Cool Runnings!

PM - 1.5 easy miles with Samuel - he was recovering from being sick, so we took it easy.  I didn't run at work yesterday - was still feeling tired and rundown from all the driving I did over the weekend.  10 hours on Saturday from Ft. Worth to Albuquerque, then another 7 hours on Sunday back home.  And that doesn't count the 15 1/2 hours we drove through the night to get to my brother's house in Ft. Worth on Tuesday/Wednesday to spend Thanksgiving with them.  But it was worth it.  We had a good time, and got to spend time with them.  Since we undoubtedly will not be going to our family vacation this year in Utah (Lybi will be about 8 months pregnant at the time), this might be our only chance to see them for a while.

Ran during lunch today.  It was nice out - sunny but cooler than it has been.  I hope it continues to cool down a bit.  Ran a new course today:  Lunch Run 4.  Less uphill than a couple of the other courses.  Did pretty good for not having run since last Tuesday.  Need to get myself into good racing shape for London's run.  I have a little more than a month to get ready.  Average pace for today's run was about 7:30/mile.  Still need to slow down - it is much harder for me when I don't know exactly how fast I am running, and it looks like I tend to run faster without the GPS.

PM - 1.5 miles with Samuel and about 0.9 miles with Joseph, easy pace.  However, I regretted running with them afterwards.  After my lunch run, I wasn't feeling quite right, and after running with the boys, everything kind of intensified.  I'm afraid I may have gotten myself sick.  Going to take it easy for the rest of the day, and will hopefully feel well enough to work tomorrow.

PM - 1.5 miles with Samuel and Sparky.  I am feeling a bit discouraged about running right now because I have been having a pain behind my right knee since early this week, and as a result, my weight has ballooned.  I need to get my weight back down.  I am considering adding some weight training to my routine to get my large upper-back and other muscles more involved to get my metabolism a jumpstart.  We will see how that goes.

4 miles at our fitness center during lunch on the treadmill, average pace slightly under 7:30/mile.  After the run, I did some weight training.  I have decided that my body has gotten very efficient at the running mechanism to the point where I am not reaping as much metabolic benefits from running, and need to recruit some of the other large muscles in my body to start burning fuel, as my weight has gone up since St. George.  This is obviously partly due to a huge drop in mileage, but I also think that for me, 50+ mpw is just not feasible at this time with the time constraints I have, so I think that this is the most efficient use of my time.  I will still be able to get in around 30-40 mpw, including running time with Samuel (I would have run with him today, but it was raining).  Sorry for the extended break last week, I was in training all week, and didn't get home until around 6 pm each night due to location.

Lunch run - ran on the treadmill again at the fitness center, then did some weight training afterwards.  Started off at an easy 8:30 pace to warm up, then hit a good 7:30 pace until the 2 mile mark.  At 2 miles, I increased to 6:40 pace for another mile, then jumped up to 6:00 pace for 1/2 mile.  Cooled down the last 1/2 mile at 8:30 pace again.  Gonna have to have an easy day tomorrow.

Lunch run:  4 miles on the treadmill - warmed up the first 1/4 mile at 8:30 pace, then did the rest at 7:30 pace.  It was nice to give my legs a little bit of a break.  Then hit the weights.  I have been alternating between working out my back and shoulders and my chest and arms - today was back (lat pull-downs, seated rows), plus abs and lower back extensions.

Lunch Run:  a bit of a tempo run today.  Nice long warmup the whole first mile at 8:00 pace, then went into a tempo run at 10K pace for 2 miles.  Cooled down the last mile at 8:30 pace.  I got into a real good rhythm during the tempo where I was able to kind of zone out and just focus on turnover.  It felt good, and I felt like I could definitely maintain that pace for several more miles.  Hit the weights again.  Today was chest and triceps.  Bench press, arm extensions, dips plus abs and back extensions again.  I hope that even if this doesn't majorly affect my weight, I will at least end up more toned.

AM - took my car to Sun Devil Auto to have the oil changed, and ran back.  It was pretty cool - 39 degrees.  Warmed up the first 1/2 mile or so (had the GPS with me), then started going a little faster once I was warmed up.  The last 4 miles were all under 7:20, and felt really good.  Average pace for the entire run was 7:20/mile.  I meant to run later on with Samuel and Sparky, but we had so much going on in the afternoon that I didn't get around to it.

Lunch Run - 4 miles on the treadmill, then weight training.  Warmed up 1/4 mile at 8:30 pace, then upped the tempo to 7:30 pace at 0.5 incline.  Felt really good, and easy.  At the 3 mile mark, I decided to speed up to 6:40 pace - a smidgen faster than MP, but I will count it, since I was on the treadmill.  Then at the 3.5 mile mark, I decided to increase to 6 minute pace.  Also felt good.  Worked up a real good sweat.  Afterwards, I hit the weights - today was my day to work my pecs and triceps - bench press, arm extensions, dips, plus abs.  Forgot to do lower back extensions.  I need to make a decision pretty soon on whether I am going to do London's run - perhaps I will just do the 5K if I don't feel like I am ready to do the 1/2 marathon.  I would definitely like to participate, especially with the cause it supports.

Lunch - ran 5 miles on the treadmill today, no weight training.  Warmed up the first 1/4 mile at 8:00 pace, then bumped up the speed to 7:30 pace for 3.25 miles.  At the 3.5 mile mark, I bumped up the speed to 6:40 pace, and held that for the last 1.5 miles.  It felt good to get in some quality miles.  Depending on how my legs feel tomorrow, I may do a tempo run.

PM - ran 1.5 miles with Samuel at 10:40 pace.  We talked the whole time, finishing with a conversation about why salt "warms up the ecosystem", in Sam's words.

Lunch - hard workout today (relatively speaking).  4 miles on the treadmill.  Warmed up 1/2 mile working up to 8:00 pace, then got into the workout.  Originally intended on running 4 miles at 6:20 pace, then cooling down, but realized fairly quickly that was not going to work.  After 2 miles at 6:20 pace, I slowed down again to 8:30 pace for 1/2 mile, then another 0.75 miles at 6:20 pace again, then cooled down.  Today made me realize that I have definitely lost some fitness from my lack of training this past month (or two), but that is motivating to me to do better this coming year.  It looks like I will be running Del Sol this year, so I want to make sure I am both healthy and in good shape for that, and I will probably make another bid for sub-3:00 at St. George this coming year, assuming I get in.  We will see.

PM - ran 1.5 miles with Samuel and Sparky, just under 11:00 pace.

Lunch - 4 miles on the treadmill, nice and easy.  Warmed up the first 1/2 mile, slowly getting up to 8:00 pace, then for the next 3.5 miles, I ran at 7:30 pace.  It felt nice and controlled, which was good, but I am still feeling the loss in fitness.  Hopefully this is still a good start for making next year a good one.