Today's Run - 10/7

I got an extra hour of sleep last night because of the end of Day Light Savings Time. It was still in the low 30's when I headed out but it was light. A pretty uneventful run, but I worked on my pace to see to if I could do 5K in under 25mins on the hilly Paddington and Piper Loop. First Mile is a set of rolling hills, the second mile is down hill, and the last mile is a long up hill. I had forgotten that with the shorter races you are working the entire time. Unlike with distance running you can take a break and push harder to make up time. With 5K you have to run fast all the time. I could feel this in my heart rate more than in my legs.

My legs are feeling good as I go into my last week before the race. My right hamstring is a bit tight, but loosens up after a mile or so. I will continue to stretch it this week.

Today's Run - 10/6

The last long run of the CTC Marathon Training Team was this morning at the UVA Track and Bellair. I headed out with another runner into the dark morning and headed towards the hills of Bellair to start our 7mile run. We started much faster than usual and my heart rate shot up pretty quick. After a bit we settled into a 8:40 pace. We did the hike out to Bellair then headed back to the UVA Campus and hit the Park and then back to the UVA Track. We finished the 7Mile run with a .1 Mile sprint. Overall this run was much faster than I will run for the marathon but it felt good to run faster and a little harder than normal long runs.

We have started the official 7Day countdown to the Richmond Race. I am excited to run this race and spend the weekend with friends and family.

Today's Run - 10/5

Due to rain in the morning, I moved my Thursday run to Friday. I headed back to the Q2 Section of Glenmore to get in my 4Miles with Hill Pickups. I ran splits at a Half Marathon Pace then did 0.1 Mile hill pickups. The hill pickups changed ~30Ft over 0.1Mile. I did all the Hill Pickups in under 40 Secs and worked to get faster for each.

Today's Run - 11/3

Another dark cool morning for my run this am. I can tell my legs are recovering from the training efforts as they are feeling extremely light and fast on these shorter runs. I worked on negative splits again today and was able to hit the splits at an easy pace.

Excitement is starting to grow for race day. I know a number of others that are running the 1/2 Marathon and Marathon so it is fun to connect with them on how their training is progressing. I have my travel plans pretty well worked out and am working to get the pre-race dinner and post-race activities planned.

Today's Run - 11/2

The first run of my taper felt different than many of my Tuesday runs. With 2 full days of recovery since my long run my legs felt oddly light and nimble when I headed out. It was hard not to break into a full sprint to see how fast I could go. I kept hearing coach saying, "Run Easy!" and I was able to control my desire to go all out. I worked again on negative splits starting 1/2 Marathon Pace and heading south from there. The out and back course is down hill for the first 2.5Miles and uphill for the back 2.5Miles. Doing this on negative splits is a good accomplishment.

The fall weather is here and it is great for running! The temps was in the low 30's and I was comfortable wearing shorts, tech shirt, running sleeves and gloves. My only gripe is that it is staying darker longer. I have a good headlamp but mentally I know that I am running in the dark because of the limited long distance visibility.

Great book on Running

I read "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall in Sept and could not put it down. A great story about running, human nature, running industry and ultra marathons. It is an easy read that will have you exploring the physical and mental challenges of running while learning about the origins of how and why we run.

New Mile Marker....

I passed a new mile marker last week, I had a private thought of happiness and forgot to mention it here. I passed 1,000 Miles running in 2010. In training for 2 Marathons this year I invested 16hrs of time and logged more than 100Miles a month of running. I track every run and can see the improvement in then numbers and the way I feel about my running.