26 July 2011

Getting Stronger

This month has been busy! Searching for a job is itself a full time job. Between that, wedding planning and running...I'm very tired.

The job search is slow. Lots of applying, lots of not hearing back from anyone.

Wedding planning is almost finished. The Kid and I have the major parts planned. We will mail out invitations soon and today we started registering!

Running is going awesome! I've been waking up earlier than I did when I was in school but whatevs. I found a nice base building plan that I am going to follow. I really think that lots of slow, easy miles in my legs will help in the long run.

My streak is still going (44 days/226.6 miles). Running seven days a week makes you rethink training. My recovery days are super slow. I usually have one recovery day and one fast day each week. Today was the fast day. I have been running with my old hs xc team to help them get ready for the upcoming season. Today was 4 x .9 mile repeats. We wanted to do mile repeats but the lake we ran around isn't exactly a mile. Surprisingly, I could hang with these guys. I finished 2nd for all but the first repeat and got faster each time. I started @ 5:42 (6:2x mile pace) and finished @5:14 (5:49 mile pace)! I was surprised by the speed my legs had.

The team's last summer practice is Thursday. Since the season starts at the end of August, coaches are not allowed to coach that month. So no official practices. I'm going to try and get some of the varsity guys/gals and veterans on the team to come out for a long run on Saturdays.

I'm also reading Born to Run. Great book. For those who haven't read it, I highly recommend it.

~Run Strong

07 July 2011

CityBlast 5k RR

Time: 18:59
Overall Place: 6th/574
Age Group Place: 1st/18

After the race was over, I had a lot of mixed feelings. Now that I've had a few days to think about it, I'm happy with my performance.

This was my second time running this event. I was registered to run in last year but ended up making a trip to St Louis so I missed out. It is a local event put on by my church and the local YMCA.

My lovely fiance was nice enough to come out and support me :) I picked her up at her folks' place around 6:30 and we headed downtown to the start. The race starts and finished at the local fairgrounds. The course is mostly flat with one large hill at mile 2.

I had some high hopes for this race (which lead to my original mixed feelings). As such, I lined up at the front of the field. There were only a few people who worried me at the start (as they should have, they all beat me), three high school kids and a two other runners. I really wanted to PR at this event. I made a race plan the night before and followed it well.

I went out around 5:52 for the first mile. The plan was 5:50-5:55, then hold something close to 6:00 for mile two, let the hill slow me a little on the way up and blast the down hill to the finish. So the first mile was right on. Mile two was a little slower than expected, and the hill hurt more than I had planned. I was still able to dig a little speed out and finish strong in 18:59. Here is where the mixed feelings start. My PR is 18:58. I was close, but missed it. And I placed well. I was upset about missing it by one second.

After some thought, I am very happy with my performance for several reasons:

1. I haven't done any speedwork since before Boston. Sure, I've done a few tempo runs but no track/5k specific work.

2. I hadn't really planned on running the race. I didn't sign up until the 1st.

3. It was day 22 of my streak (which is currently at 25 days). I'm sure that played into my effort a little.

For now, I'll keep working on my base hopefully getting to 50ish mpw by August. I may look for another 5k later this summer and do some speed work so I can make a serious attempt at breaking my PR.

Since the Kid was there, you all get photos :)
Pre-race photo

Starting strong

Coming down to the finish

Getting my AG (1st) award from a local State Rep.

01 July 2011

June Totals: Low Mileage

Distance: 105.6 miles
Time: 14:05:59
Pace: 8:01

This was my shortest month of running (distance wise) since May of last year. I'm just glad I made it over the 100 mile mark. Its nice to keep that streak going. Speaking of streaks, I'm on a running streak. It didn't happen on purpose. It just happened. My little brother has started working out regularly and always starts with a 1-1.5 mile run. I've always wanted to be able to run with somebody in my family so I couldn't pass it up. As of now (that is, counting today) the streak is at 19 days.

The job search is going super slow. I'm hoping that something will pan out soon.

Wedding planning is great! In the last week we've picked out a dj and most likely the bakery for our cake. Those were the last two major things we had to do!

I'm really hoping that my mileage will be back around 170 this month. After I do some yard work this morning, I'll knock 5-6 of those miles out.