Tag: #GetOutTheDoor

That Wasn’t Pleasant

Today’s Run

Time – 39:01
Distance – 4.25 miles
Pace – 9:11 min/mi
Elevation – 121 ft.

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The first real sunshine in 10 days means that it’s time to go running. This was the first run in almost 2 weeks, and I paid the price for it. Nothing too hard or too fast, but I’m definitely going to have to work to get my legs back. Pace was bearable, and I wasn’t pushing too much.

A series of unfortunate delays

I’ve been asked by friends and acquaintances more than a few times over the last 2 months, “What happened to the blog?” There’s no one answer to that, of course, as life doesn’t really consist of one thing.

  1. We bought the house and moved in, which has been an adventure, to say the least. Moving everything you own every 2–3 years gets really old, and this time seemed to take a lot longer than most. Maybe that’s because we know we won’t have to do it again for a long time, unless the unfortunate happens. Until then, we’ve got a house! It fits our family just right, is in a decent neighborhood for running, and a great neighborhood for everything else.
  2. It’s been raining more this spring than I can remember, and I have NO motivation for treadmill running. That doesn’t help at all, and so I’ve left a lot of running days on the table.
  3. I’ll be skipping the marathon/half-marathon this spring. All of these other things have required that I jettison a couple of items, and this is one that has to go. I’m disappointed in myself, but I know that, based on what my running is really starting to look like, I’ll be pleased with the times I can put together when I get the next race in.
  4. My Master’s thesis has been postponed to the fall. This just hasn’t been able to happen due to work and family needs, and was the other thing that I’ve pushed off, besides the race. I go to a great school, and my advisor and the department chair have been helpful with getting my schedule adjusted. I’m very grateful.
  5. Finally, there’s the family. Because of all the things that I haven’t been doing, I’ve been spending that extra time I’ve had with them, and it’s been amazing! Baby Girl is growing so fast! Little Buddy is turning into a whole new personality, thanks to time in the program at his school! The Teenager is 15 now, and we talk about cars, which is scary to say the least. And, above all, I’ve gotten more time with The Wife, which makes me happy.

All in all, the trade off between running and life has been worth it. I’m okay with the way this has gone, even though I’m not getting out the door or blogging as much as I would like. The running hasn’t gone away completely; I’ve run 12 times in the past 8 weeks, so I’ve been getting it done a little bit, but nowhere near the numbers I’d like to see. I’m 187 miles behind pace for 1500 this year.

It’s time to get back on track.

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Running for Goals

Today’s Run

Time – 1:14:47
Distance – 8.1 miles
Pace – 9:12 min/mi
Elevation – 192 ft.

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Wanted to run at least 5 miles today, but I felt good while I was out so I kept going and got in 8 miles. Felt really good, and I was able to finish with pace.

Sometimes it’s just about the number

I needed at least 3 miles to make my goal of 30 for the week. I planned to run 5, and did 8 instead for 35 miles for the week. I’m glad that I ran the extra miles, because they felt good, and I haven’t gone longer than 6.x miles in a while, but I need to be more diligent about making schedules and hitting the numbers.

I don’t have to be beholden to them, though. It IS a good thing to run on feel, and to get out and enjoy running. The purpose of a schedule is to mitigate injury through overtraining, and to make sure that undertraining is not a problem either.

It’s all about the sweet spot.

Running for Fun and Profit

Today’s Run

Time – 1:25:52
Distance – 8.6 miles
Pace – 9:59 min/mi
Elevation – 192 ft.

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Sometimes Strava confuses me. I ran 8.6 miles, no mile was over 9:52 pace, and I’m getting a 9:59 average. Sometimes the internet seems broken. It was cold, windy, and the roads were wet. The run didn’t hurt, and I didn’t have any issues running that long without water. It was a good run.

Running when it matters, matters

I took two days off because of schedules and other reasons, so I was able to relax and think about other things. Today was a tight day, with lots to do and not a lot of time. But I got the run in, because, well, I needed to run. It had been two days, and it was time to run again.

Running for running sake is fine. It’s perfectly acceptable to run because I enjoy it. When its time to run, though, I have to make sure to get it in. Consistency is how this works. Running often is how the work gets done, and how the body builds and gets stronger.

Keep running when you want to, go running when you should, and #GetOutTheDoor.

What Did I Eat?!

Today’s Run

Time – 2:19:49
Distance – 13.2 miles
Pace – 10:32 min/mi
Elevation – 399 ft.

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Long run day. Put in miles, hit a low spot about 5.5 miles in, and struggled the rest of the way. Fueling matters. I need to eat every 6 miles for long runs, not every 7. I ate at 7 miles, and then had no energy at 12.5. Needed to eat at 6 and then again at 12. Not much is needed, maybe 200 calories. Also I need to start having more water available. I’m going through 24 oz. every hour, which is about right, but I’m still losing a lot of weight on the runs.

You Ate What?!

Long run days can be great days to learn a lot. Today I learned that espresso frappaccinos do not make good pre-run snacks…

More Miles

Today’s Run

Time – 46:49
Distance – 4.5 miles
Pace – 10:13 min/mi
Elevation – 84 ft.

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The watch decided to lock up tonight, so no good heart rate or elevation data. The mileage appears to be right, and the clock didn’t stop, so I’ll go with this. I just wandered around the college campus for 45 minutes running. Nothing special, this was definitely a recovery run.

Sometimes there’s just not much to say…

This run wasn’t anything special. Out and about in 70 degree temperatures. Very comfortable running with a very easy running pace to boot. Days like this are just bricks in the wall.