Saturday, June 09, 2007

C25K W7d5




Good Lord in Heaven was it HOT today. It was 92 degrees when I went out to run today @ around 11:30. I went to the dam, and ran 3 miles (as scheduled), and my time was still on pace, but the heat was brutal. I started at the .5 mile marker and turned around at the 2.0 mile marker. There was a slight breeze, but it was a pretty warm breeze. I wish they had been generating at the dam - that would have put some mist in the air and cooled things down a bit as I crossed the dam.

Sometimes you look back and you see all the things you did wrong that day. I started making that list at about 1.5 miles:

  • Had not eaten anything but a granola bar, and a couple of pieces of beef jerky before I ran - mistake.
  • I had not drank very much water prior to the run - less than 2 glasses - mistake.
  • I ran close to noon = no shade on the route, anywhere - mistake.
  • I ran a little faster than my normal pace - mistake.
  • I did not stash water along the route to help with the heat - mistake.
  • I didn't put on any sunscreen - mistake.
  • I didn't bring enough water for both me and Steph. We were both thirstier than we have been in the past - mistake.

I'll have to prepare better for weekend runs in the coming weeks to help make up for the wicked heat. The runs next week are all 3 and 4 milers, and I'll need to do all of them in the evening.

Before I ran, I weighed myself with all my running gear - 164 lbs. Then I weighed myself after the run - 162.5 lbs. 1.5 lbs lost in sweat - I would have never believed it. I've been chugging Gatorade all day today trying to get my fluids back to normal - but the sweetness sits a little heavy on my stomach. The rest tomorrow will be good.

Friday, June 08, 2007

C25K W7d4

I'm BACK! I'm back in town, and back running on my 'home turf'. If felt really good to be back on a familiar route and measuring distance again, instead of time. I did the scheduled 2.75 miles- I started at the .5 mile marker and ran to the 1.75 mile mark, then turned back and ran to the .25 mile mark. I park between the .25 mile mark and the .5 mile mark, and I try plan my route so that I don't have to run past the Jeep, then go back to it. It messes with my head a little towards the end of the run.

It was a hard run tonight because it was hot and humid, but there was no breeze at all, so it was like breathing through mud. My shirt was drenched when I got back because with no breeze and the high humidity, the sweat had nowhere to evaporate off to.

About a half mile into my run, I fell in behind another runner and paced myself with him for a while, but was going a little faster than I needed to be going, and I realized this when he turned off the road before I did (probably got tired of me shadowing him). I ran the 2.75 about a minute ahead of pace, but I think that was a mixture of the other runner, and my pushing so hard at the end (running past the parking spot, remember?).

Nothing hurt during the run (that's good), but I did feel a little tension behind my left knee. That little boo-boo seems to be fading away. I did have my first beginnings of a side stitch however. It's the first one I've gotten since I started running at the beginning of the year. I wasn't a full blown stitch, but I could feel it starting to hurt a little and it caused a little discomfort in my right collar bone (weird, huh?).

Even though it was a harder run than it should have been, it was good to run at home again. Tomorrow is the last day of Week 7, that means only 3 more weeks and then I need to be starting a new schedule and start moving my mileage up a little every week before my races start.


Next week looks like this:

Week 8:
Day 1: 3 miles
Day 2: 3 miles
Day 3: 4 miles
Day 4: 3 miles
Day 5: 4 miles


Week 10 has me doing a 6 mile run one day, so that will be fun, because it will take me from one end of the dam park to the other end. I guess I need to verify my turnaround point.

I'd have never thought that I'd be looking forward to a 6 mile run - strange changes. I have started to notice the muscles in my legs toning up more, so that's good, too.

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

C25K W7d3

Short entry tonight. I'm still in Huntsville, so I went down to the University of Alabama @ Huntsville to look for running space today. I was scheduled to run 3 miles, so I ran for 30 minutes around the soccer fields, fitness center, fraternity/sorority row and library. It was still a lot of concrete, but I managed to spend some time on concrete and grass, so I'm hoping that it will help my shins a little.

Unfortunately I went overboard on my eating today. I went 500 calories over my target, and 50 grams over on my carbs (too much sushi).

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

C25K W7d2

I'm still in Huntsville, and I still don't have any measured area to run in, so I'm continuing to just do timed runs (and assuming a 10 minute mile). I was scheduled to run 2.5 miles today, so I ran for 25 minutes.

I didn't want to run in the same area I did last night because it didn't seem like the safest area. I looked for parks on the GPS, and found one near my hotel, so I went there to run tonight. When I got to the park, there wasn't an well defined area to run, just several baseball fields, and it was little league night, so as soon as I got there, all the kids/coaches/moms started showing up, so I left. I grabbed another 'park' from the GPS and was led into downtown Huntsville. The city has built a beautiful park with a man-made water route that winds across about 3 or 4 blocks. It wasn't the best place for running, but it was the best place I've found. There were a few other runners/walkers in the area, so I didn't feel like I was breaking any 'social boundaries'. However, most of the route was concrete - which is VERY hard on the legs, so by the end of my run it felt like the shin-splints may be returning. I've spent part of this evening doing toe-tap exercises to try and lessen any potential damage. The last thing I want it more injuries.

How about some pictures of the area . (note, all words are links to a different picture). Cool Japanese Bridge.

I ran for 25 minutes, and my left knee didn't bother me much, but I'll continue to ice it.

I'm supposed to take Wednesday's off, but since I'm out of town, and will be traveling/schooling ALL day Thursday, I'll run on Wednesday and let Thursday be my rest day before the weekend.

Monday, June 04, 2007

C25K W7d1

This afternoon was interesting. I'm on the road for work. For the next week I'll be in Huntsville, AL on a business trip (training on new equipment), so my running route will be different. I think I'll just be running for time instead of distance for the next week. I'll try and find a measured route for the next week, but that may be tough. I figure since I'm running about a 10 minute mile for my training runs that I should be running about 30 minutes for my "3 mile" runs while out of town.

I started off running along the sidewalk from my hotel after I arrived tonight, and turned down into a neighborhood. I found my way to a local elementary school that had a track behind it, and ran the majority of my time on the track (although, it was only a 1/8 mile track). I wound up running a total of 34:40 (at about a 10 minute/mile pace), so it may have been a little over 3 miles.

It was a little unsettling running through a different neighborhood, but it was still a good run.

I felt a little twinge in my left knee at the start of the run, and I iced it for a while after dinner tonight. I'll continue icing it throughout the week while out of town.