Cool Runnings!

Back on track again.  I took Sasha's advice and took it easy today.  Two miles at 9:00/mile.  I couldn't quite get myself to run 9:30/mile, but I feel pretty satisfied with that pace.  It took me a while to kick this bug, even with antibiotics, but thankfully it stayed in my throat (and up to one of my ears).  No sinuses, no chest congestion, no coughing.  Just sore throat and fever.  That's all gone now.  The run felt good, and I was itching to do more (good sign, right?).  More miles tomorrow.  I will go up to 4 tomorrow and see how that feels.  BTW, one fringe benefit of the forced rest was that I was able to let two blisters on my right toes heal up quite nicely.  I really need to get a new pair of shoes.

Went to the running store today and tried on two pairs:  Saucony ProGrid Omni 6 and Brooks Adrenaline GTS 7.  The Saucony had a little more arch support and a nice wide toebox, the Brooks felt a little cushier, but I didn't notice any issues with the toebox on it.  Only other big difference was that the Brooks felt like it had a lower profile.  Not sure that's a big deal.  Saucony is 12.3 oz, Brooks is 11.6 oz.  I am torn between the two.  The nice thing about getting a pair from road runner sports is that I have a 60 day guarantee.

Ran 4.1 miles today with the Garmin.  Decided to start increasing the mileage again as I still feel good.  Tomorrow I will probably go back up to 6 miles.  Total time for the run today was 35:42, average pace of 8:42/mile.  Most of the miles were slower, had one mile where I cranked up the pace a bit to end up with an 8:21 mile.  The rest were high 8:40's-low 8:50's.  The run felt good today.  My legs were a little tired after the run, but that is probably to be expected after a week layoff due to illness.  I am trying to decide if I am going to do the evening run or not on the 26th - I would like to, but I may just go there to cheer Lybi on.  Either way we will get to make a date out of it.

Ran 3.34 miles with the Garmin (did not have time to do any more than that).  Average pace was 8:34/mile, that because I pushed the pace the last 1/3 of a mile.  The first 3 miles were 8:42, 8:41 and 8:50, respectively, then did the final .34 miles in 2:25, average pace of  7:07/mile.

Ran 1.5 miles with the boys early in the evening, then ran 5 miles later on.  With the 5-miler, I found my pace slowly increasing the further I ran (go figure).  Started out nice and easy at 8:47 for the first mile, then 8:41, then 8:33 for the third mile,  and 8:22 for the 4th mile.  I decided to pick up the pace for the last mile and pushed it pretty good.  Final mile was in 6:55, and I was actually increasing throughout.  Started somewhere in the 7's, and ended up right around 6:00/mile.  I was huffing and puffing fairly good at the end, but I feel like I could have run futher - that was part of the reason I picked up the pace - to give myself an idea of what I am capable of next time I run a 5K (still not sure if I am going to do the evening run or not).  Cooled down and then stretched out after the run, took a cool shower (water here isn't cold anymore, just cool).  I feel good.

Got my new shoes today - Brooks Adrenaline GTS 7.  Did a 6 mile run in them, felt great.  Could tell my other shoes have lost their cushioning.  The run felt good - total time was 51:18, average pace of 8:33/mile.  Picked up the pace a little bit the last mile, but really kept the pace nice and easy for the whole run.  Cooled down and then stretched out afterwards, body feels good.

Adrenaline Blue - 6 miles 

Ran .92 miles earlier in the evening with the boys.  The hotter weather definitely makes it more difficult to run.  We have been topping 100 degrees every day this week, and it is still in the 90's at 7:00 pm.  Later on, ran 6.21 miles with the Garmin on my new trainers.  The run felt good.  These shoes are definitely lighter, and feel like they give a little more than my Grid Hurricanes I have been running in the past month.  No surprise there.  I probably do need to get a pair of inserts for my shoes.  Nice steady pace for the first 5 miles of my run - averaging right around 8:30/mile, maybe just a little higher.  The miles were all within 10 seconds of each other.  Decided at the 5 mile mark to pick up the pace, gradually sped up to about 7:20 pace by the end of the run.  I felt good that I was able to keep up my same breathing rhythm even when I sped up this time.

Adrenaline Blue:  13.13

I am looking forward to the 5K next Saturday evening.  It will be interesting to see what I am capable of right now.  I feel like my fitness is pretty good, but I still need to drop a couple of pounds to get to where I really want to be.  Now that I am fully recovered from my illness, I will plan on doing between 36-40 miles this week.  I think that my body is ready for the increase in mileage, and it really just amounts to adding one mile to my run a couple days this week.