Saturday – Week #3 – 5 Mile Group Run

My first run back in Texas! I know I was only away for one week, but it is nice to be back to the humidity (I never thought I would say that). It is nice to run with people you are familiar with and in places you know well. In California, people just aren’t nice; or at least they do not go out of their way to be nice to other people. I did not get one friendly smile or wave while I was running in California. Ahh… Home Sweet Home, where every run, and I do mean every single run, I have ever run here in Texas crosses paths with someone who at least smiles and gives a little wave. I think the world would be a much better place if people were just a little friendlier to others.

Run Details

47 Minutes 11 Seconds

5.0 Miles

Average Pace: 8′ 49″

Splits: 8′ 58″ – 8′ 26″ – 8′ 39″ – 8′ 57″ – 8′ 40″

Week #3 Total: 5.0 Miles

Total: 42.83 Mile

Thursday – Week #2 – 45 Minute Easy Run

This was my last run in California (Thank Goodness!). While running in the cooler temperatures was fantastic, the smog is just too much for my lungs to handle. I was a mild asthmatic in High School and I thought I had outgrown that… Apparently not! Anyhow, its all over now and for that I am thankful.

Run Details

45 Minutes 06 Seconds

4.35 Miles

Average Pace:  10′ 21″

Splits: 9′ 58″ – 9′ 55″ – 10′ 41″ – 10′ 50″

Week #2 Total: 21.92 Miles

Total: 37.83 Miles

Wednesday – Week #2 – 50 Minute Run

I really don’t have much to say about this run except for the fact that it felt great. Getting the run finished earlier in the morning here in California is definitely the way to go. The smog isn’t quite as thick and the temperature was around 65 degrees. Got to love it!

Run Details

50 Minutes 05 Seconds (Whoop)

5.4 Miles

Average Pace: 9′ 16″

Splits: 9′ 52″ – 9′ 25″ – 9′ 23″ – 9′ 15″ – 8′ 35″

Week #2 Total: 17.57 Miles

Total: 33.48 Miles

Monday – Week #2 – 50 Minute Run / Cross Train

Well since I screwed up and ran the 50 minute run yesterday, I decided to do the 40 minute run today. In the end, I decided to cross train on a stationary bike for the first 10 minutes then finish off with a nice 30 minute run. I am traveling for work this week, so finding a place to run in a town you are unfamiliar with can be quite challenging (another reason I decided not to run for the full 50 minutes today).

Run Details

30 Minutes 04 Seconds

3.11 Miles

Average Page: 9′ 46″

Splits: 9′ 41″ – 9′ 58″ – 9′ 40″

Week #2 Total: 12.17 Miles

Total: 28.08 Miles

Sunday – Week #2 – 40 Minute Easy Run

We decided to start trying to run in the morning for several reasons. First of all, it frees up that time at the end of the day. Also, after running I get a burst of energy that makes me feel like I can do anything; that’s a great way to start any day. So as you can see from the title, we were supposed to do a 40 minute easy run today, but I misread the schedule an did the 50 minute run today. Surprising it wasn’t that big of a deal.

Run Details

50 Minutes 04 Seconds

5.06 Miles

Average Pace: 9′ 53″

Splits: 9′ 47″ – 10′ 23″ – 9′ 47″ – 10′ 05″ – 9′ 31″

Week #2 Total: 9.06 Miles

Tota: 24.97 Miles

Saturday – Week #2 – 4 Mile Group Run

Today marks the beginning of week #2 and our first group run. I have to admit, I do get nervous when meeting large groups of new people. I was a bit jittery while warming up this morning, then as we started to run that feeling quickly faded. Running in the morning is just plain great. You’re not tired from being at work all day, and your legs are fresh and strong. It will be something to get used to, that’s for sure, but I am going to try to convince Jess that we need to start running in the AM. It was nice to have someone to chat with on the run as well. You might be asking yourself, “Well Zach, what about your lovely wife? Do you not run with her every other day?” The answer to that is a resounding yes, but we run at entirely different paces and lengths of time, so it is much more difficult to keep a conversation going while we’re running on different schedules. Although, I do love running with Jess because she keeps me motivated when I get tired and down on myself.

Run Details

39 Minutes 03 Seconds

4.0 Miles

Average Pace: 8′ 41″

Splits: 8′ 28″ – 8′ 24″ – 8′ 43″ – 8′ 42″

Week #2 Total: 4 Miles

Total: 19.91 miles

The run was a bit faster that usual, but I think thats because of my competitive nature within the context of this group run. Not that I was pushing myself, in fact I almost felt like I was holding back so I wouldn’t burn myself out. But I guess its a combination of running in the morning and having someone to keep you company at a similar pace. Who knows. I don’t feel like I ran too hard, so I guess this is a good thing. Until next time, I bid you a kind farewell!

Friday – Week #1 – Off

Today was a rest day for us. To get ready for the run tomorrow morning, I made sure to drink all the water I could. Water is one thing I can never get too much of. Well I know you CAN get too much, but I’m not being trying to be scientific here. This has always been the case for me. When I played football in high school, I was always the first one to the water trough and the last to leave. One of the things they (they being our running coaches from Luke’s Locker) told us in the beginning was to be sure and drink at least 64 oz. of water per day. This was/is hard for Jess to do, but I was already drinking at least that much at work alone. I guess its just something left over from the days of football practice in the hot sun after school. Anyhow, tomorrow will be our first group run. I’m looking forward to it; a lot actually. Unfortunately, Jess can not make it because of her required attendance at some work thing for her students. She is really bummed, but what can you do?! It’ll be nice to see where we stand in the group and to meet those who will run at a similar pace. Thats all for now!

Thursday – Week #1 – 35 Minute Easy Run

Today’s run was not quite as effortless as yesterday’s run. My legs were still a little worn out from the day before and I did not sleep well last night (more on this in a bit). Other than those two things, the run was still nice. The weather wasn’t too bad, a bit on the humid side, but hey it’s Texas in the summer. Since this run was supposed to be an easy run, I tried to cut back on my pace a little; to ease up and not go at it so hard. I think I accomplished this for the first half of the run, but then I got into a groove and ran faster on the way back. I am going to start including my split times (according to the Nike+iPod).

Run Details

35 Minutes 27 Seconds

3.63 Miles

Average Pace: 9′ 44″ / Mile

Splits: 10′ 07″ – 9′ 46″ – 9′ 39″ – finished at a pace of 9′ 10″

Week #1 Total: 15.91 Miles

Total: 15.91 Miles

OK, so more about the lack of sleep last night. I woke up to the constant buzzing emanating from my BlackBerry. I was thinking, “Damn, something is really going wrong at work!?” I soon discovered that I had 417 new emails from Dell IT Assistant (a monitoring program for Dell servers) alerting me that a fan had gone bad in one of the servers I manage. This really isn’t that big of a deal except for the fact that this little fan would fail and then come back online then fail then come back on line, etc… Thus creating well over 500 alerts by the time I was able to stumble out of bed, grab my laptop from work, and shut the damn thing off! So to recap, waking up at 4:00 AM to a vibrating BlackBerry is not as exciting as one would imagine.

Wednesday – Week #1 – 40 Minute Easy Run

Today was a great run. It felt effortless. I guess the rest day is responsible for that feeling. Jess and I have started warming up a bit differently now. We used to just start jogging around our apartment complex to get the blood flowing in our legs, then we would stretch for a few minutes before setting out on the run. Now we are starting out with a brisk walk for one lap, then switching to a jog for the second lap. I think this has helped make our pre-run stretches better and in turn making the run better. Any thoughts or suggestions about that? After our run today, we went to Target and purchased a few more running garments. I got another 3 pairs of running shorts, which I might add, I never thought I would wear and now I will not run without them. Go figure.

Run Details

40 Minutes 6 Seconds

4.18 Miles

Pace: 9′ 23″

Week #1 Total: 12.28 Miles

Total: 12.28 Miles

Tuesday – Week #1 – Off

We had a rest day today. It was glorious! That is about all I have to say about that. Since this weblog is about running as it pertains to moi, I will attempt to update this thing with my thoughts about running and how it applies to life, the universe, and everything. In the mean time (on my days off (from running)), I plan to entertain you with random stories or crazy diatribes about the goings on in my life. On that note, I have a drawing I would like to share with you…. now.

 

These are the things I pass, in order, on the way to my truck in the parking lot at work. Thanks for the idea Jackie!