Training Run: Recovery

Distance: 3.05 miles
Time: 34:41
Pace: 11:23 min/mi

Comments: Last of three post-race recovery runs in a row. My legs are still not happy, quads in particular. I think some of that is due to the effort of the race but having only one off day in the last seven days is probably a factor as well.

I am still struggling with the slower pacing. I think I can get into the ballpark of the right range but dialing in ain't there yet. The hills aren't helping much with the effort as well.

Anyhow. Off day tomorrow. I'm ready.

Training Run: Recovery

Distance: 3.02 miles
Time: 34:01
Pace: 11:16 min/mi

Comments: I arguably kept closer to the recovery run pacing today but the problem is that is over the course of the whole run. I am really struggling to just drop into the gear and hold it there.

Pretty miserable day for a run but I missed the heaviest part of the rain. Getting done before it came down again probably had me hurrying more than I needed.

Pretty much the same situation with the legs; sore and tired.

Training Run: Recovery

Distance: 3.03 miles
Time: 35:22
Pace: 11:39 min/mi

Comments: The first run since the race and the first run of the marathon training plan. Unsurprisingly the plan called for a recovery run. I have been playing around with slower paces knowing that's part of the deal with this training regimen. Still, this was really weird.

Basically, this was a straight up three miles at 11:33 min/mi pace. I was able to hit that a decent amount of the time according to the fitness tracker but my actual splits were a little all over the place. The hills on the route didn't help.

My legs remain stiff and unhappy from the run but no actual pain. So that's good news.

Training Run

Distance: 4.05 miles
Time: 40:05
Pace: 9:55 min/mi

Comments: Alright. Back-to-back done. Needless to say, I didn't break any speed records today. I'm a little achy and understandably so. But it wasn't so bad I felt hobbled or anything.

After the first downhill I just focused on cadence and kept it pretty constant from there on out even with the uphills. The splits, as one might expect, ended up all over the place. About a third of the run was in the Zone 5 heart rate, which isn't so bad comparatively.

Training Run

Distance: 4.01 miles
Time: 37:17
Pace: 9:18 min/mi

Comments: The intent was to do this week with a run every other day. Instead I took back-to-back days off due to circumstances beyond my control. So it looks like back-to-back running days to end the week. I can live with it.

Toyed with the idea of making this a six miler but at the two mile mark it was pretty clear my pace was going to be pretty quick. Again. So I decided to keep it at my regular four mile distance. Particularly since I'll have another effort tomorrow. Still, it's been nice to open it up a bit this week.

Training Run

Distance: 4.05 miles
Time: 35:04
Pace: 8:39 min/mi

Comments: After slacking last week, I wanted to get off to a strong start today and finish March on a high note. I considered an early run but decided to hold off for a noon effort since the weather looked ideal.

It was slightly warm but that didn't stop me cranking out a super fast effort. My overall average pace was a solid 20 seconds faster than my best effort to date. As one might expect, my heart rate was in Zone 5 a good bit over the course of the workout but less than half of the effort.

Most important, I felt pretty good the whole way. No inordinate fatigue. So the next plan is a rest day.

Training Run

Distance: 4.01 miles
Time: 36:47
Pace: 9:11 min/mi

Comments: Welp. Work and feeling like butt conspired against me this week. I didn't feel good all week so when the few windows of opportunity to get a run in happened, I decided to pass.

As a result, I felt today's effort had to happen. And it did.

I also ended up running this one a lot faster than I expected. Partially because my schedule is packed, partly because of training guilt but also not a little because my legs felt reasonably fresh for once. It was pretty speedy pace but I barely got into the upper heart rate zone.

Training Run

Distance: 4.05 miles
Time: 37:57
Pace: 9:23 min/mi

Comments: Dunno if it was the intensity of the long run Sunday or what but I have been exhausted and sore ever since. In truth, I was feeling pretty run down since Friday but, man, getting out of bed Monday was harsh.

So I was a little surprised to feel pretty good for most of this effort. Did a lot of focusing on the cadence rather than pace. That held pretty strong the whole way. About a quarter of the run was in the Zone 5 heart rate, probably hill related.

Training Run

Distance: 4.03 miles
Time: 38:10
Pace: 9:28 min/mi

Comments: Probably the most consistent week of running I've put in this year. That's all the more impressive given the unfavorable weather that was on the menu for the first half of it. Today was a little chilly and breezy but, overall, pretty nice.

My cadence was very good over a lot of this one. I got into the higher heart rate only for a short bit, on one of the flatter portions of the course, weirdly enough. Splits bounced around a bit but the first mile was almost the same pace as the last despite going downhill on the former and uphill on the latter.

Training Run

Distance: 4.06 miles
Time: 38:52
Pace: 9:34 min/mi

Comments: The rain went away but the winds came back. It wasn't particularly cold this morning but it felt chilly due to the constant winds. On the plus side, they turned out to be a lot less of an issue for the run itself than I expected.

This run went pretty well, actually. The effort was constant, my heart rate was controlled and I had the cadence up nicely along the middle mile. The splits were within 20 seconds so that was good to see as well. Hopefully, I can repeat the performance tomorrow.

Training Run

Distance: 4.05
Time: 40:59
Pace: 10:06 min/mi

Comments: Got up in time for the storm front to blow through. Power went out so, once the heavy stuff (and lightening) passed through there really wasn't  a reason to not get the run in. I put on the poncho and headed out into the rain.

With the power out, it was pretty dark a lot of the way which made it difficult to avoid the branches that were knocked down. I stopped to clear some trash cans that had blown into the street as well as a couple of street signs knocked over and pointing into the driving lane.

It was the usual miserable fun of a rain run. Shoes got soaked and, although it wasn't cold, it was chilly enough to be unpleasant when I got done.

Training Run

Distance: 4.03 miles
Time: 38:25
Pace: 9:31 min/mi

Comments: Expected to wake up early with the daylight savings effect but ended up sleeping too late to get a run in. The next option was a lunch run but the rainy weather decided to move through. I waited until a break in the rain and took an early lunch. Still got wet, but not drenched.

Not a bad run. I was concerned my legs would still be weary like last week but they felt pretty good. I kept the effort pretty level so, while my pace was a bit erratic, the heart rate stayed out of the Zone 5 range, mostly anyway. We'll see if I can repeat the performance tomorrow.

Training Run

Distance: 4.06 miles
Time: 38:53
Pace: 9:34 min/mi

Comments: As much as I wanted to do a pre-work run, it wasn't in the cards. And after dealing with the frigid runs earlier this week, now we are already on par for the summer slog runs. Thanks Texas.

My legs were drained after yesterday's run and they didn't get any more pep overnight. I pretty much just focused on getting this one done and no bells and whistles. That said, my cadence was pretty good the middle portion of the effort but my heart rate showed the last mile was a struggle.

Training Run

Distance: 6.24 miles
Time: 59:38
Pace: 9:33 min/mi

Comments: Finally a non-cold day to run. I actually broke a sweat and felt a bit of the warm weather "slog" on this one. Nice enough today but I'll hate it with a passion by Fall.

Trying to get my weekly mileage back on par so put in a six-miler today. Really felt tired on the middle two miles but didn't slow down too terribly. Actually did pretty well pace-wise on the final hills. My heart rate was pegged a good 60% of the run though.

Training Run

Distance: 4.05 miles
Time: 36:03
Pace: 8:53 min/mi

Comments: There is no way I was going to put in a run with temperatures in the 20s and lower like the last two days. There was a possibility of getting something in yesterday afternoon when it finally got into the 40s but I decided to just keep the extra rest day.

Today was downright toasty in comparison with temps in the low 50s. I used the cool weather and rested legs to push things a bit and got a pretty quick overall pace. Cadence was high almost the whole way and heart rate never got into Zone 5. Pretty sweet.

Training Run

Distance: 6.01 miles
Time: 59:52
Pace: 9:58 min/mi

Comments: With work-related travel tomorrow, the likelihood of getting a run in is low. So I decided to make this a slightly longer effort in case I have to take two days off before the 10K on Saturday.

This one started fine but, like yesterday, got more and more difficult as it went on. My cadence started strong but deteriorated pretty consistently the rest of the way. And my heart rate increased pretty much at the same rate.

Pace-wise, I kept it pretty consistent through the first four miles but dropped off precipitously after that. The hills on the course were certainly a factor there but not nearly excuse enough for the drastic slowdown.

Training Run

Distance: 4.05 miles
Time: 40:08
Pace: 9:55 min/mi

Comments: Took a day off after the race even though I probably could have put in a short recovery run. I figured today's run would be pretty easy but it actually got a little challenging about halfway in.

I had a really good cadence and form for the first two miles. In fact I was concerned about going out too fast. Just past the halfway mark, when the course starts going uphill, I could really feel the fatigue in my legs.

I got really slow on the steep parts and felt more achy at the end than the start.

Training Run

Distance: 4.04 miles
Time: 38:45
Pace: 9:35 min/mi

Comments: The weather this week has been straight-up putrid. Temperatures have hovered in the upper 30s and the rain has been constant up to this morning. Not exactly inspiring me to great achievements.

I took advantage of the return of the sun to get this one in. It was still chilly though. The humidity gave it a bit more bite than I expected. The first two miles were pretty quick but I slowed significantly on the second half. Once again, my heart rate was way high most of the way.

Training Run

Distance: 4.03 miles
Time: 38:33
Pace: 9:34 min/mi

Comments: Well, the plan was a longer run today but it was cold and the dog-walkers were a pain and I can get my 80 miles this month without it. I felt pretty lame all morning for not doing it, so even with the parsed effort I'm much happier now.

It was chilly starting out, particularly with the breeze. I probably did my usual stunt and pushed the pace too much as a result. Once again, I spent more than half the run in the high heart rate zone. Not sure how this bodes for the race next week but we will see.

Training Run

Distance: 4.05 miles
Time: 40:40
Pace: 10:03 min/mi

Comments: Early meetings means yet another lunch run this week. I felt really worn out the whole way on this one. Not sure if it's the consecutive early starts, or the warmer temperatures or weary legs but it was definitely a factor today.

So my pace was pretty slow most of the way and really slow on the final hill mile. My heart rate was also in the upper reaches most of the run except, weirdly enough, at the end of the last mile. I think sleeping in might be advisable tomorrow.