Saturday – Week #7 – 9 Mile Group Run

Woohoo! Another personal distance record! I know it is going to be like this for the next few weeks, but its just really exciting to be pushing myself to limits I never thought about until this last May! The run was pretty nice, the weather, however, was not! It was ridiculously humid, but what doesn’t kill you only makes your  stronger!

Run Details

1 Hour 24 Minutes 49 Seconds

9.18 Miles

Average Heart Rate: 169 bpm

Average Pace: 9′ 14″

Splits: 9′ 32″ – 9′ 18″ – 9′ 52″ – 9′ 55″ – 10′ 22″ – 9′ 17″ -  9′ 53″ – 10′ 06″ – 9′ 41″

Week #7 Total: 9.18 Miles

Total:  123.14 Miles

Saturday – Week #6 – 7.5 Mile Group Run

Woohoo! I ran the farthest distance I’ve ever run today! 7.5 miles! It was a great one too! We started out pretty quick, and kept it up! When we got to the half way point, I looked at the watch and was like whoa, we’re booking it. The last mile was a bit tough, but thanks to Jill (a very nice lady in my running group) the conversation helped pass the time much quicker! I’m definitely looking forward to the 9 miler we have next week!

Run Details

1 Hour 08 Minutes 41 Seconds

7.66 Miles

Average Heart Rate: 168 bpm

Average Pace: 8′ 58″ (We were moving fast!)

Splits:  9′ 15″ – 10′ 27″ – 9′ 02″ – 10′ 11″ – 8′ 49″ – 9′ 13″ – 9′ 50″

Week #6 Total: 7.66 Miles

Total: 99.23 Miles! (So close!)

Saturday – Week #5 – 6 Mile Group Run

Today’s run was another 6 miler before we jump up to 7.5 miles next Saturday. Is it weird that I’m actually looking forward to the longer distance? That will be the longest distance I’ve ever covered during a run and I’m kind of giddy about that. I guess I’ve got the bug! I was a bit nervous about the run today. I’ve had a toothache all week and haven’t been sleeping well at all. So when 5 AM came this morning I was not ready to get up for the run. I’m glad I forced myself to get up and get going because it turned out to not be so bad after all. In fact, I actually feel a little better now having done the run.

Run Details

56 Minutes 38 Seconds

6.09 Miles

Average Heart Rate: 163 bpm

Average Pace: 9′ 17″

Splits: 9′ 24″ – 10′ 24″ – 10′ 17″ – 10′ 05″ – 9′ 49″ – 9′ 03″

Week #5 Total: 6.09 Miles

Total: 73.03 Miles

Saturday – Week #4 – 6 Mile Group

HOORAY! The shin splints I have been experiencing did not bother me at all today. Whats the deal with that? I guess the R.I.C.E method really does work. I think I’ll continue to cross train at least once per weak to keep the stress level on my shins lower. Today also marks the first time I ran with my new toy! The Nike+iPod was neat, but never very accurate, so I purchased a Garmin Forerunner 305. Not only is it extremely accurate, but I also get my heart rate for the duration of the run. I probably went a bit over board with all of the charts and graphs for this run but its a lot of fun to play with!

Run Details

57 Minutes 33 Seconds

6.10 Miles

Average Heart Rate: 177 bpm

Average Pace: 9′ 26″

Splits: 9′ 20″ – 10′ 26″ – 9′ 18″ – 11′ 08″ – 10′ 39″ – 9′ 26″

Week #4 Total: 6.10 Miles

Total: 51.83 Miles

Elevation Chart:

Heart Rate Chart: (You can clearly see where we stopped for water!)

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

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!

Saturday – Week #1 – Rain

Howdy,

Today marks the first day of my marathon training. After getting up at the break of day (around 5:45 am) Jess and I headed off to Luke’s Locker Colleyville for our evaluation run with the rest of the group. The only problem was that there were about 1.5 billion rain drops that decided to crash our little party. Needless to say we did not get the chance to complete our evaluation run and will have to attempt to be evaluated next Saturday during our 4 mile run.

While we did not get to complete the inaugural run we are still expected to adhere to the training schedule. I will keep you all update with the progress Jess and I make.

Until next time,

Word!