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

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

Tuesday – Week #4 – 50 Minute Cross Train

Not much to add today. The cross training consisted of 30 minutes on the stationary bike and 20 minutes on the elliptical machine. I must say that I do like the elliptical machine. It offers a pretty decent workout (I’m basing this solely on the copious amounts of sweat I built up during the session) with hardly any stress on my legs. All in all, I would have rather ran this evening but I just don’t trust my shins quite yet. Back to the pavement tomorrow morning!

Monday – Week #4 – 35 Minute Run

The story of our run today was the humidity. Its stuff to run under a 10 minute pace when you feel like you’re swimming through the air. The mosquitoes did not add the experience either. Anyhow, three days of running in a row is starting to take its toll on my shins. After our run this morning they were bothering me a bit, but I think it’ll be OK after today’s R.I.C.E. session. I will also be cross training tomorrow, so they won’t be beaten into submission on a run.

Run Details

35 Minutes 05 Seconds

3.41 Miles

Average Heart Rate: 162 bpm

Average Pace: 10′ 16″

Week #4 Total: 13.01 Miles

Total: 58.84 Miles

More details to come, I’ve got to get to work!

Sunday – Week #4 – 30 Minute Easy Run

It was humid today; somewhere in the neighborhood of 85% relative humidity! It was nice to take it easy today after getting back to the running yesterday. The shin splints are still nowhere to be found! It must be the combination of R.I.C.E. and proper stretching (which I must admit I was not doing prior to last week). Although I did feel as if I were swimming through Bob Eden Park this morning, the run was rather easy and uneventful. I saw a few football players from one of the area high schools while out in the park. That reminds me of my days of playing football and how I used to HATE running during the off season. Its funny that now I look forward to it every morning.

Run Details

37 Minutes 47 Seconds

3.60 Miles

Average Heart Rate: 161 bpm

Average Pace: 10′ 30″

Splits: 10′ 31″ – 11′ 08″ – 8′ 54″ – finished at 10′ 12″

Week #4 Total: 9.60 Miles

Total:  55.43 Miles

Elevation Chart:

 Heart Rate Chart (You can clearly see the ramp up in intensity during the last mile):

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!)

Thursday – Week #3 – 45 Minute Run

Due to the shin splints I am currently experiencing, I decided to cross train again today. I spent 30 minutes on a stationary bike at a heart rate of around 130 bpm and 15 minutes on an elliptical machine with a heart rate of about 110 bpm.  We have Friday off again and I’m hoping to have rested enough to allow for proper healing. I really want to get back out and run! It has been tough to just ride the stationary bike at the gym. Can’t wait to pound softly run on the pavement again!

Happy 4th

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy 4th of July. Happy Birthday America.

Fireworks From Kaboom Town at Addison Airport

Tuesday – Week #3 – Shin Splints

We were supposed to some interval work today. I got about 10 minutes into the first part of my easy run and just could not go any further. I walked hobbled back to the apartment and just got ready for work. I will tell you, there is nothing more infuriating to someone who likes to be the best at everything than to be stopped by an injury. I am so angry at my body right now. I know that I’ve just started running and that I need to be careful and take care to not over train, but at the same time, I want to run. How am I supposed to take it easy when I know that in 6 months I have, no I want to run 26.2 miles. This is killing me slowly! As my wonderful wife told me this morning, at least it is happening now and not in October. My plan is to take the next couple of days off and take it easy. I’m going to follow the R.I.C.E. method (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) and see if that helps at all.  I’ll keep you all updated. Any advice on how to cope with shin splints would be greatly appreciated!