.
Anyway, Friday I did not run because I’d run everyday that week save for Tuesday. I was tired and needed to refresh my legs before Saturday’s long run.
Saturday I got up and dropped Annie off at the bus station for her trip to New York for the day. I came back and eventually willed myself to get my long run in before the WVU game at 11. I did 6.6 miles at an easy pace and felt good the entire time. I took hydration breaks at 2, 4 and 6 miles. So, I ended up running half the distance of a half marathon (the illustrious “half-half”) in about 1:12:00. I’m happy with that, as I’m mostly concerned with distance at this point and have yet to even start any sort of speed workouts into my week. That will come at some point in the coming months, I imagine. For now, I’m happy using my easy runs to ramp up my speed ever so slightly and will continue with that for a while.
I’m really happy that I’ve been able to get to the point where I can run almost 7 miles at an easy pace. It’s only been three months since I started really running seriously, so I think that progress is pretty positive. If I can stay focused going into this racing season, I should be in good shape. I’d like to end the season with a 10K (there’s one in Washington in November I may sign up for).
So, this week coming up is going to be busy at work but I should be able to stay on task and get my normal 4 days of 3.85 miles and long run in. Annie has a performance on Saturday afternoon, followed by a wedding in the evening, so I’m going to have to get my long run done in the morning, more than likely. I may keep it at 6.6 miles again, and then ramp up to 4 mile easy runs and 7 mile long runs next week. We’ll see.
Anyway, Friday I did not run because I’d run everyday that week save for Tuesday. I was tired and needed to refresh my legs before Saturday’s long run.
Saturday I got up and dropped Annie off at the bus station for her trip to New York for the day. I came back and eventually willed myself to get my long run in before the WVU game at 11. I did 6.6 miles at an easy pace and felt good the entire time. I took hydration breaks at 2, 4 and 6 miles. So, I ended up running half the distance of a half marathon (the illustrious “half-half”) in about 1:12:00. I’m happy with that, as I’m mostly concerned with distance at this point and have yet to even start any sort of speed workouts into my week. That will come at some point in the coming months, I imagine. For now, I’m happy using my easy runs to ramp up my speed ever so slightly and will continue with that for a while.
I’m really happy that I’ve been able to get to the point where I can run almost 7 miles at an easy pace. It’s only been three months since I started really running seriously, so I think that progress is pretty positive. If I can stay focused going into this racing season, I should be in good shape. I’d like to end the season with a 10K (there’s one in Washington in November I may sign up for).
So, this week coming up is going to be busy at work but I should be able to stay on task and get my normal 4 days of 3.85 miles and long run in. Annie has a performance on Saturday afternoon, followed by a wedding in the evening, so I’m going to have to get my long run done in the morning, more than likely. I may keep it at 6.6 miles again, and then ramp up to 4 mile easy runs and 7 mile long runs next week. We’ll see.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)