Fitness Run

Distance: 4.07 miles
Time: 40:45
Pace: 10:01 min/mi

Comments: The plan was to get in a lunch run before the rains arrived but that didn't happen. So I got home and got ready to go with the expectation of precipitation. Luckily, I caught a window in the rain and only had to endure a pretty constant drizzle.

Again, I was trying to avoid overexertion and focused on cadence and control. None of the run was in the zone five range so that worked out like I wanted. Next up, a rest day and the long run.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.04 miles
Time: 39:31
Pace: 9:47 min/mi

Comments: Took two days off after Monday's effort completely kicked my ass. I was dragging pretty hard on Tuesday but felt better yesterday. No major issues this morning so everything looked fine. Except for the weather.

It was raining awful this morning and a dour drizzle most of the day. I took advantage of a long lunch to try and squeeze this effort in so, of course, it starts coming down just as I head out. But, as I told another runner today; rain runs are important because they get you ready for a wet race.

It was chilly and soggy and unpleasant but could have been worse. The rain varied between light and a drizzle, but never really stopped. I ended up with a decent time and my legs actually felt pretty good.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.02 miles
Time: 44:56
Pace: 11:11 min/mi

Comments: Even though I ran the last three days, I was a bit worried about getting all of them in this week due to work. So when an opportunity to squeeze a lunch workout in today presented itself, I decided to take it.

No bueno.

My legs were completely burnt from yesterday's hard effort. Even though I tried to keep it slow, this was a full on slog from start to finish. And the hills were a total nightmare. I was really struggling the whole way. Which was weird since my heart rate stayed in the regular range the whole way.

Long Run

Distance: 6.22 miles
Time: 1:05:10
Pace: 10:28 min/mi

Comments: Watched a live stream of the WDW marathon this morning and it kind of shamed me into getting a solid run in today. Yeah, I ran the thing last year but... this is this year.

So while this says "long run" it's by comparison to my recent efforts. It's my first 10K distance of the year but, if all goes as planned, not my last by a good bit. The challenge factor I put in play was doing each mile faster than the one prior. So the first was overslow (almost 13 min/mi) but the last was a bit on the quick side (9 min/mi).

Overall, it felt good to push things a bit but I've clearly got a lot of work ahead of me this year.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.03 miles
Time: 38:51
Pace: 9:38 min/mi

Comments: Woke up this morning to snow. And, obviously, pretty chilly conditions. I took a pass on the run and was committed to skipping today altogether if I'm being honest. But it warmed up pretty well and I decided to get it done anyway late in the afternoon.

I actually thought ran this a little faster than I planned due to the impromptu nature of the effort and the chilly conditions. Mostly I focused on cadence, particularly on the uphills. In the end though, it was pretty much on par with most of my quicker runs to date.

Fitness Run

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

Comments: Well. I have no intention of going three days without running this year unless I have a damn good reason. A tornado watch is a pretty good reason but I got home early and was able to squeeze in the miles before the rain began in earnest.

Weird little run, actually. On the one hand, I felt I was pushing it a little to get the pace down a bit. Particularly on the hills. On the other, the fitness tracker informed me I did nothing in the intense heart rate work zone.

I'm hoping to go three-in-a-row this weekend so that's a solid start.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4:03 miles
Time: 41:30
Pace: 10:20 min/mi

Comments: Got the opportunity for another afternoon run so I decided to take advantage of it. Probably ran yesterday's a bit on the fast side so I decided to ease it up a bit. About half-a-minute per mile slower, actually.

Still, it didn't feel incredibly strenuous overall. The hills weren't fun but they weren't the slog they were just a few weeks ago. In fact, my overall effort stayed completely out of the high-end heart rate zone. Not exactly what I intended, but a fortuitous occurrence, nonetheless.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.03 miles
Time: 38:49
Pace: 9:38 min/mi

Comments: As much as I prefer to do runs in the morning, the advent of the first full work week following the Christmas holiday break made that impossible. So an afternoon run it was.

I haven't done an afternoon effort in some time and it felt a little weird, to be honest. Not bad. Just different. I certainly went a good bit quicker than I expected. But nothing crazy, of course.

Turns out a good third of the effort was in heart rate zone five and another third in zone four. That's a pretty solid cardio effort.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.03 miles
Time: 38:47
Pace: 9:38 min/mi

Comments: Got one in but, as I tell everyone, the important one is your next one. The routine matters more than any one workout. So I decided to follow my own advice and get my butt out the door.

The weather was about perfect so that helped. I decided to push the pace a little -- nothing really "hard" but not settling for just cranking it out either. Mainly I focused on cadence. Keeping my feet moving even on the uphills.

At the end, I found almost half the run was in the zone five heart rate. So it was a pretty intense effort in comparison with most of my recent runs.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4.03 miles
Time: 40:12
Pace: 9:58 min/mi

Comments: The plan was to start the new year right with a Jan. 1 run. Gashing my hand on NYE sufficiently to require seven stitches knocked that plan a kilter.

The doctor said running was fine as long as I didn't fall on the hand so out the door I went this morning. Gingerly. And very careful about where I put my feet.

This wasn't a notable effort otherwise. A nice solid run. Nothing fancy. What makes it important is it's the first workout for the new year. I'd like to put in 800+ miles in 2020 and put in a marathon at some point between now and Dec. 31.