Since I had the day off for my 40th birthday, I decided what better way to celebrate than to run 12 miles at the Ashtabula Metroparks Western Reserve Greenway Trail!
The first six miles were pretty easy, cruising along at about a 7:53 mile pace. Little did I realize was the strong wind propelling me from the back.
When I turned around at six miles even, I let out an "ugh". Suddenly there was this stiff wind in my face, perhaps 20-30 mph and I was six miles away from my car.
Plus, I had forgotten that the first six miles is slightly downhill most of the way.
So now I'm running mostly uphill with a tough wind in my face.
Needless to say, my run back was slower.
I won't bother listing all the splits, but total time for the 12 miles was 1:39:09.
After typing that number, I realize my pace was 8:15 for the entire run. Not too bad considering this is my longest run of the year.
Translating that to a half marathon would be somewhere around a 1:48. I guess that's really not too bad for a long casual run on a Friday afternoon.
Runners World Quote of the Day:
"The true runner is a very fortunate person. He has found something in him that is just perfect."
George Sheehan
Happy running!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Awesome tempo run today
The weather outside after work was fantastic today, so what better way to celebrate than running a moderately hard 4-mile tempo run, plus one mile warmup and cooldown, for a 6-mile total.
The first mile was an easy warmup in 7:59, then time to ramp it up!
Mile two was done in 7:18 -- felt great.
Mile three done in 7:11, Mile four finished in 7:15, then Mile five was done in 7:01 -- nearly in the sixes!
After the five miles, time for a cooldown, which I did in 7:39 -- kind of fast for a cooldown, but it felt pretty slow after the previous paces.
After six miles, I wanted to see if I would finish faster than 46 minutes for a 10-K. I only needed to run 0.2 more miles, so what the heck.
Overall I finished the 6.2 miles -- a 10-K -- in 45:55. That was actually faster than what I ran the Erie 10-K on March 13! Including the mile each for a warmup and cooldown, my total per mile pace was 7:23.
"As we run, we become."
Amby Burfoot, The Runner's Guide to the Meaning of Life
Happy running!
The first mile was an easy warmup in 7:59, then time to ramp it up!
Mile two was done in 7:18 -- felt great.
Mile three done in 7:11, Mile four finished in 7:15, then Mile five was done in 7:01 -- nearly in the sixes!
After the five miles, time for a cooldown, which I did in 7:39 -- kind of fast for a cooldown, but it felt pretty slow after the previous paces.
After six miles, I wanted to see if I would finish faster than 46 minutes for a 10-K. I only needed to run 0.2 more miles, so what the heck.
Overall I finished the 6.2 miles -- a 10-K -- in 45:55. That was actually faster than what I ran the Erie 10-K on March 13! Including the mile each for a warmup and cooldown, my total per mile pace was 7:23.
"As we run, we become."
Amby Burfoot, The Runner's Guide to the Meaning of Life
Happy running!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Easy four mile run
On Monday night it was windy and cold, but I wanted to get in a nice four mile run.
First mile was a warmup in 7:56.
Mile two was 7:40; Mile three was 7:37; Mile four was 7:38.
Overall pace was 30:53 for a 7:43 mile/pace.
I like how paces in the mid sevens are becoming easier for me.
Nothing special yesterday really, so on to the Runners World Quote of the Day:
"Vary your training, your running partners, and your environment. Only your imagination limits the ways you can spice up your running routine."
Bob Glover, The Runner's Handbook
Happy running!
First mile was a warmup in 7:56.
Mile two was 7:40; Mile three was 7:37; Mile four was 7:38.
Overall pace was 30:53 for a 7:43 mile/pace.
I like how paces in the mid sevens are becoming easier for me.
Nothing special yesterday really, so on to the Runners World Quote of the Day:
"Vary your training, your running partners, and your environment. Only your imagination limits the ways you can spice up your running routine."
Bob Glover, The Runner's Handbook
Happy running!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
50-minute tempo run
On Saturday, I decided to do a 50-minute tempo run that included 10-minutes of warmup at an easy pace and a cooldown of 10 minutes at an easy pace.
The 40 minutes in between was some pretty hard running, but not full-out effort.
Here are the splits:
Mile
1 = 7:55
2 = 7:29
3 = 7:24
4 = 7:24
5 = 7:04
6 = 7:25
6.6 = 5:07 (8:31 mile pace)
Total was 60 minutes for 6.6 miles which is a 7:34/mile pace. On the surface that might not appear that fast, but I'm considering the first 10 minutes and last 10 minutes were done at an easy pace.
Some of the mile paces were done at times faster than seven minutes, a few times including mile five I was running at a 6:45/mile pace, but I got stuck at a traffic light and had to stop for about 10 seconds while cars passed, if not for that I would have run that mile faster than seven.
At one point, I looked at my watch at 6.2 miles (10-K distance) and my time was 46:28, which was only 28 seconds slower than my 10-K from the race last weekend. At that point in my running I was in cooldown mode!
It's nice to be healthy and not running in cold, windy and wet conditions, for sure.
Runners World Quote of the Day:
"It should make us proud to know we are part of a running lineage that stretches back from the original Olympic Games in 776 BC to this very moment."
Michael Sandrock, Author and runner
Happy running!
The 40 minutes in between was some pretty hard running, but not full-out effort.
Here are the splits:
Mile
1 = 7:55
2 = 7:29
3 = 7:24
4 = 7:24
5 = 7:04
6 = 7:25
6.6 = 5:07 (8:31 mile pace)
Total was 60 minutes for 6.6 miles which is a 7:34/mile pace. On the surface that might not appear that fast, but I'm considering the first 10 minutes and last 10 minutes were done at an easy pace.
Some of the mile paces were done at times faster than seven minutes, a few times including mile five I was running at a 6:45/mile pace, but I got stuck at a traffic light and had to stop for about 10 seconds while cars passed, if not for that I would have run that mile faster than seven.
At one point, I looked at my watch at 6.2 miles (10-K distance) and my time was 46:28, which was only 28 seconds slower than my 10-K from the race last weekend. At that point in my running I was in cooldown mode!
It's nice to be healthy and not running in cold, windy and wet conditions, for sure.
Runners World Quote of the Day:
"It should make us proud to know we are part of a running lineage that stretches back from the original Olympic Games in 776 BC to this very moment."
Michael Sandrock, Author and runner
Happy running!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Easy 5-mile run
Weather was once again fantastic tonight after work, so I decided to do an easy paced 5-miler.
First mile was done in a very easy 8:15. The remaining splits were:
Mile
2 = 7:56
3 = 7:44
4 = 7:53
5 = 7:39
5.08 = 0:36
Total = 40:05 for 5.08 mile for a 7:53 pace.
I am encouraged by this run especially since I was pretty sore from the previous day's 10-mile run. Usually I don't run the day after a long run, but I was feeling good today, so I just did it.
Hope on Saturday I can do a fast-paced tempo run.
Runners World Quote of the Day:
"Great is the victory, but the friendship of all is greater."
Emil Zatopek, Olympic gold medalist in 5 km, 10 km, and marathon
Happy running!
First mile was done in a very easy 8:15. The remaining splits were:
Mile
2 = 7:56
3 = 7:44
4 = 7:53
5 = 7:39
5.08 = 0:36
Total = 40:05 for 5.08 mile for a 7:53 pace.
I am encouraged by this run especially since I was pretty sore from the previous day's 10-mile run. Usually I don't run the day after a long run, but I was feeling good today, so I just did it.
Hope on Saturday I can do a fast-paced tempo run.
Runners World Quote of the Day:
"Great is the victory, but the friendship of all is greater."
Emil Zatopek, Olympic gold medalist in 5 km, 10 km, and marathon
Happy running!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Unplanned 10-mile run tonight!
Got home shortly after 6 p.m. tonight and no one else would be home for an hour or so. That meant I could do a long run, but I originally planned to do maybe six miles.
I set out determined this would be an easy run and after four miles, I coasted along at just under an 8-minute mile pace. I felt great and it was nice outside so I decided to do another four miles, but at around mile six, I figured what the heck, why not do four more and make it ten?
So I did and I never really slowed down much. Here are my splits ...
Mile
1 = 8:09
2 = 7:59
3 = 7:49
4 = 7:54
5 = 7:49
6 = 8:01
7 = 7:57
8 = 7:54
9 = 7:56
10 = 7:52
10.16 = 7:44 mile/pace
Totals are 10.16 miles in 1:20:39 for 7:56/mile pace. Not bad for a Wednesday!
Pretty neat doing a long run in the middle of the week. Never have I run more than 10 miles on a weeknight. Not even when I trained for the Cleveland Marathon in 2007. Strangely, it's been a few hours now since I finished, but I'm not overly tired. We'll see how I feel tomorrow.
Anyway, it was good to get in this long run, since I raced last weekend and last week I was sick a little bit, so I didn't get much mileage in. I guess my body and mind were just ready to do a little bit more than usual today.
Runners World Quote of the Day:
"I run almost every day and love it. I need to stay lean for my sport, and I tend to build bulk and muscle easily. Running helps me stay stringy."
Apolo Ohno, Olympic speed skater
Happy running!
I set out determined this would be an easy run and after four miles, I coasted along at just under an 8-minute mile pace. I felt great and it was nice outside so I decided to do another four miles, but at around mile six, I figured what the heck, why not do four more and make it ten?
So I did and I never really slowed down much. Here are my splits ...
Mile
1 = 8:09
2 = 7:59
3 = 7:49
4 = 7:54
5 = 7:49
6 = 8:01
7 = 7:57
8 = 7:54
9 = 7:56
10 = 7:52
10.16 = 7:44 mile/pace
Totals are 10.16 miles in 1:20:39 for 7:56/mile pace. Not bad for a Wednesday!
Pretty neat doing a long run in the middle of the week. Never have I run more than 10 miles on a weeknight. Not even when I trained for the Cleveland Marathon in 2007. Strangely, it's been a few hours now since I finished, but I'm not overly tired. We'll see how I feel tomorrow.
Anyway, it was good to get in this long run, since I raced last weekend and last week I was sick a little bit, so I didn't get much mileage in. I guess my body and mind were just ready to do a little bit more than usual today.
Runners World Quote of the Day:
"I run almost every day and love it. I need to stay lean for my sport, and I tend to build bulk and muscle easily. Running helps me stay stringy."
Apolo Ohno, Olympic speed skater
Happy running!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Daylight savings time rocks!
It occurred to me this afternoon that there would still be daylight when I got home from work, typically around 6:30 to 6:45 p.m.
Sure enough, sunset was scheduled for around 7:30 p.m. so I had plenty of time to get in a nice, easy 30-minute run OUTSIDE on a weeknight.
I was still sore from Saturday's 10-K in Erie, so nothing hard tonight just a 8:07/mile pace for each mile for the 3.7 miles I ran.
It felt good to get out there on the road to loosen up a little bit. Doubtful I'll do a sprint workout on Tuesday, but maybe a little more intense run than today.
Runners World Quote of the Day:
"Act like a horse. Be dumb. Just run."
Jumbo Elliot, Track and Field Coach
Happy running!
Sure enough, sunset was scheduled for around 7:30 p.m. so I had plenty of time to get in a nice, easy 30-minute run OUTSIDE on a weeknight.
I was still sore from Saturday's 10-K in Erie, so nothing hard tonight just a 8:07/mile pace for each mile for the 3.7 miles I ran.
It felt good to get out there on the road to loosen up a little bit. Doubtful I'll do a sprint workout on Tuesday, but maybe a little more intense run than today.
Runners World Quote of the Day:
"Act like a horse. Be dumb. Just run."
Jumbo Elliot, Track and Field Coach
Happy running!
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