Thursday – Week #6 – 50 Minute Easy Run

It was very nice to get back out and run again this morning. I’ve found that my runs are a means for escape from the crazy world we live in. Work is a bit stressful right now; running is my way of dealing with it. I did take it easy this morning and still felt like I got a good workout. I think I’m ready for the 9 mile run on Saturday. I guess we’ll see!

Run Details 

51 Minutes 50 Seconds

5.27 Miles

Average Heart Rate: 153 bpm

Average Pace: 9′ 50″

Splits: 10′ 02″ – 10′ 09″ – 10′ 30″ – 9′ 42″ – 9′ 50″

Week #6 Total:  22.39 Miles

Total: 113.96 Miles

Wednesday – Week #6 – 50 Minute Run

I missed my run this morning. Work kind of got in the way. It has an annoying way of stealing pieces of my soul in little chunks. I hate that I had to miss this run, but I was just too tired to keep going when I got home last night. Hopefully this won’t set me back.

Tuesday – Week #6 – 55 Minute Run

I tried two new things during my run today: running with a water bottle and using GU Energy Gel. Both worked out better than expected. At first, I didn’t like the water bottle. It has a belt with a holster that is surprisingly comfortable because it’s molded to sit on snugly against your lower back. It felt really awkward at first, but after the first two miles I kind of forgot it was there. The GU Energy Gel was gross. There is  no other way to say it. I think if I knew what I was putting into my mouth, it would not have been such a shock, but it has to be the saltiest thing next to the Atlantic ocean that I’ve ever tasted. It did, however, work very well! I had a nice burst of energy about 10 minutes after taking it, which is reflected nicely in my splits! I tried the Tri-Berry flavor this morning. Maybe some of the other flavors are less appalling.

Run Details

57 Minutes 28 Seconds

6.05 Miles

Average Heart Rate: 159 bpm

Average Pace: 9′ 30″

Splits: 10′ 11″  – 9′ 40″ – 9′ 44″ – 9′ 49″ – 9′ 28″ – 8′ 38″ (Go GU)

Week #6 Total:  17.12 Miles

Total: 108.69 Miles

Sunday – Week #6 – 30 Minute Recovery Run

I’m not going to lie… it was hard to get up and run this morning. Thankfully, I did have external motivation; I had to take my sister to the airport for an early flight this morning. My legs were pretty stiff from all my activity yesterday, but hey, that’s what a recovery run is for.

Run Details

33 Minutes 22 Seconds

3.41 Miles

Average Heart Rate: 156 bpm

Average Pace: 9′ 46″

Splits:  9′ 21″- 10′ 42″ – 10′ 15″

Week #6 Total:  11.07 Miles

Total:  102.64 Miles (WooHoo!)

Thursday – Week #5 – 30 Minute Easy Run

Today’s run was supposed to be a 50 minute easy run but I decided to cut it short for a couple of reasons. First of all, it was just way too late to start a 50 minute run. Secondly, I got started so late because we had a seminar on hydration and nutrition this evening at Luke’s Locker.  Jess and I didn’t get home until after 8:00 PM and by the time we put on our running clothes and shoes it was already 8:30. So I just took it a little easy today to get ready for the 7.5 mile run on Saturday morning. I’m pretty excited about it actually. It will be the farthest I have ever run in a single go. Also, after the seminar this evening, I purchased a water belt to test out. I think I need to start drinking a bit more during my runs to stay properly hydrated. I also purchased a few different flavors of GU Energy Gels to test out. Since our runs are getting longer and longer, I’d like to see how I am affected by the gels and if I want to keep using them or try sport drinks like Gatorade/Powerade/Accelerade/etc…

Run Details 

31 Minutes 58 Seconds

3.26 Miles

Average Heart Rate:  139 bpm (I took it really easy )

Average Pace: 9′ 48″

Splits:  10′ 47″ – 9′ 37″ – 10′ 32″

Week #5 Total:  24.63 Miles

Total: 91.57 Miles (Almost to 100!)

Wednesday – Week #5 – 50 Minute Run

Today’s run was split up into the following: 15 minute easy run, 20 minute faster run, 15 minute easy run. I like doing intervals like this for a few reasons. Namely, the 15 minute easy runs are a blessing when your legs are exhausted from running all week. Secondly, I feel like a badass when running a sub 9 minute mile (I know that doesn’t sound very fast to some people, but for me its quick!). Lastly, I really enjoy pushing myself for those 20 minutes and then getting rewarded with a long cool down run.

Run Details

57 Minutes 56 Seconds

6.0 Miles

Average Heart Rate: 164 bpm

Average Pace: 9′ 39″

Splits: 10′ 29″ – 10′33″ – 8′ 53″ – 9′ 35″ – 10′ 50″ – 9′ 49″

Week #5 Total:  21.37 Miles

Total: 88.31 Miles

Tuesday – Week #5 – 40 Minute Run

Today’s run was a little on the short side. I only had time to run for about 30 minutes because Jess and I were babysitting our little cousin Aubree Kay. She’s the cutest 8 month old baby I’ve ever seen! Anyhow, to make sure I had enough time to play with Aubs (as I like to call her) I had to cut my run a little short.

Run Details

32 Minutes 20 Seconds

3.43 Miles

Average Heart Rate: 163 bpm

Average Pace: 9′ 25″

Splits: I won’t be able to get the splits from this run, as I accidentally left my GPS Trainer on during the ride home from Arlington and the data is a bit skewed. I would love to claim that I ran a 1.5 minute mile but it’s just not true!

Week #5 Total: 15.37 Miles

Total: 82.31 Miles

Monday – Week #5 – 55 Minute Run

I am not going to elaborate much about this run. It was hot, I was tired. That’s about it

Run Details

55 Minutes 26 Seconds

5.85 Miles

Average Heart Rate: 173 bpm

Average Pace: 9′ 28″

Splits: coming soon…

Week #5 Total: 11.94 Miles

Total: 78.88 Miles

Note: I did miss the Sunday 30 Minute Recovery Run this week because of this.

Thursday – Week #4 – 45 Minute Easy Run

I ran by myself this morning. My lovely wife needed some extra sleep this morning so I didn’t wake her at our normal 5:00 AM. The run this morning was very nice and relaxing surprisingly! 6 straight days of training, 5 of which were spent running), had not beaten me as badly as I anticipated. I hope this is a sign of things to come. My legs are adapting and getting used to the barrage of pavement pounding… Good news for the mileage increases to come!

Run Details

48 Minutes 35 Seconds

4.70 Miles

Average Heart Rate: 156 bpm

Average Pace: 10′ 20″

Splits: 10′ 26″ – 10′ 18″ – 10′ 14″ -  10′ 24″

Week #4 Total: 21.1 Miles

Total: 66.94 Miles

Wednesday – Week #4 – 45 Minute Run

As it turns out, we did not get to run this morning. In short, it was due to our lovely neighbors’ drunken screaming outside of our window last night. This all happened around 1:30 in the morning and I had trouble getting back to sleep. So, we went running this afternoon after work, around 7:45. It was still warm outside, but there was a nice breeze so it was at the very least bearable. The run itself was great. That day of cross training really does make a difference. My Garmin Forerunner 305 died during our warm-up today so I have no idea how far I ran or what my pace was; and because of that I did not stick to my prescribed run of 15 minutes easy, 15 minutes hard, and 15 minutes easy. Instead, I just ran with Jess for 30 minutes all at a fast pace.

Run Details

30 Minutes

About 3.4 Miles (This is just an estimate based on previous experience)

Week #4 Total: About 16.4 Miles

Total: About 62.24 Miles