Sluggish C25K W9D2 Done

This morning's run was sluggish and discouraging. Plantar fasciitis and tendonitis were both fussy this morning, and I have a lingering sore throat (but no fever as an excuse). I also overshot my time, so I got in more than my 40 minutes! I'd planned to run the nearby golf course again, but some early golfers were out, so I had to change my course on the fly. I headed through the sunnier, slightly hillier neighborhood, instead. Not so much fun, but it'll pay off later, I hope. It was a training distance PR for me during this C25K, but it didn't feel very good. Some days are like that. Time to look ahead to finishing this C25K!

C25K W9D1 Complete

I can hardly believe I've made it  all the way to Week 9! This morning's run went pretty well, pretty flat course and overcast skies helped. Ran a little extra to hit 2 miles for the first time since Run for the Oaks!

C25K W7D2 In the Books!

Had a good run this morning, especially once I warmed up. (Plantar fasciitis in the left foot is still bothering me.) New-to-me course this morning, mostly on the golf cart paths of the Brier Creek Golf Course, quite nice! Overcast skies also helped make this my fastest pace outdoors for this C25K.

C25K W6D1 Complete

I decided to run outside again this morning, so I headed over to the Brier Creek area. It was such a beautiful morning to run outdoors! Today's run/walk intervals didn't seem so intimidating after the shock of Weeks 4 and 5! I still ran rather slowly, though, finishing 1.6 miles in 34:11 (21:24 average pace). Glad it's done, a nice way to start the workweek.

Yesterday's Run

I did another 45-minute run around Brier Creek yesterday, knocking out 2.31 miles for a 19:30ish pace. I was pleased to get the average pace under 20 minutes again. I had to focus and push a little, which is good training too. I've gone back to a 30/30 run/walk ratio, after trying 20 second run/walk intervals once. I like the feel of 30/30 better.

I decided to pass on water aerobics last night, since it's usually a pretty strenuous class, and I don't want to risk injury at this point. Crosstraining is great, but not at the risk of injury or knocking me out of a run very often. I did miss the exercise time with George, though.

Mid-week Runs

I haven't blogged as much this week, but I have gotten my mid-week runs in. On Monday, I went to the American Tobacco Trail in Durham, and completed 2.44 miles in 48:01 minutes for a 20:36 min/mile average pace. This morning I returned to the Brier Creek area, and completed 2.30 miles in 47:01 minutes, for a 20:26 min/mile average pace. I was happy to get a little faster today, but I've been feeling sluggish in my run/walks this week. Last weekend was pretty busy, with a lot of time on my feet both Saturday and Sunday, and I think that has factored in. I need to work on getting my mid-week pace back below 20:00 min/mile, though, on the way to getting faster overall.

This weekend's Galloway training schedule calls for 4x800 in place of the long run. I have a love/hate relationship with speedwork, but I hope it will help! I need to decide which track to hit.

Wednesday Morning Run

It was another pretty warm, pretty humid morning, but it was a good run/walk. I went to the same neighborhood to run this morning, but decided to go in another direction. It was a nice change of pace, with a few sprinklers to run through, to boot! I ended up going 1.92 miles in 37 minutes, for a 19:14 average pace. It's nice when I can go a little farther AND a little faster than the last run! Progress doesn't always show itself in the numbers on every run, so I'll take it when I can get it.

New Week, New Training Plan

This morning I started a new training plan, Jeff Galloway's half marathon training schedule for a time goal. For now, I'm going to follow it as closely as I can, but I'll keep in mind that I may need to be flexible down the road and scale back a bit. Here's the link. Scroll down to the second plan to see what I'll be working on.

So, I did the 30 minute run on today's schedule outside for a change. I'd gotten into the habit of going to the air conditioned gym and running on the treadmill. Because I run more quickly on the treadmill, that's always a confidence boost. In the big scheme of things, though, running outside is more realistic, and allows me to track my progress on a wider variety of surfaces. Anyway, I ran through the Brier Creek Country Club neighborhood, and had plenty of company, including several dog walkers. (I enjoy seeing people's dogs, as long as they're leashed as I'm running by! Who knows, maybe being chased by a dog might help me with my speed, though!)

Today's workout: 1.51 miles in 30:01 min., 30 sec/30 sec run/walk intervals, sunny and around 75F

More Negative Splits!

I got a late start this morning, so I headed over to Brier Creek, and ran around that neighborhood. I tell ya, having my average pace display on my Garmin Forerunner is doing wonders for my training! I ended up running 3.07 miles in 50:01 minutes, an average pace of 16:16 min/mile, more than half a minute faster on average than Tuesday! AND each mile was faster, again!

Mile 1) 16:42
Mile 2) 16:29
Mile 3) 15:46
.07) 1:03 (on target for a 14:22 pace, but that was just me pushing at the end.)

Whew, good run!

Long Run Report

This morning I decided I just had to get some outdoor miles under my belt! So, I parked at the gym, and set out from there with my Garmin 205 on my wrist. I did some of the miles near my gym first,; then I went to the Brier Creek residential area and ran a long stretch of Arnold Palmer Drive. It was a really pretty morning for running outside! I could feel a difference in the temperatures, and that helped a lot, I think. I ended up hitting the 10 mile mark in 2:40:00, four minutes and change faster than my last outdoor 10-mile run. I ended up continuing for a few more minutes outdoors, finishing 10.21 miles in 2:44:00 (with some more walking at the end). Then I went inside the gym and ran another 23 minutes (1.83 miles) on the treadmill (without a walking break).

My total for today is 12.04 miles in 3:07:00. I'm feeling more confident now about finishing the City of Oaks Half Marathon within the 3:30:00 time limit--yay!

Can't Believe I Ran Again!

I got to my car this morning, intending to drive to the gym, but I ended up turning toward Brier Creek instead. I fired up my Garmin Forerunner and ran/walked 4.36 miles in 1:05:00! As much as I enjoyed being around people at Friday's race and yesterday's group run, I really enjoyed running by myself this morning.

Three days of running in a row, probably not so good. My legs feel suprisingly good today, considering.

Outside!

This morning I decided to run in a nearby neighborhood, Brier Creek Country Club. I drove there, as I'm still getting my bearings in that area, and I didn't want to get stuck. I didn't know at the time if I'd get my whole workout done there, or if I'd go to the gym afterward.

I parked by the tennis courts, which I figured would be a good landmark as I ran around. I started my Forerunner and hit the sidewalks, sticking to the main road mostly. (In time, I hope to explore a little more.) The weather was nice, in the mid 40s and slightly windy. The sidewalks had some slight hills. I ended up running 3.62 miles in 45 minutes, a 12:26 min/mile pace, a little faster than yesterday's outdoor pace. It's still a good bit slower than my treadmill pace, and slower than my last 5K too. I'm glad to be getting the outdoor running experience, though. It's reminded me that I need to do more of it, though during the work week that's not very feasible.

One of the neat things about my new Forerunner 205 is that when I sync it to my computer, it puts information about my run right into the computer! It does time and distance, pace, calories, even a map of the route I've run. There's other information too, stuff I haven't figured out the value of yet. Because of the high tech stuff, I have learned that I have to give the unit time to power up before I run. It takes a while for it to locate and communicate with the satellites in the area.