19 November 2010

Race Much?

Today I realized that about half of my races this year are in the next month. Kinda crazy but here's the schedule/goals:
12.4.10-Dailies Virtual Half Marathon (sub 1:35)
12.5.10-Jingle Bell 5k (sub 19:07, my season best)
12.18.10 Christmas Classic 10k (sub-40 and the W)

I managed to put in a little over 30 miles last week. It feels good to be building my base back up. I'm definitely taking lots of rest days around my races so I can recover. I probably shouldn't be racing so much during this base building period but its ok. After the 10k, I don't have a race until March. I think my goal is to stay un-injured and get my mpw up to 40 by the end of December.

Today's run was a great one. I ran with a friend from my running club. We did a solid 8 miles (well, 8.1) with a decent size negative split, 32-flat for the first 4 miles and 30:49 for the last 4.1. My left gastrocnemius felt a little tight during/after. Definitely gonna be doing some RICE today and taking it easy tomorrow and Sunday.

I didn't even realize it until after the run but it put me at exactly 1600 miles for the year! Not too shabby since last year I didn't even crack 900. Yay for improvement!

I have been insanely busy with course work lately. As long as I can finish my takehome exam today I should be able to catch up and actually get some work done on my thesis.

This weekend/early next week is going to be amazing! My fiancee is coming to town for a few days before we head back to our hometown for T-day! Hope you all have a good weekend. I know I will!

10 November 2010

Grad School Overload

Just a quick post today. I am currently behind several sections of homework in Algebra, have 2 Differential Equations assignments due in a week and a takehome exam for Algebra. SO I really should be working instead of blogging. But this gives me a nice little break :)

I had a decent run today. After work I went to the gym and cranked out 6mi @7:50 pace. Then I hit the track for some strides. Since our indoor track is far from standard (we have 11 laps to the mile v. 8 on a standard indoor track) I did 8x70m.

When I run on the TM, I always wear my ipod. Thought I'd share on of my favorite playlists. Well, a subset of it anyway. Its great for short fast runs or longer tempo's or if you just need to feel bamf while running:

Remember the Name- Fort Minor
Got Money- Lil Wayne
Swagga Like Us- Jay-Z,Kanye West, Lil Wayne, T.I.
Make it Rain- Fat Joe
Till I Collapse- Eminem
Drop the World- Lil Wayne & Eminem
No Love- Lil Wayne & Eminem
Conteo- Don Omar
Don't Wanna Be Player- Big Pun
Head Sprung- LL Cool J

Thankfully, I have no class or work for the next four days! That means I should catch up in my classes and get some great runs in. Looking forward to actually running with someone tomorrow. I'm meeting up with another member of my club for a run.

08 November 2010

Fall is Here

I apologize in advance for the randomness of this post. Its not really organized at all. Usually I plan what I'm going to write but now I'm just writing.

Fall is definitely here in the pacific northwest. Its rainy, windy and getting colder. That being said, I'm still running in shorts so its not that cold. This morning I put in a nice 7 mile run along the river. My legs definitely appreciated that flat route. The last two runs I did (Friday and Saturday) were at my fiancee's university which is very hilly.

I am very happy with how my running is progressing. I put in 21 miles last week, which is less than the 26 from the week before, but it was much faster. I think all of my runs were under 8 minute pace. I feel that I am recovered from the marathon and am going to start building my mileage up again. I'm thinking somewhere in the 30's for a couple of weeks and then kicking it up to the 40's around Thanksgiving.

I had an amazing weekend! My fiancee and I are at different universities for grad school. Last year we were able to see each other once a month. This year, we haven't done that. Before this weekend I hadn't seen her since Labor Day! Luckily, her school gets the whole week off for Thanksgiving so she will be coming here in two short weeks :)

I also added a few races to my schedule. I'll be doing another 5K with the club on Dec 5th and a 10K on Dec 18th. I was planning on a 10K near my hometown, but switched to a different one, about an hour away. The one I had planned on is designed to be a two-person relay. The race does allow one-person "teams" but it would mean doing an out-and-back 5K route twice...not my idea of a good race for my first 10K. Instead I'll be hitting up the event where I ran my first two half marathons. During my second half marathon, a friend of mine actually won the 10K. Maybe I'll follow in his footsteps...

On a sad note, the great Haile Gebrselassie announced his retirement yesterday after dropping out of the NYC Marathon. He had been having knee problems but wanted to run anyway. The day before, an MRI showed fluid building up in his right knee. He said that he doesn't want to complain anymore and it is "better to stop here". He is arguably the best distance runner of all time. His career spans over 17 years. His first gold medal came in the 1993 World Championships at the 10,000m distance. Since then, he has won numerous medals and set an astonishing 27 world records. He will truly be missed by the sport he has given so much to.

(Image from BBC News UK)
(Haile setting the Marathon World Record, 2:03:59)