A Return

Or at least a return of sorts. I'm afraid we've had some hot weather recently. As much as I'd like to blame that for another week of short one mile runs, I don't think I can. The truth is that I'm partly lazy and partly easily distracted. As such, I haven't done a good job of making time for running and have been to quick to accept any lame excuse I can come up with. Oh well. In any event, I did manage to get in a nice run tonight, roughly 5k. Everything felt good and relaxed. My goal is to get back to the point where I can run at least 5 miles a day every day, but I think I've been lazy enough that I need to increase my mileage slowly before I get back there. Today is a good step in the right direction, so even though I would have liked it to have been a longer run, I'm still reasonably happy with it. Hopefully tomorrow will be more of the same.

Road Trip Return

That's right, I spent the first part of the week out of town. To be fair, I traveled by plane, but it would have been a bit far to drive from Illinois to Vancouver. It was a good trip, and the week started out great from a running standpoint. I set out for a five mile run to start the week and got back to my hotel nine miles later feeling great. I followed it up with a set of five one mile repeats with negative splits to boot. As much as I enjoyed those two runs, it turns out it was definitely harder than I should have been running. I started the next day hoping for an easy five, but my right foot was feeling tender so I cut it to just one mile. Wednesday, I was feeling a bit better, but pressed for time and only got in two miles. Thursday I was back home and jet lagged and only managed another short one mile run. Tonight was a little better, but not much. It was really muggy after the storms passed through, but I had no giddy up in my legs tonight. Just felt really heavy and sluggish. But I did manage a total of four miles, with the first three at a decent clip, and the last mile a mix of intervals. All things considered, not too bad. I realize that my five mile a day streak didn't last very long, but I did get a dramatic increase in my miles, and hopefully with a little more rest, I'll be able to step up my mileage a bit more next week.

Give Me Five

One more day, five more miles. So far this longer streak challenge isn't too bad. Today's run felt a little bit easier, wasn't as challenging to finish, and I managed to clock in a with a time right between my last two days. Now for a little note about pacing. I find that there are times where if I worry about my pace too much, I get burn out and don't enjoy the run as much as I'd like to. So lately, I've taken one look at my watch when I start the run, just to make sure I did in fact start it. And then I do my best not to look at it again until I finish. That means I've been running solely on how I feel. When it's too easy, I run a bit faster, when it's too hard I slow down a bit. Which is why I'm rather surprised that I managed to finish all three runs with a times in a fifty second window. Best of all, since I don't worry about my pace while I run, I really get to enjoy the weather, the scenery, the freedom, and everything else that makes running such a joy. Best of all, now I get to grill another steak to cap off a lovely day.

Wall Running

Well Day 2 of my five miler streak was an adventure. I set out for my run on another beautiful evening, but was feeling a bit sore from yesterday's run. I did manage to warm up and settle into a steady rhythm, but after my first couple of hills, I really started to struggle. Luckily, I'm nothing, if not stubborn, so I just gritted my teeth and kept on running. Usually when I run through those lows, I come out the other side in reasonably short order. But it just didn't work that way tonight, the more I ran, the more my quads complained. So I just kept to a nice easy steady-effort pace and kept hoping to round that final corner as soon as I could. I know it was only a five mile run, but it felt like I spent nearly the whole time running through the wall. But wouldn't you know it, but when I got home, and checked my watch, I'd actually managed to beat my time from yesterday. Turns out it wasn't such a bad run after all, and if that's not a great way to start the weekend, I don't know what is.

Streaking

Obviously, it's been another week of short runs. Don't know why I've been so busy. I feel like I've just had trouble finding enough time in my schedule for long runs, but that's largely me being lazy. I know I can get in longer runs if I just make the effort. On the other hand, I have been able to get in at least a mile a day, which is a definite plus. So I figured, if this streaking thing is enough motivation to get me out the door, why not make it a streak of longer runs? So tonight I got in a solid five mile run, and I've decided to get in at least five miles every day between now and my next marathon this fall. So far, so good. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go finish grilling my steak and start getting ready for tomorrow's five miler.

I'm Back

And better than ever. Well, maybe not ever, but certainly better than recently. I've been slacking off a bit the last week, with just an easy one mile daily run. There were a lot of reasons for my light week of running. I had some house guests (who were kind enough to buy me a grill...parents are the best) and a hectic schedule at work, plus a puppy at home recovering from being spayed. As much as I'd like to say it was out of my hands, there was also a large part of me that was simply lazy.

Tonight, however, I felt a little extra giddy up in my stride and set out for a three mile run. I made it home four miles later. I thought it was a relaxed four miles, but when I looked at my watch I discovered that I had actually beat my typical pace for that distance. Turns out I really needed the break.

Now originally I had another marathon scheduled for this weekend. But between my terrible preparation and my recovering puppy, I've decided to skip it. I really don't know that I have it in me mentally to slog through another five hour marathon. Although it is a bit disappointing not to be running the race, I'm not too worried about it. I've got a weekend with a good forecast of near perfect grilling weather, plus a nice long stretch to get in a proper training regimen before my fall marathons. And based on tonight's run, I'm well rested and ready. If I actually manage to stick to my program, I think there's even a chance I can PR this fall. So far, so good.

That Was Fast

Like a fellow blogger, and in fact a rather large community of similarly habitual runners, I own a modest running streak. I know it's been over a year, but not quite a year and a half, but I'd completely lost track of the number of days. So I decided to figure out. Turns out, today is number 500 in a row. Yes, I worry about myself too. Even though my running has been a bit lazy recently, it's been pretty successful over all. I've managed to run one 5k, two 10ks, three half marathons, I've finished four full marathons, and dropped out of one full marathon and one 50k. I've averaged nearly three and a half miles a day during that span for a total of 1744 miles. After reading all that back, it makes me think, "man, I need a hobby." But then I realized that I seem to have a hobby, running. That was awfully easy.

In any event, I'm reasonably happy with my past 500 days. I would like to increase my daily mileage a bit, and I'd definitely like to increase my speed, but what else is new? I think it'll all come with time. I know what you're thinking, how'd you celebrate the milestone? A relaxed 5k run and a lovely porter called the Edmund Fitzgerald by the Great Lakes Brewing Company. In fact, I think I'll make it two.