With the holidays upon us, I imagine that most blogegrs have had trouble keeping as current on their posting as I have. To be sure, this weekend was the last respite before the chaos of the holiday season hits full force. Yesterday Annie and I went to Woodbridge to visit my family for some pre-Christmas cheer. Today I am at work and then will drive out to my parents' house for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with them and my grandparents before coming back to Baltimore tomorrow night, getting on a plane on Wednesday morning and flying to Cincinnati to visit Annie's family and then spend a week getting some wedding tasks accomplished before finally returning on New Years' Day to have a few hours to rest before going back to work on January 2. Whew!
In between all this, I am determined to find time to keep up with my half marathon training schedule. I'm taking today and tomorrow off since I will be in transit. Wednesday I will run 4 miles in the monring before my flight. Then I can get some running in while in Ohio without too much trouble, hopefully. My real challenge will be mapping an 8 mile long run for this coming Sunday morning.
Anyway, I had a good week of running and got all my miles in with minimal trouble. I totaled 21 this week without too many aches or pains. IN the interest of time (I gotta get out of the office and home to see Annie off to her Christmas Eve church singing gig and then pack!), I will only post about my long run yesterday morning.
I did 7 miles, which took me from the Inner Harbor, out to Ft. McHenry and then back through Federal Hill. It was a good run and I tried to keep my pace above 9 minutes per mile the entire way. While I was tired after finishing, I wasn't exhausted or anything, which is good. I would post my splits, etc, but I haven't had a chance to upload them yet. But, I took it slow and felt good with my run overall. Two days rest will be plenty to recover. Check out the map of my run below, however.
And with that, I'm off to the hills of West Virginia. I'll post when I can while in Ohio (I'm taking my laptop to work on some things while away, but who knows what sort of Internet connection I'll have).
Happy Holidays to all and to all a good run!
Monday, December 24, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Administrative Holiday (i.e. No Running Today)
I was all hyped about getting back out on the road this morning when I went to bed last night. I had everything laid out and ready for when I dragged myself out of bed at 5:30. I got to bed about 10:30, to give myself a good 7 hours of sleep for once. Everything was in place for my 6 miler this morning out to Ft. McHenry and back. I even woke up without about 15 minutes before the alarm, a sign that my body is slowly adjusting.
That’s when I hit a roadblock. Not a get out of bed roadblock or a it’s too cold roadblock. No, this was an actual logistical obstacle to my running that didn’t occur to me until 5:30 this morning, amazingly enough. Let me explain.
So the route would take me out to the fort and back. Ft. McHenry is a national historical monument, which means it’s administered by the National Park Service. That means the park has hours when it’s open and closed. I didn’t even think about this until this morning when I remembere dseeing a sign at the gates last Sunday that said the park is open only from dawn until dusk. No big deal when you’re running at 9 AM, but at 5:30, it’s still dark outside and dawn isn’t until about 7:15! So, a large portion of my run was closed off!
In theory, I could have just gone out to the gates and come back and made up the difference somewhere along the way, but my mind doesn’t like working that way, especially in Baltimore at 6 AM while running. I like to have my route planned out so I can focus on running and training. So, I was mildly displeased at this discovery and decided to spend some time today mapping out some new courses ranging from 6 miles to 10 miles, taking into account when I will be running them so to avoid future mishaps like this. As a result, I will move my 6-miler from today to tomorrow and my 4 miler from tomorrow to Friday, with Saturday being an off day.
Yesterday I didn’t run in the morning because it was below 20 out when I got up. So I went to the gym and ran on the treadmill for the 4 miles. I forgot how inferior a treadmill is to the road. I can’t stride properly because I’m not used to the motion of the treadmill and the whole run I was out of sync and in pain. Sucked. But I got the miles in and got out of there as quickly as possible. Luckily no aftershocks from the ordeal today. From now on, I will push myself to run outside to avoid the hot, sweaty, annoying gym.
That’s when I hit a roadblock. Not a get out of bed roadblock or a it’s too cold roadblock. No, this was an actual logistical obstacle to my running that didn’t occur to me until 5:30 this morning, amazingly enough. Let me explain.
So the route would take me out to the fort and back. Ft. McHenry is a national historical monument, which means it’s administered by the National Park Service. That means the park has hours when it’s open and closed. I didn’t even think about this until this morning when I remembere dseeing a sign at the gates last Sunday that said the park is open only from dawn until dusk. No big deal when you’re running at 9 AM, but at 5:30, it’s still dark outside and dawn isn’t until about 7:15! So, a large portion of my run was closed off!
In theory, I could have just gone out to the gates and come back and made up the difference somewhere along the way, but my mind doesn’t like working that way, especially in Baltimore at 6 AM while running. I like to have my route planned out so I can focus on running and training. So, I was mildly displeased at this discovery and decided to spend some time today mapping out some new courses ranging from 6 miles to 10 miles, taking into account when I will be running them so to avoid future mishaps like this. As a result, I will move my 6-miler from today to tomorrow and my 4 miler from tomorrow to Friday, with Saturday being an off day.
Yesterday I didn’t run in the morning because it was below 20 out when I got up. So I went to the gym and ran on the treadmill for the 4 miles. I forgot how inferior a treadmill is to the road. I can’t stride properly because I’m not used to the motion of the treadmill and the whole run I was out of sync and in pain. Sucked. But I got the miles in and got out of there as quickly as possible. Luckily no aftershocks from the ordeal today. From now on, I will push myself to run outside to avoid the hot, sweaty, annoying gym.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Celtic Solstice 5 Miler Race Report
Saturday marked the end of my 2007 inaugural racing season with the Celtic Solstice 5 Miler here in Baltimore. It was held up in Druid Hill Park, near the Maryland Zoo, and some of it was run on the same course as the Zoo Zoom that I ran back in mid-November. I had several goals coming into this race:
Run a PR and avenge my so-so showing at the Zoo Zoom.
Gain a better handle on my pacing in a race environment. One of my biggest challenges this Fall has been running too easy for too long in a race and not going as hard as I can.
Stay in the zone and remain constant and present in my racing.
Saturday morning I woke up a little early because I was anxious about the race. It gave me a little more time to get dressed and wake up, though, so that was good. The Weather Channel, which is my new best friend now that I am running outside all the time, said it was 29 degrees outside, so I put on my compression shorts, running tights, and long sleeved shirt. I packed my blue fleece, hat and gloves but put on my track pants and North Face jacket for warmth before the race. Sure enough, when I got to the race, it was pretty cold, but the sun was out a little, and that helped things.
There were tons of people there! The final count was something like 1900 runners, which was much larger than I anticipated. As a result, I got a half decent parking spot. The race was organized beautifully and they had shuttles from the parking areas to the starting line, which was fantastic. I got to the tent and picked up my bib and chip without any trouble and took my time getting my warm-ups off and fleece on, etc. I checked my bag and tried to eat the PowerBar I brought with me. Unfortunately, it was so cold out that the bar was like a slightly gelatinous rock, so I was only able to eat half of it.
As I walked through the crowds, I saw a variety of runners, from the very serious to the recreational. I saw one guy sitting on the curb meditating, which was interesting. He picked the worst place to center his mind because there were people running and yelling all around him. I saw another guy practicing Tai-Chi in the parking lot. There was a guy playing the bagpipes, but it was so cold that he couldn’t warm them up enough to really play much. Another guy was dressed in a kilt and had some swords that he clanged together to get people hyped up. They were at the starting line psyching people up.
I then ran a short warm up run up the first hill of the course, coming back down and then went out into a neighborhood briefly before coming back to the starting area. By that time it was 8:25. I was nice and warmed up. People began crowding up to the starting line but I laid back in the very back, focusing on my goals. This was my last race of the season and I wanted to make some real physical and mental progress before going into the hard training of January and February.
It took almost 5 minutes from the time the horn sounded to the time I crossed the line, and even then, my first mile was spent dodging other runners and passing people. I tucked in behind these two guys who were gradually increasing their speed. I knew they’d eventually leave me behind, but I drafted them so I could pass more people more quickly. After that though, it started to thin out and I was able to get into a groove. I still spent most of the race passing people, which is a bother and perhaps might lead me to start in the middle of the pack for the Shamrock 5K in March. However, it was gratifying not to be passed by anyone the entire way.
Mile 1 came in at 9:34, which was a product of passing people and getting caught behind some slow groups at the start. Mile 2 came in at 8:43, which is a good race pace for me at this point. In fact, my goal was to keep it around 9:00 per mile, but I never really got super exhausted while staying under 9 minutes, so I kept it as steady as possible in the 8:45 range. I was happy that I took my own water along for the run because there was only one water stop, about halfway through the race. It kept me hydrated throughout the run, which definitely helped me mentally, if not physically. I also got to skip the water station and keep my focus on running.
Mile 3 was undulating up and down through some of the same paths I had run at the Zoo Zoom, so they were somewhat familiar to me. Mile 3.5-4.75, roughly, was spent running around the big lake in the park. It seemed like that path just kept going and going and never turned back, but eventually we got back to the entry point and the rest of the race was downhill. I kept it under control during the downhill but then really picked it up once I reached the final straightaway. According to my Garmin, my pace dipped close to 5 minutes per mile at that point!
While I had maintained my focus on my time goal throughout the race, I never let myself get comfortable with my pace. I always monitored it and calculated my chances at making a PR at all times. Only when I reached the end of the lake loop did I look at my watch and know that I was going to beat my record. At that point I dropped it another gear and tried to pick up a few more seconds.
I crossed the finish line in 43:38, besting my 5 Mile PR by more than 2 minutes, which was intensely gratifying to me. The food after the race was pretty decent too: Kool-Aid, donuts, chips, cookies, fruit and other snacks. I didn’t stick around though and made my way home after changing back into my warmer clothes.
I really enjoyed this race and will definitely do it next year. It was really well organized, the course was challenging but fast, and even though I didn’t spend $45 for the race and the Brooks running jacket (I only spent $10 for the race), the jackets looked cool. The race director sent out numerous e-mails in the week leading up to the race to communicate parking arrangements, packet pick up times and other details about race day. It made for a smooth day for runners, and a great race overall. If you live in the DC-Baltimore area, I would encourage you to run this race, although you’ll have to register early because it fills up fast and I register for all my races months in advance!
Run a PR and avenge my so-so showing at the Zoo Zoom.
Gain a better handle on my pacing in a race environment. One of my biggest challenges this Fall has been running too easy for too long in a race and not going as hard as I can.
Stay in the zone and remain constant and present in my racing.
Saturday morning I woke up a little early because I was anxious about the race. It gave me a little more time to get dressed and wake up, though, so that was good. The Weather Channel, which is my new best friend now that I am running outside all the time, said it was 29 degrees outside, so I put on my compression shorts, running tights, and long sleeved shirt. I packed my blue fleece, hat and gloves but put on my track pants and North Face jacket for warmth before the race. Sure enough, when I got to the race, it was pretty cold, but the sun was out a little, and that helped things.
There were tons of people there! The final count was something like 1900 runners, which was much larger than I anticipated. As a result, I got a half decent parking spot. The race was organized beautifully and they had shuttles from the parking areas to the starting line, which was fantastic. I got to the tent and picked up my bib and chip without any trouble and took my time getting my warm-ups off and fleece on, etc. I checked my bag and tried to eat the PowerBar I brought with me. Unfortunately, it was so cold out that the bar was like a slightly gelatinous rock, so I was only able to eat half of it.
As I walked through the crowds, I saw a variety of runners, from the very serious to the recreational. I saw one guy sitting on the curb meditating, which was interesting. He picked the worst place to center his mind because there were people running and yelling all around him. I saw another guy practicing Tai-Chi in the parking lot. There was a guy playing the bagpipes, but it was so cold that he couldn’t warm them up enough to really play much. Another guy was dressed in a kilt and had some swords that he clanged together to get people hyped up. They were at the starting line psyching people up.
I then ran a short warm up run up the first hill of the course, coming back down and then went out into a neighborhood briefly before coming back to the starting area. By that time it was 8:25. I was nice and warmed up. People began crowding up to the starting line but I laid back in the very back, focusing on my goals. This was my last race of the season and I wanted to make some real physical and mental progress before going into the hard training of January and February.
It took almost 5 minutes from the time the horn sounded to the time I crossed the line, and even then, my first mile was spent dodging other runners and passing people. I tucked in behind these two guys who were gradually increasing their speed. I knew they’d eventually leave me behind, but I drafted them so I could pass more people more quickly. After that though, it started to thin out and I was able to get into a groove. I still spent most of the race passing people, which is a bother and perhaps might lead me to start in the middle of the pack for the Shamrock 5K in March. However, it was gratifying not to be passed by anyone the entire way.
Mile 1 came in at 9:34, which was a product of passing people and getting caught behind some slow groups at the start. Mile 2 came in at 8:43, which is a good race pace for me at this point. In fact, my goal was to keep it around 9:00 per mile, but I never really got super exhausted while staying under 9 minutes, so I kept it as steady as possible in the 8:45 range. I was happy that I took my own water along for the run because there was only one water stop, about halfway through the race. It kept me hydrated throughout the run, which definitely helped me mentally, if not physically. I also got to skip the water station and keep my focus on running.
Mile 3 was undulating up and down through some of the same paths I had run at the Zoo Zoom, so they were somewhat familiar to me. Mile 3.5-4.75, roughly, was spent running around the big lake in the park. It seemed like that path just kept going and going and never turned back, but eventually we got back to the entry point and the rest of the race was downhill. I kept it under control during the downhill but then really picked it up once I reached the final straightaway. According to my Garmin, my pace dipped close to 5 minutes per mile at that point!
While I had maintained my focus on my time goal throughout the race, I never let myself get comfortable with my pace. I always monitored it and calculated my chances at making a PR at all times. Only when I reached the end of the lake loop did I look at my watch and know that I was going to beat my record. At that point I dropped it another gear and tried to pick up a few more seconds.
I crossed the finish line in 43:38, besting my 5 Mile PR by more than 2 minutes, which was intensely gratifying to me. The food after the race was pretty decent too: Kool-Aid, donuts, chips, cookies, fruit and other snacks. I didn’t stick around though and made my way home after changing back into my warmer clothes.
I really enjoyed this race and will definitely do it next year. It was really well organized, the course was challenging but fast, and even though I didn’t spend $45 for the race and the Brooks running jacket (I only spent $10 for the race), the jackets looked cool. The race director sent out numerous e-mails in the week leading up to the race to communicate parking arrangements, packet pick up times and other details about race day. It made for a smooth day for runners, and a great race overall. If you live in the DC-Baltimore area, I would encourage you to run this race, although you’ll have to register early because it fills up fast and I register for all my races months in advance!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
What a Difference a Day Makes
Well, two days, actually. This morning's run was much better than Tuesday's, despite it being 1.5 miles longer. I took the pace back a good deal, even going above 10 min/mile for one mile, but it was worth it to avoid hurting myself.
My legs felt strong throughout the run and I was able to pick up the pace to just under 9 min/mile for the final mile without any problem. More importantly, afterward I didn't feel any of the tightness or soreness in my shin muscles that I had after Tuesday's run.
Tomorrow is a quick 3.5 miler before the Celtic Solstice on Saturday morning. The weather report has really shaped up for Saturday morning, which is great. It'll be cold, around freezing I think, but no rain or snow and little wind. The nasty stuff won't begin until later in the morning. While it won't be too bad here in Baltimore, further west it'll be messier, which means I will have to make a game-time decision on whether I'm going to drive out there or not. It's actually not even driving there that concerns me, but rather the drive back around 10 PM after several hours of snow and some sleet and some rain has had time to sit on the cooling roads. We'll see.
Date: 12/13/07
Time: 6:10 AM
Distance: 5.0 miles
Conditions: mid-30's with some wind, overcast with some rain but it stopped after about 20 minutes.
Mile 1: 9:47
Mile 2: 9:45
Mile 3: 9:46
Mile 4: 10:13
Mile 5: 8:58
Total: 48:32
Average pace: 9:41
Calories: 749
My legs felt strong throughout the run and I was able to pick up the pace to just under 9 min/mile for the final mile without any problem. More importantly, afterward I didn't feel any of the tightness or soreness in my shin muscles that I had after Tuesday's run.
Tomorrow is a quick 3.5 miler before the Celtic Solstice on Saturday morning. The weather report has really shaped up for Saturday morning, which is great. It'll be cold, around freezing I think, but no rain or snow and little wind. The nasty stuff won't begin until later in the morning. While it won't be too bad here in Baltimore, further west it'll be messier, which means I will have to make a game-time decision on whether I'm going to drive out there or not. It's actually not even driving there that concerns me, but rather the drive back around 10 PM after several hours of snow and some sleet and some rain has had time to sit on the cooling roads. We'll see.
Date: 12/13/07
Time: 6:10 AM
Distance: 5.0 miles
Conditions: mid-30's with some wind, overcast with some rain but it stopped after about 20 minutes.
Mile 1: 9:47
Mile 2: 9:45
Mile 3: 9:46
Mile 4: 10:13
Mile 5: 8:58
Total: 48:32
Average pace: 9:41
Calories: 749
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Excuses, Excuses
Quick entry today as I didn't run this morning for a couple reasons:
1. I woke up and my right leg was still a little tight and tender so rather than push my luck 2 days before a race, I held off.
2. I was tired when I woke up.
3. I was also warm and cozy undr my blankets when I woke up.
As a result, no running today. Tomorrow morning I will be out for a nice 5 miler, then a 3.5 miler on Friday before the race on Saturday morning.
Weather Underground is forecasting only a 20% chance of any precip come Saturday morning. Right now it looks like it'll start around 10 or so, which is fine as I'll hit the road shortly after I finish the race anyway. I'm not as concerned about my other plans, as they can be cancelled without too much trouble. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
1. I woke up and my right leg was still a little tight and tender so rather than push my luck 2 days before a race, I held off.
2. I was tired when I woke up.
3. I was also warm and cozy undr my blankets when I woke up.
As a result, no running today. Tomorrow morning I will be out for a nice 5 miler, then a 3.5 miler on Friday before the race on Saturday morning.
Weather Underground is forecasting only a 20% chance of any precip come Saturday morning. Right now it looks like it'll start around 10 or so, which is fine as I'll hit the road shortly after I finish the race anyway. I'm not as concerned about my other plans, as they can be cancelled without too much trouble. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Sluggish Run with Some Soreness
At least the weather cooperated this morning. It was about 43 and overcast, so it was pretty decent running weather. Did 3.5 miles easy, although I need to really work on my pacing because I ran this way too fast and had some residual soreness in my right leg afterwards. I need to be more careful to prevent overtraining and the injuries (read: shin splints) that come with it. Tomorrow I have 5 miles that's supposed to be a tmepo pace, but I'm going to throttle that back to an easy pace so I don't stress my leg. Thursday is another 3.5 mile easy run so I think I should be able to baby the leg until the Celtic Solstice 5 Miler on Saturday morning.
Date: 12/11/2007
Time: 6:15 AM
Distance: 3.5 miles
Conditions: 43 degrees, overcast and slightly humid. Some wind but nothing bad.
Mile 1: 9:34
Mile 2: 9:34
Mile 3: 9:08
Mile 3.5: 4:26 (8:53 pace)
Total: 32:43
Average: 9:21
Calories: 525
Weather-wise, the rest of the workweek looks good and hospitable for running. Up until about 24 hours ago, Saturday was looking good too. But now they're calling for a 30% chance at freezing rain, which is no bueno. First of all, freezing rain makes driving dangerous and running treacherous. Luckily, I only paid $10 for this race, but I really want to run one final race before calling the 2007 season a wrap. More importantly, I have to drive from Baltimore to Hagerstown on Saturday afternoon and will be loathe to do so if I-70 is slick. In fact, I won't do it because the trip normally takes about 90 minutes and I don't want to drive 3 hours out there and 3 hours back. I'm keeping tabs on it for the time being so hopefully that 30% will go down as the week goes on.
Date: 12/11/2007
Time: 6:15 AM
Distance: 3.5 miles
Conditions: 43 degrees, overcast and slightly humid. Some wind but nothing bad.
Mile 1: 9:34
Mile 2: 9:34
Mile 3: 9:08
Mile 3.5: 4:26 (8:53 pace)
Total: 32:43
Average: 9:21
Calories: 525
Weather-wise, the rest of the workweek looks good and hospitable for running. Up until about 24 hours ago, Saturday was looking good too. But now they're calling for a 30% chance at freezing rain, which is no bueno. First of all, freezing rain makes driving dangerous and running treacherous. Luckily, I only paid $10 for this race, but I really want to run one final race before calling the 2007 season a wrap. More importantly, I have to drive from Baltimore to Hagerstown on Saturday afternoon and will be loathe to do so if I-70 is slick. In fact, I won't do it because the trip normally takes about 90 minutes and I don't want to drive 3 hours out there and 3 hours back. I'm keeping tabs on it for the time being so hopefully that 30% will go down as the week goes on.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Weekend Update
After a week with a series of frigid mornings that kept me off the road for all but one day, the weather finally started to warm up every so slightly this weekend. Actually, the weatherman said it was supposed to warm up on Friday but it was below 20 degrees on Friday morning, which technically is warmer than the 15 it was the morning before, but still too cold for me to be out there in just a fleece.
Thankfully, Saturday morning was much warmer (40 degrees is "much warmer" in mid-December) and I got a comfortable 5 miles in. Here's the data from that run:
Date: 12/8/07
Time: 11:36 AM
Weather: 40 degrees, overcast at the beginning, sunny by the end
Distance: 5.0 miles
Mile 1: 8:52
Mile 2: 8:48
Mile 3: 9:15
Mile 4: 0:25
Mile 5: 8:53
Total: 45:18
Average Pace: 9:02
Run felt good overall, although I got a late start, per usual, and the Inner Harbor was teeming with tourists and suburbanites so I had to adjust my route for that. I need to stop the procrastinating and get out the door earlier in the coming weeks. It felt great to get back out on the road though, to be sure.
Today it was cloudy and rainy when I woke up but the radar showed that the rain wuld be passing by about 11 or so. So I went out about 10:30 and sure enough, after about 20 minutes, the light rain let up and went away. This run called for 6 miles, so I finally did the run from the Inner Harbor out to Ft. McHenry and back. It was a nice run and of course the paths around the fort were vacant. Very peaceful run along the shoreline. Here's the data, followed by the route I took.
Date: 12/09/07
Time: 10:40 AM
Weather: low 40's, Light rain initially, overcast for most of the time.
Distance: 6.0 miles
Mile 1: 9:12
Mile 2: 9:00
Mile 3: 9:20
Mile 4: 9:38
Mile 5: 9:55
Mile 6: 9:19
Total: 56:28
Average Pace: 9:24
This week looks to be much warmer than last, which means I should have no problems meeting my mileage goal this week. Also, the Celtic Solstice 5 Miler is on Saturday morning, so I'm hoping for good weather for that, although I'd like it to be a little cold so I don't get too hot. Right now, I'm feeling good about the race and my chances to break my PR for the distance. We'll see how the training goes this week. Tomorrow is an off day, with only stretching and strengthening scheduled, so my tight calves will have 48 hours in total to recover and get ready for Tuesday morning.
Schedule for the week:
Monday: Off
Tuesday: 3.5 miles easy
Wednesday: 5 mile tempo
Thursday: 3.5 mile easy
Friday: Off
Saturday: Celtic Solstice 5 Miler
Sunday: Off (maybe a few miles easy if I feel good post-race)
Thankfully, Saturday morning was much warmer (40 degrees is "much warmer" in mid-December) and I got a comfortable 5 miles in. Here's the data from that run:
Date: 12/8/07
Time: 11:36 AM
Weather: 40 degrees, overcast at the beginning, sunny by the end
Distance: 5.0 miles
Mile 1: 8:52
Mile 2: 8:48
Mile 3: 9:15
Mile 4: 0:25
Mile 5: 8:53
Total: 45:18
Average Pace: 9:02
Run felt good overall, although I got a late start, per usual, and the Inner Harbor was teeming with tourists and suburbanites so I had to adjust my route for that. I need to stop the procrastinating and get out the door earlier in the coming weeks. It felt great to get back out on the road though, to be sure.
Today it was cloudy and rainy when I woke up but the radar showed that the rain wuld be passing by about 11 or so. So I went out about 10:30 and sure enough, after about 20 minutes, the light rain let up and went away. This run called for 6 miles, so I finally did the run from the Inner Harbor out to Ft. McHenry and back. It was a nice run and of course the paths around the fort were vacant. Very peaceful run along the shoreline. Here's the data, followed by the route I took.
Date: 12/09/07
Time: 10:40 AM
Weather: low 40's, Light rain initially, overcast for most of the time.
Distance: 6.0 miles
Mile 1: 9:12
Mile 2: 9:00
Mile 3: 9:20
Mile 4: 9:38
Mile 5: 9:55
Mile 6: 9:19
Total: 56:28
Average Pace: 9:24
This week looks to be much warmer than last, which means I should have no problems meeting my mileage goal this week. Also, the Celtic Solstice 5 Miler is on Saturday morning, so I'm hoping for good weather for that, although I'd like it to be a little cold so I don't get too hot. Right now, I'm feeling good about the race and my chances to break my PR for the distance. We'll see how the training goes this week. Tomorrow is an off day, with only stretching and strengthening scheduled, so my tight calves will have 48 hours in total to recover and get ready for Tuesday morning.
Schedule for the week:
Monday: Off
Tuesday: 3.5 miles easy
Wednesday: 5 mile tempo
Thursday: 3.5 mile easy
Friday: Off
Saturday: Celtic Solstice 5 Miler
Sunday: Off (maybe a few miles easy if I feel good post-race)
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