Tonight I was feeling sluggish, but still managed to make it to the gym to get in a workout.
I hopped on the elliptical machine for 10 minutes to get a warmup before hitting the weight machines. I kind of like this elliptical machine, it's different and I'm finding it helps me get ready for my workouts.
I focused on chest and shoulders tonight with the weights. Then I got on the treadmill.
Nothing special tonight, just trying to get the soreness and stiffness out of my legs after last night's hard workout.
Not much to report with the run, although I managed to "get in" four miles in 34:47, for an 8:41/mile pace. This is what I call a recovery run, nice and slow, but it's still tough since you're definitely not fresh and just trying to power through the after affects of a hard workout the day before.
Runners World Quote of the Day:
"When the runner's high does set in, usually around three or four miles, my body flows into a smooth rhythm and my mind is no longer conscious of how far or how long I've run or how much farther to go."
Matthew Shafner, lawyer and marathoner
My comment to this statement is I wish that was the case for me most of the time, but it's not. What a lucky guy! I'm always conscious of how far I've run and how much farther there is to go.
Happy running!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Super blend for a workout!
Tonight I tried to shake things up a little bit, so I did a combination of several different workouts. Loved it!
First, I did 135 abdominal crunches on a machine -- basically it was 9 sets of 15 and included the front, left and right abdominal muscles or three sets of 15 for each side. Confusing? Probably not worth explaining, but it's much harder than sit-ups and was done with 45 lbs. each time.
Then I hit an elliptical machine and did 10 minutes on that. I've never really used one before except for a few minutes, so this was a nice warm-up for my run. It was kind of awkward at first, but I can see mixing this in occasionally as part of a workout. The low impact can be very helpful.
For my run, I decided to do a blend of tempo running and speed intervals. The first mile I ran in about 8:20 to get going. Then I dropped down to a 7:30/mile pace and alternated running at 6:53/mile pace for 1 min. 40 secs then switching back to 7:30/mile pace for one minute. I did six sets of this, before cooling down at an 8:34/mile pace.
Ultimately, my total run including warmup and cooldown was done in 30:57. It was 4 miles long for a total overall pace of 7:44 per mile.
I thought today's Runners World Quote of the Day was appropriate:
"Do quality workouts year-round, including during the winter. You're less likely to get injured because you won't hurry the training process, and you'll race better because you build fitness on a solid foundation."
Brad Hudson, elite coach
Happy running!
First, I did 135 abdominal crunches on a machine -- basically it was 9 sets of 15 and included the front, left and right abdominal muscles or three sets of 15 for each side. Confusing? Probably not worth explaining, but it's much harder than sit-ups and was done with 45 lbs. each time.
Then I hit an elliptical machine and did 10 minutes on that. I've never really used one before except for a few minutes, so this was a nice warm-up for my run. It was kind of awkward at first, but I can see mixing this in occasionally as part of a workout. The low impact can be very helpful.
For my run, I decided to do a blend of tempo running and speed intervals. The first mile I ran in about 8:20 to get going. Then I dropped down to a 7:30/mile pace and alternated running at 6:53/mile pace for 1 min. 40 secs then switching back to 7:30/mile pace for one minute. I did six sets of this, before cooling down at an 8:34/mile pace.
Ultimately, my total run including warmup and cooldown was done in 30:57. It was 4 miles long for a total overall pace of 7:44 per mile.
I thought today's Runners World Quote of the Day was appropriate:
"Do quality workouts year-round, including during the winter. You're less likely to get injured because you won't hurry the training process, and you'll race better because you build fitness on a solid foundation."
Brad Hudson, elite coach
Happy running!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Back to the grind
The snow outside was frightful, and vacation was so delightful, I had no place to go ... so I went to the gym for a run tonight. Betcha thought I'd come up with something more clever. Wrong :-)
Anyway, I got in 4 fairly easy miles, although it was a harder time than I thought it would be. My legs felt tight and the back of my legs were sore. Must have still been feeling it from my 5-miler yesterday.
The pace was about 8:40/mile for a total of 34:40. I'm glad I got it in though, I need to drop a few lbs. gained from too much vacation indulgence.
When growing up we used to had a poster on the door headed down to the basement. It simply read: "Those who indulge, bulge" and had a picture of a pig on it. I always thought it was humorous, but it is a lesson I remember, but frequently have a hard time following.
Tis the season, I suppose, but hopefully I can keep weight gain to a minimum.
Runners World Quote of the Day:
"It's the athlete's job to learn to do the hard things easily."
John Jerome, The Sweet Spot in Time
Happy running!
Anyway, I got in 4 fairly easy miles, although it was a harder time than I thought it would be. My legs felt tight and the back of my legs were sore. Must have still been feeling it from my 5-miler yesterday.
The pace was about 8:40/mile for a total of 34:40. I'm glad I got it in though, I need to drop a few lbs. gained from too much vacation indulgence.
When growing up we used to had a poster on the door headed down to the basement. It simply read: "Those who indulge, bulge" and had a picture of a pig on it. I always thought it was humorous, but it is a lesson I remember, but frequently have a hard time following.
Tis the season, I suppose, but hopefully I can keep weight gain to a minimum.
Runners World Quote of the Day:
"It's the athlete's job to learn to do the hard things easily."
John Jerome, The Sweet Spot in Time
Happy running!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Last day of vacation running/first day of snow
Today is the last day of freedom before back to the grind on Monday morning.
This means the days of afternoon naps and running whenever is convenient are over for the time being.
With that said, I pumped out a 5-miler at a comfortable pace. It snowed, so the streets weren't completely clean and were a little slippery in some places.
The first three miles were done pretty much at an 8-minute mile pace (24:08). The fourth mile was a little slower because I encountered some black ice, so my footing wasn't that great. I clocked an 8:20 (32:28) for that mile.
After the black ice was gone, I decided to kick in the last mile, finishing it up at 7:20 pace to complete the journey in 39:48 or 7:57/mile pace.
For the next few months, my daily runs on weekdays/nights will mostly be conducted on the treadmill (boring!), but at least I can still get my mileage in without fear for safety.
Happy running!
This means the days of afternoon naps and running whenever is convenient are over for the time being.
With that said, I pumped out a 5-miler at a comfortable pace. It snowed, so the streets weren't completely clean and were a little slippery in some places.
The first three miles were done pretty much at an 8-minute mile pace (24:08). The fourth mile was a little slower because I encountered some black ice, so my footing wasn't that great. I clocked an 8:20 (32:28) for that mile.
After the black ice was gone, I decided to kick in the last mile, finishing it up at 7:20 pace to complete the journey in 39:48 or 7:57/mile pace.
For the next few months, my daily runs on weekdays/nights will mostly be conducted on the treadmill (boring!), but at least I can still get my mileage in without fear for safety.
Happy running!
Friday, December 4, 2009
Awesome 5-mile tempo run!
I'm very excited after today's 5-mile run, one of the fastest training runs I've ever done for this distance!
From the very beginning I felt warm and ready to go and did the first mile in 7:30.
Then I picked it up and did the second mile in about 7:15 with my watch showing 14:45. From there, the third mile time was 22:00 for another 7:15 mile.
Mile #4 was done in 29:25, so a little bit slower at 7:25, but still pretty good. I must have been feeling it after those two hard ones.
The last mile I decided to go as fast as possible, trying to simulate almost a race pace, but not quite.
When I got done, my watch read 36:15! That meant I did the last mile in 6:50. Very cool considering that during my last 5-K race just a little more than a week ago, my average mile was 6:34.
I feel great!
Runners World Quote of the Day:
"Good thoughts are no better than good dreams, unless they be executed."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Happy running!
From the very beginning I felt warm and ready to go and did the first mile in 7:30.
Then I picked it up and did the second mile in about 7:15 with my watch showing 14:45. From there, the third mile time was 22:00 for another 7:15 mile.
Mile #4 was done in 29:25, so a little bit slower at 7:25, but still pretty good. I must have been feeling it after those two hard ones.
The last mile I decided to go as fast as possible, trying to simulate almost a race pace, but not quite.
When I got done, my watch read 36:15! That meant I did the last mile in 6:50. Very cool considering that during my last 5-K race just a little more than a week ago, my average mile was 6:34.
I feel great!
Runners World Quote of the Day:
"Good thoughts are no better than good dreams, unless they be executed."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Happy running!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Strength and recovery
Tonight was all about hitting the weights and running a fairly easy recovery run.
I busted out three sets of chest, back, shoulders, arms and abdominal exercise during a 45-minute span.
Feeling nice and warm from the lifting, I set out to do a nice easy run of 30 minutes or 4 miles depending on how good I felt.
I eventually settled in for an 8:20 mile pace for the first three and then decided to do another mile at 8:13. Felt awesome and finished in 33:30 for the four miles or 8:22/mile.
I love vacation, have I mentioned that?
Runners World Quote of the Day:
"If one has determination, then things will get done."
Chinese Proverb
Happy running!
I busted out three sets of chest, back, shoulders, arms and abdominal exercise during a 45-minute span.
Feeling nice and warm from the lifting, I set out to do a nice easy run of 30 minutes or 4 miles depending on how good I felt.
I eventually settled in for an 8:20 mile pace for the first three and then decided to do another mile at 8:13. Felt awesome and finished in 33:30 for the four miles or 8:22/mile.
I love vacation, have I mentioned that?
Runners World Quote of the Day:
"If one has determination, then things will get done."
Chinese Proverb
Happy running!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
A medium-hard five miler
Today I really wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but since I'm on vacation, now is not the time to pass up running outside during the daytime.
So after I made a decision to do five miles, I figured I'd just go with what felt good. In this case, it meant going at a pretty hard, but not too hard, pace. I busted out the first mile in 7:57, then did the next three miles at a similar pace -- around 7:55 or so.
The last mile I was pretty tired, but thought I'd kick it in. Surprisingly, when I looked at my watch after finishing up, I had run the last mile in 7:17 and wasn't expecting to see that pace. For the entire five miles, my time was 38:57 or 7:47/mile pace.
All in all, a good run considering I ran pretty hard the day before. Oh how I love vacation!
Runners World Quote of the Day:
"They say you can't run away from your troubles. I say that you can."
John Bingham, The Courage to Start
Speaking of Runners World, here is a link to good article to check out in case you ever have a bad race. We've all had them, that's for sure.
http://bit.ly/4opfgZ
Happy running!
So after I made a decision to do five miles, I figured I'd just go with what felt good. In this case, it meant going at a pretty hard, but not too hard, pace. I busted out the first mile in 7:57, then did the next three miles at a similar pace -- around 7:55 or so.
The last mile I was pretty tired, but thought I'd kick it in. Surprisingly, when I looked at my watch after finishing up, I had run the last mile in 7:17 and wasn't expecting to see that pace. For the entire five miles, my time was 38:57 or 7:47/mile pace.
All in all, a good run considering I ran pretty hard the day before. Oh how I love vacation!
Runners World Quote of the Day:
"They say you can't run away from your troubles. I say that you can."
John Bingham, The Courage to Start
Speaking of Runners World, here is a link to good article to check out in case you ever have a bad race. We've all had them, that's for sure.
http://bit.ly/4opfgZ
Happy running!
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