Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 41:00
Pace: 10:14 min/mi

Comments: I was very sensitive to my pace on this run given the little scare with the hamstring yesterday. Short steps and letting up off the throttle whenever I felt myself going a bit too fast. Still, I had a pretty good pace over the course of this effort.

Overall, I certainly have the strength to gut through these runs if I need to but I have to be careful to getting too far out in front of my conditioning. Keeping it that close to the edge is a recipe for injury. And an injury is the fastest way to waste all the effort I've poured into this over the past three weeks.

Fitness Run

Distance: 2 miles
Time: 19:45
Pace: 9:50 min/mi

Comments: This was a mixed bag of a run that skewed toward the crappy. I got up and out the door early, like I planned but that's about all that went right. It was chilly, but not overly so, which led me to take this one on a bit on the quick side.

At just past the mile mark, I got a twinge in my left hamstring. Not at the level of a sprain but certainly enough to make me cautious. When it didn't ease off after a few minutes I decided to cut the run short at two miles out of an abundance of caution.

Long Run

Distance: 6 miles
Time: 1:07:54
Pace: 11:18 min/mi

Comments: In a few weeks, if I keep my running regimen up, I'm going to look back at a six mile "long run" with some amusement. But, make no mistake, this was a legitimate end-of-the week workout. I had to earn this one.

I took yesterday off, slept well last night and have eaten pretty well over the past few days. Still, I felt worn out from the start. I was very conscious of not going out too fast given my rather speedy times of late but it really didn't matter. I had to slog my way through this whole workout.

I did this one widdershins which put the steep incline at the end. As a result the last mile was an ordeal. Add to that a wind gust decided to show up at the steepest part as well. Not fun times.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 39:28
Pace: 9:51 min/mi

Comments: With the new shoes ready to go, I felt a bit anxious to get out and run today (in a good way for a change). The temperatures were still pretty cold this morning and I had to wait until noon for it to warm up a bit. And that's a relative term, the first mile was damn chilly.

The shoes worked as well as I had hoped and the run went very well overall. I clearly have some strength back but this was the first time I felt like the conditioning was starting to get there. The latter shown by the accidental sub-40 minute time and the fact I seriously considered going for six miles.

New Shoes: Brooks Glycerin 15

For the last few months (despite the sporadic running routine) I've been using a pair of Asics Gel Flux 4 shoes. I bought these on sale at a sporting goods store. Turns out they were a half size too small and that was growing increasingly problematic as I have been adding on the miles.

So, yesterday, while I was doing errands across North Texas I decided to stop at Fort Worth Running Company. I have never used this store or even heard anything about them. But, in my experience, these local, privately-owned stores provide the best service and feedback I need. And this turned out to be no exception.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 39:19
Pace: 9:49 min/mi

Comments: With the winter weather scheduled to arrive this afternoon and make the next few days completely miserable, I made it a point to get out and get this one in. If I have to, I'll do a run in freezing conditions, but now I've got some wiggle room with that.

I was a little stiff after yesterday's "speed" workout but it passed as soon as I got warmed up. With it pretty likely I'll have a few days off, I wanted to do this one at a faster pace as well. I just missed getting the first mile at sub 20 minutes but made sub 40 minutes for the run. So a nice negative split there.

Fitness Run

Distance: 2 miles
Time: 18:04
Pace: 9:02 min/mi

Comments: The cold snap next week will force me into a multi-day hiatus so I took advantage of the weather today to get an extra run in. Since I already hit my distance goal for the week, I decided to turn this one into a pseud-speed workout.

Basically, I took my regular course backwards. Which meant most of the incline was on the final two-thirds of a mile. So my first mile came in at 8:35 and the second mile at 9:26. About what I would expect. Overall, the nine minute average pace was about where I would expect as well.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 40:06
Pace: 10:00 min/mi

Comments: It got cold the past two days and the forecast calls for more of the same next week. So I have tried to plan my runs at the times where it is at least reasonably warm but that's a relative term.

So, while I avoided the most frigid temperatures today, the 40 degree start was not pleasant. The good news is that between the sun and the exertion, I was warm enough by about two-thirds of a mile in.

Overall, my pace has been dropping each and every run although I don't really feel a lot faster. I did make an effort today to finish the last half mile strong. It felt pretty good to open it up a bit.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 40:45
Pace: 10:11 min/mi

Comments: Given the pretty intense launch of this running regimen, I opted to take two days off and see how well my legs felt. Surprisingly, I really didn't have a lot of soreness over that span and no real issues on today's run either.

I got out the door reasonably early since there is a cold front coming in this afternoon and I want to get ahead of my running schedule for the week before it arrives. The run went well in that it wasn't overly notable negatively or positively. Just get out there and get the miles.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 42:04
Pace: 10:30 min/mi

Comments: Due to the rain yesterday and the ongoing battle with the sinus infection, I decided to nix the run. As a result, I came up two miles short on my weekly goal. The solution? Add two miles onto the next week.

So this morning I was up earlyish and put in a four miler. I felt much stronger in my legs but my conditioning is still abysmal. Still, progress is progress. The plan now is a couple days off and a pair of four milers at the end of the week.